Act I:

It’s 1998, at a small farm outside of Whitewater, Wisconsin. Bär Miller, a healthy 74-year-old dairy farmer is sitting on his porch whittling a cross in his Sunday suit. He looks out at his mulberry tree and watches his memories come to life. He sees his 10-year-old son, Bean Miller in the tree playing. Bär is fighting these memories that come into his mind as he sings to the mulberry tree. (“Mulberry.” This song goes through the rest of the scene)

Bär walks under the tree where the cross of June, his wife, is standing. More memories. Bean pulls his mom over to the bridal wreath and shows her that the flowers have bloomed, right on time – Memorial Day weekend. June tells the story about the flowers representing angels of loved ones gone. Bär approaches the mulberry tree again and tells it that he has no regrets in his life and that the tree can keep those memories to itself. Another memory.

His two sons, Mick and Bean are having a squirt gun fight. Bean finally surrenders to his older brother and as a consequence, has to bathe after Mick in the same bath water. They do their secret handshake, followed by a scream of “Brothers Unite,” and they’re off running. Bär tells the tree to get rid of the memories. There’s nothing good about them when you’re alone.

A stranger comes walking by and smells the bridal wreath flowers. Bär tells him about their Memorial Day connection and that he’s a vet of World War II. Back to his whittling, Bär abruptly ends the conversation but the stranger keeps hanging around. The stranger tells him that he’s visiting today, going to Bean Miller’s funeral. Bär tells him he’s Bean’s father, while the stranger says he was a long-ago friend of Mick and Bean. Bär reminisces how both Mick and Bean got into trouble a lot when they were young. Memory.

1967. Mick and Bean are crawling out of their second story bedroom window at night. Bean is going through a rite of passage. Mick helps him get down and they shout “Brothers unite!” (“Brothers Unite”) They are heading over to old Mrs. Strakken’s huge apple tree. As they’re going there, Mick has Bean do the “Initiation Pledge.” They get to Strakken’s yard, sneak in, and start climbing the apple tree. Mick is so brave – he’s done this millions of times. It’s a first for Bean – his rite of passage.

Once up in the tree, they can see the world! And finally, the climax and reward for making it there – one of the juiciest apples in the county. While eating their apples up in the tree, they talk about the Vietnam War and their worries about it, and then they talk about girls. Bean wants to know whether Mick has ever kissed a girl. Mick tells him to shut up or get a fist in the face.

Their neighborhood friend Kari has followed them and shows up at the tree. She wants to join them but to no avail. Suddenly, Mrs. Strakken shows up at her second floor, bedroom window. She hears the boys and so they start heading down the tree fast. A branch breaks and suspends Bean hanging still up high. Mick takes charge, helps him down and they run like the wind. Bean thanks Mick for helping him and making the night so special. They restate their pledge to each other. (“Brothers Unite-Reprise 1”) Finally in their home yard, they see their dad, Young Bär, waiting on the porch. They are in trouble. Memory over.

The stranger, now sitting with Old Bär, chuckles about “kids.” But Old Bär will have nothing to do with it. He’s angry at Mick, because he should have known better. He saw Mick as a rebel, and felt that Mick needed to grow up and learn the ways of the responsible farmer. Memory.

1967, the next early morning. Young Bär makes Mick get up and milk all the cows as punishment for what he did the night before. Mick complains that he didn’t do anything wrong. Young Bär scolds him even more for being irresponsible. June comes in wondering why Mick is up with Young Bär so early in the morning. Despite June’s pleading to go easy on Mick since he’s still only a 14-year-old boy. Young Bär tells her that Mick must learn and act like a man if he is ever to eventually take over the farm. (“Be a Man”) As Young Bär starts milking a cow during the song, he starts to get more and more agitated, until he starts hearing WWII gunfire and bombs. He starts losing it. Mick runs over to calm him down and “wake him up.” Young Bär regains his composure, tells Mick to milk the rest of the row, and he leaves, never addressing his PTSD. Memory over.

