Synopsis
Songs From The Tall Grass is a story from America's heartland and follows a homestead family in the 1860s as they make their way up the ladder of life. Seen through the eyes of a modern-day NARRATOR - who breaks the fourth wall and seamlessly travels between the past and the present as he unearths his own journey of discovery - Songs From The Tall Grass is based on diaries and journals from the 1800s and incorporates songs from the time that have been beautifully updated for a modern ear. As the NARRATOR guides us, we follow the FATHER, MOTHER, DAUGHTER, SON and BABY as they begin their journey to a new land that both confounds and replenishes. Their desire for the 160 acres of free land offered by the United States government puts them at odds with the emotional, physical, and psychological price of this boon from Uncle Sam. Vast, open prairie contrasts sharply with dark, one-room, windowless houses made of sod; the thrill of land ownership plays heavily against the death of loved ones; bountiful crops give way to the robber baron railroads, unforgiving weather, insect infestations, and the "Red Buffalo" prairie fires.
Yet, hope perseveres and love abounds as the DAUGHTER, after the death of her MOTHER and the emotional collapse of her FATHER, marries the BACHELOR - a man very much her senior. Kind and compassionate, together they build on the dream that was begun by the DAUGHTER'S original family. Overcoming defeat, forming the Grange, and giving women on the prairie the right to vote, together the BACHELOR turned HUSBAND and DAUGHTER turned WIFE, forge the life her parents had only dreamed.
Punctuated by a gaggle of CHILDREN who offer a delightful view into prairie life - everything from Buffalo Bounce, a jumping game played on dead, swollen buffalo; to laundry day routines and schoolboy pranks - Songs From The Tall Grass delivers poignant, yet often hilarious observations of homestead life - observations which not so surprisingly, mirror our own modern day struggles.
Like a hooked rug from the past, Songs From The Tall Grass weaves an interlocking collection of stories that bring immigrant pioneers from worlds apart in direct contact with FUR TRAPPERS and NATIVE AMERICANS. At the junction of these diverse civilizations, beauty and grace are defined by a sincere hope for the future. Interspersed with songs such as, It Never Pays To Fret and Growl; Be Kind To The Loved Ones At Home; and I Love Thee (sung in the original Cherokee language it was written in), Songs From The Tall Grass speaks in a voice from the past that can be clearly heard in the present. Ending with A Hundred Years From Now - a powerful song with prophetic lyrics that were written in 1899 and asks what the world will be like in 100 years - Songs From The Tall Grass leaves audiences laughing, crying, and feeling empowered by the past - as well as hopeful about the future. 