Here are several songs from Act One. Some amazing vocalists are featured in these recordings: Jerold Solomon, Mariah Lyttle, Grant Paylor, Desiree Roots, and Janet Hazlegrove.
We are in 1800 Richmond Virginia, in the Prosser blacksmith shed. Gabriel, a 24-year old enslaved blacksmith, stands next to a glowing furnace, beating a scythe blade into shape. He is determined to work enough side jobs so that one day soon he will have enough money to purchase his freedom from Prosser. He describes his plan and his hopes in "Closer."
"Daddy's Gone" -- 24-year old Thomas Henry Prosser, Jr. formulates what he will do now that his father has died, while Gabriel encourages him to follow through on a plan he'd made when they were both kids growing up together.
"What Was It Like?" -- 19-year old Nanny, who feels she can only dream of ever being free, asks Gabriel about his failed attempt to escape slavery.
In "Stoke the Fire," Jack Ditcher, a powerful enslaved man awaiting trial for disorderly conduct, encourages Gabriel, his cellmate in the county jail, to face his anger at the injustices they experience.
Prosser has told Gabriel that he'll never set Gabriel free, not at any price. Gabriel realizes that his hopes and plans have been crushed. In "Because of You," he blames Nanny, since it was in saving her from an attack that Gabriel was thrown in jail, bringing shame on Prosser. Nanny fires back at Gabriel and presses him for his reason for coming to her aid. Gabriel evades her question, but then admits it could have been because he cares for her.
After their argument and softening toward each other, Nanny turns to leave, sensing an awkward moment, but Gabriel encourages her to stay and enjoy a quiet time together, just "Here for Now."
Nanny spurns Prosser's advances, so he tells her that he intends to sell her. She returns to her friends, and the enslaved pray "Why, Lord?", asking God why He hasn't provided the deliverance He promised so long ago. Jack Ditcher, fed up with praying and waiting, urges them to act NOW.
ACT ONE
“Closer”......................................................................................................... Gabriel
“Daddy’s Gone”............................................................................. Prosser, Gabriel
“What Was It Like?”......................................................................... Nanny, Gabriel
“Stoke the Fire” ............................................................................. Ditcher, Gabriel
“Because of You”............................................................................. Gabriel, Nanny
“Here for Now”................................................................................. Gabriel, Nanny
“Why, Lord?”....................................................................................... The Enslaved
“Death or Liberty”.............................................................................. The Enslaved
ACT TWO
“Feel the Rage”.................................................................................. The Enslaved
“What’s Right”................................................................................. Gabriel, Taylor
“Bring Me On Home” .................................................................................. Martin
“Like This”...................................................................... Gabriel, Prosser, Monroe
“Feed the Flame”.................................................................................... Company
Somewhere around May 2019, I'd cut or replaced more songs than were still in the show. Here are a few that had to be cut along the way:
An earlier version of the show had 22 actors, including Delia, Nanny's younger sister. In "Don't Need No Man," Nanny insists to Delia that she has no interest in Gabriel, or in any other man, for that matter.
An earlier version of the show had 22 actors, including Delia, Nanny's younger sister. In "Don't Need No Man," Nanny insists to Delia that she has no interest in Gabriel, or in any other man, for that matter.
In "The Man is Mine," the well-to-do Lucy Hylton, engaged to be married to the plantation owner Thomas Prosser, demeans Delia, Nanny's younger sister, the enslaved girl Prosser has been raping. I had to remove both Delia and Lucy from the plot in order to get the show down to a more producible 8 actors.