The stranger is a little put off at the harshness of Bär’s punishment. He thinks that Mick perhaps, was just trying to be a good brother to Bean. Old Bär starts arguing with him. The stranger was saying that he remembered times when Mick would come up to him crying because of some of the cruel things that he said about Mick. Old Bär retaliates by saying Mick got what he deserved. The stranger responds my asking, “He deserved to die in Vietnam?” Memory.

1943. Young Bär is milking a cow and his father and German immigrant, Grandpa Miller, comes in to join him. He milks another cow. While both are milking, Young Bär asks his father what made him enlist in the Great War and whether he was scared. Grandpa Miller responds by saying a man has to do what a man has to do – it was the right thing to do. The country needed him to fight, so he fought. And it was hard to leave Young Bär’s mother, even though it was probably harder on her then him. But she was a strong woman. Young Bär asked whether he should sign up for the war now. Grandpa responds by saying that Bär’s journey is up to him alone, and he must live with it. (“It’s Up Ta’ You”) But, the world gives plenty without asking, and so people should also give without asking. Memory over.

Old Bär asks the stranger to leave. The stranger tosses an old, flattened penny with a shoelace cord toward Bär, saying it was a gift to him from Bean. Maybe this will jar Bär’s memory of things that really happened. That perhaps, it wasn’t all Mick being a rebel. Memory.

1967. Mick and Bean have a birthday surprise for their ma, and pa comes along. They are having to follow them a mile out in the country to where the railroad tracks are. Bean pulls out a penny and Mick puts it on the track. Now they wait for the train. Mick and Bean have a balancing contest on the rails, which Mick of course wins. While the kids have a rematch, June and Young Bär talk about June’s youth, when she jumped on a freight train to see the country. (“Rollin’”) As she reminisces, she starts to relive that moment on the box car. She shouts for Bär to join her, and he does. Together they feel the wind while riding. The train sounds begin to remind Young Bär of the war and suddenly, he hops down and begins to fight in the war, shouting “Ernie!” June quickly tries to calm him by quietly singing, admitting that she is where she really wants to be, and where she belongs in life – with Bär. He slowly comes back to her.

The train whistle gets louder. The four of them run to the windmill and climb it. They watch the train pass and wave to the engineer. He toots back. The train long past, Mick and Bean run to the track, and then make something out of the flattened penny – a birthday necklace for June. She overcome with emotion, and they all happily leave for home. Memory over.

Old Bär is furious that the stranger had that necklace, and that it again brought back memories. They begin arguing about why the stranger is doing this and that no matter what, it will not break down Old Bär. (“Not On Your Life”) The stranger ends by accusing Bär of closing his eyes to important remembrances. Memory.

1967. That evening of June’s birthday. They’re setting up for eating outside at the picnic table with corn on the cob and bratwursts. Grandpa and Young Bär are grilling the brats. Bean states that he thinks it would be fun to grow up to be a farmer. Young Bär jumps on that by talking about the generations of Millers who were farmers – all the way back to Germany. Grandpa immigrated over to Wisconsin and started the farm there. Young Bär insinuates that Mick will continue the tradition of being the farmer. Mick however, wants to go to college and be a teacher. This makes Bär furious. To him, tradition is all-important. It’s everything. Mick has to be a farmer. (“Tradition – Part I”) Grandpa then tries to throw away all the brats on the grill. Young Bär stops him and asks what he’s doing. Grandpa states that it’s a tradition to grill the brats length-wise on the grill. Bär is grilling them cross-wise. Grandpa’s point being, even though tradition has been broken, the brats are still good – just like when traditions are broken with kids. (“It’s Up Ta’ You – Reprise 1”) This only makes Bär angrier and he begins to rant on about the importance of tradition. (“Tradition – Part II) To make his final point, it’s tradition to give birthday presents after the cake. Mick and Bean gave June the necklace earlier in the afternoon. Bär tears off June’s necklace and throws it in the hot coals of the grill. Furious, Mick runs off, and Bean is shocked frozen. June shames Bär and then exits into the house fuming. Grandpa looks at Bär in disgust, and grabs a bratwurst from the grill and throws it down onto the ground. Young Bär slowly walks away.

