Mulberry
Music, Lyrics, and Book by James Olm
In the heart of Wisconsin, a dairy farm family, spanning three generations and three wars, faces the tug-of-war of societal attitudes that deal with tradition, family, growing up, and what it is to be a man. A home-grown musical that explores many of the conflicts of the 1960’s and how they affect the family. Honest and painful, yet fascinating in its exploration.
Roles
- 3 women
- 8 Males
Rated – PG – Language, some intensity.
Tech Rating – Simple
Song Recordings
Synopsis
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.