Act II:

Back in 1998, the stranger is still there, and Old Bär is looking at the charred necklace, remembering how much June loved it. Although, things were never the same between June and Bär after that one incident. June was strong. Memory.

1943. June is sitting on the porch swing. Young Bär is getting ready to be deployed into the military service. He comes out in his uniform, complete with utility sack over his shoulder. June checks him out and tells him how handsome he is. She then asks Bär to sit with her on the porch swing. They realize this is their last moments together for a long time. (“Just Swing”) They profess their love for each other, and after Bär gets picked up and is driving away, June promises to always leave a spot free for him on the swing until he gets home. Memory over.

Old Bär misses June, saying that she was the glue that kept the family together. It was hard, considering that Mick was a black sheep. The stranger accuses Bär of not even knowing his own son, that as it turns out, the stranger knew Mick better than Bär did. Bär accused Mick of never growing up and being a man. Memory.

1970. Neighbor friend Kari and Mick are exploring the old Miller barn. Mick is showing her how he used to play Zorro in the barn, swinging on a hanging rope and doing sword fights. Kari plays the damsel in distress and Mick, as Zorro, swings in to save her. Kari, as the damsel, then grabs Mick and states that the damsel would then give him a huge kiss. And she does. Suddenly, Bean falls off the hayloft platform right in front of them. Mick, furious, starts beating Bean up for spying on them. By the time Kari stops Mick, Bean is out cold. Mick is so sorry and tells Kari to get out of there – that it is all his fault. She leaves and Mick continues to try to wake up Bean. Mick begins to cry. Bean awakens and is ok. Mick, heart-broken, says he’s sorry to Bean and Bean forgives him. Bean remembers Mick kissing Kari and asks if it was his first time, and whether he liked it. Mick said it was his first, but that he didn’t like it. It was like kissing his ma. He then asks Bean if he will swear to keep a secret and to never tell pa because he would kill Mick if he heard about it. Bean promises. Mick admits that he likes guys, not girls. Bean is grossed out, but promises to keep the secret. He then very innocently calls Mick a faggot. Mick totally loses it and chastises his brother. He then runs off. Bean, overloaded with emotion, climbs up the mulberry tree and tries to figure out what all this means. (“What Is Love?”) Bean decides that it doesn’t matter who you love, as long as you do love.

Mick enters, and Bean sees him. He apologizes to Mick and says that he’ll always be a good brother – brothers unite! They climb the tree together and eat tons of mulberries. Memory over.

Old Bär calls the stranger a liar for telling that story. The stranger accuses Bär of closing his eyes and ears to who Mick really is. Bär will have nothing to do with it. He gets more upset and suddenly the sounds of war get louder and louder in his head. It’s painful for Bär. He falls into a memory.

1944, in an amphibian assault craft off the coast of Normandy, Young Bär is waiting for the moment that their door opens and they charge toward the beach. Grandpa is seated next to him on the bench. Warfare noise is huge. Young Bär is scared out of his mind. He’s afraid he’s going to die. He questions why he left June. Grandpa is giving him strength, telling him good will conquer evil, and that he must do this for his country, for June, and for himself. The door splashes open and Young Bär runs out to the yelling support of Grandpa. Memory over.

The stranger asks Old Bär about war flashbacks and Bär admits that he gets them. Bär asks if the stranger is a vet and the stranger says yes, in Vietnam. He then asks Bär why he sent Mick to Vietnam, and Old Bär of course denies doing such a thing. Apparently Mick told the stranger that he had no choice but to enlist, that Bär made him do it. Old Bär says it’s a lie, and the stranger tells him that his whole life is a lie. Memory.

1970. The Miller family is in the living room watching the Draft Lottery, waiting to hear when Mick’s number is called. They all are expressing their own worries about the lottery. (“The Draft Lottery”) Mick’s number is called – 12 – a guarantee that he’ll be sent to Vietnam. He doesn’t want to go. Young Bär screams that it is Mick’s duty and honor to go to Vietnam and that he must do it. He must be a man!

Mick finally has had enough and he confronts his pa. He decides he’s going to go to Canada to dodge the draft. Young Bär slaps him across the face. Mick then admits to his pa that he is homosexual and that he feels he’s more of a man than his pa ever was. (“Invisible”) Bär tells Mick that he nor God loves Mick and that he should put his tail between his legs and go to Canada. Young Bär leaves Mick in disgust. Bean comes over to Mick and tells him he loves him. That’s not enough for Mick. Mick walks out with a recruiter, off to Vietnam to the screams of “No Mick!” from Bean. Memory over.

Old Bär says he did what he had to do. The stranger accuses him of not caring, loving, and supporting his son, Mick. That Mick was only 18 years old and he fought in a war that scared him just to prove to his pa that Mick was a man. Bär felt that Mick had to go to war. The stranger presses him to answer why Mick had to go to war and die. Bär won’t admit why. He would never tell. Then, Old Bär’s PTSD really starts kicking in. Warfare noise again. The pain in his head is excruciating. He screams “forgive me!” Memory.

June 6, 1944. Omaha Beach in Normandy. Grandpa, in a WWI uniform, and Young Bär in a WWII uniform are entrenched on the beach. They must take out that gun turret at the top of the bunker and no one is left in his division to do it. Bär is petrified, but Grandpa tells him it’s up to him to do it – it is his day. Then Grandpa disappears.

Ernie Johnson, another young soldier takes cover behind the hedgehog that Bär is hiding behind. Ernie realizes it is just him and Bär who are still alive to get the job done. Bär wants to wait for reinforcements. Ernie says they can’t wait, that it is their responsibility to take out that bunker. Bär won’t go. Ernie says that they have a job to do and he’s going to do it. He tells Bär to cover him as he zig-zags up to the bunker. Ernie heads out. Bär panics and starts to run the opposite way. He turns around for a second and sees Ernie get shot. Ernie gets back up keeps going. As he’s riddled with bullets, Ernie makes it with one last lunge and throws a grenade into the turret. The bunker is quiet. Bär yells out to Ernie and gets the courage to run to him. Ernie, in Bär’s arms asks if they did it. Bär tells Ernie that he did do it. Ernie dies in Bär’s arms saying that his dad always thought that he would amount to nothing. Memory over.

Old Bär is sobbing, so sorry for what he did. Sorry for being a coward that day. Sorry that it was because of him that Ernie died. The stranger adds that Bär had to make sure that Mick didn’t turn out like him. Bär nods. Suddenly Bär comes to grips with his own haunted past and begins to admit all of the wrongs he made. Joined by Young Bär, Mick, and finally the stranger. (“Bär’s Epiphany) Now broken down, Bär notes the irony of it all, that Mick died a hero in Vietnam and was the “Ernie” of that war. And now with Bean’s funeral in just a few moments from now, Old Bär no longer has any family left to hope for forgiveness. The stranger then tells Bär that he forgives him, calling him pa. The stranger is Mick. He had been mis-identified in the war. Afterward, he needed to walk life slowly for a long time. He did contact Bean later, but they kept Mick’s existence a secret. Brothers unite.

Old Mick now walks to the mulberry tree and eats a berry. He offers one to his pa. Bär walks up to him and they embrace eighteen years of missed moments. (“Mulberry- Reprise 1”) They decide to walk to the funeral together, and as they leave, they look to the tree one more time. There, they see June and Bean, sitting on its branches. June blows a kiss to Bär, who nods and smiles. He puts his arm around Old Mick’s shoulders as they walk off together.