 | An easy, flexible, 25-minute musical play for grades 2-6. Comes with the script, audio recording (with both a vocal and instrumental version of each song), and a teacher's guide. No music or drama experience needed! |
 | ✓ Funny script ✓ Catchy tunes ✓ Flexible casting ✓ Dumb jokes
An exploration of westward expansion and "Manifest Destiny" in the U.S., 1801-1869. Learn more! |
MusicalGr. 2-625 Min.
Musical Play: “The Incredible Westward Movement”
Complete Script & Audio: $45 (other items also available)
We sell wonderful, short, funny plays and musicals for use in your classroom, after-school program, drama club, music class, summer school program, homeschool, and any other place where kids can thrive by participating in theater! If you are not familiar with us or how to use theater to teach, check out our Q&As.
Synopsis
Follow the exciting adventures of Delivery Girl as she races across the country desperately trying to deliver packages to Americans who keep "movin' West." She'll meet Daniel Boone, James Monroe and Thomas Jefferson, Sacajawea, 49ers, and even prairie children working the land. Delivering packages is a rough job, but someone's got to do it!
Preview the script and songs!Key Concepts
The Incredible Westward Movement mentions and reinforces the following curriculum:
- Why folks went west
- Daniel Boone
- The Louisiana Purchase
- Sacajawea with Lewis and Clark
- The Trail of Tears
- The Oregon Trail
- California Gold Rush
- Farmers on the prairie
- Transcontinental Railroad
The Incredible Westward Movement is a great complement to your curriculum resources in elementary and middle school history. And, like all of our plays, this show can be used to improve reading, vocabulary, reading comprehension, performance and music skills, class camaraderie and teamwork, and numerous social skills (read about it!) -- all while enabling students to be part of a truly fun and creative experience they will never forget!
Aligned with national standards! View the standards and vocabulary.Publication Info
Author: Ron Fink (Composer) and John Heath (Book and Lyrics)
ISBN:
978-1-886588-17-2
© 2000
Bad Wolf Press, LLC
6 reviews for Musical Play: “The Incredible Westward Movement”
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The Show
We want you to know what you're getting, so the cast list and first third of the script are available here! Bad Wolf shows are written for flexibility and can be edited however you like to meet the needs of your actors, school, curriculum, parents, astrological chart, latest whim, etc. If you have questions about the portions of the script not shown, please contact us.
Casting
Flexible casting from 11-40 students. Use as many Explorers, Discovery Guys, etc. as desired. Actors can easily play several roles, or a single role can be divided between multiple actors. All parts can be played by any gender.
CHARACTERS:
Delivery Girl(s)
Daniel Boone and Explorers
Porter
James Monroe
Thomas Jefferson
St. Louis Man
Corps of Discovery Guys
Sacajawea
Cherokee
Wagon Family
49ers
Prairie Children
Union Pacific Crew
Central Pacific Crew
Chorus (made up of all students not playing roles at the time)
Script
This is the first one-third of the script.
(KIDS move quickly back and forth across the stage, entering and exiting. THEY carry suitcases, dufflebags, etc.—in general they look like they’re in a hurry and going some place. A DELIVERY GIRL enters with a package. SHE tries to stop several people walking by, but they move swiftly past.)
DELIVERY GIRL (to one person): Excuse me, I was wondering…
(to another person)
Pardon me, I’m looking for…
(to a third person)
Hey, do you know where I can find…
(looking frustrated, SHE stops and shouts very loudly to no one
in particular)
Has anybody here seen Daniel Boone?!
(EVERYONE stops and stares; people finally notice her)
PERSON #1: Daniel Boone? He’s been gone for weeks.
DELIVERY GIRL: But I’ve got a package for him, special delivery.
Here, listen.
(SHE shakes box very hard—rattling can be heard)
I think it’s cookies.
PERSON #2: Well he’s long gone by now.
DELIVERY GIRL: But where did he go?
PERSON #1: Where’d he go? Why, he went where EVERYBODY’S going.
DELIVERY GIRL: Where IS everybody going?
ENTIRE CLASS: West!
DELIVERY GIRL: West?
Song 1
Listen to
a sample!
CLASS (sings):
Now so many people are leaving town
The dust is thick as fog
STUDENTS #1 and #2:
There goes my boss, there goes Aunt Jane
STUDENT #3:
And hey there goes my dog!
STUDENT #4:
I’m trying to find a good place to farm
Where we can start anew
CLASS:
Now all the country’s westward bound
STUDENT #3:
My cat is packing too!
CLASS:
We’re going West
Going West
Can’t you see?
Destiny
Is manifest
’Cause everyone is going West.
STUDENT #5:
I look for adventure and space to roam
STUDENT #6:
I’m running from my debts
STUDENT #7:
I’m looking for a pot of gold
STUDENT #3:
I’m looking for my pets.
STUDENT #8:
Does anyone know the best place to go?
Or which route you should take?
STUDENT #9:
Has anybody checked a map?
STUDENT #3:
Has someone seen my snake?
CLASS (screams): Aaach!
We’re going West
Going West
Can’t you see?
Destiny
Is manifest
’Cause everyone is going West
’Cause everyone is going West
’Cause everyone is going West.
(CLASS exits. DANIEL BOONE walks in, carrying an ax and wearing his famous coonskin cap. He stops, looks all around, seems pleased and stops for a moment. He takes off his cap and starts talking to it. At this point a student can mark on the map the move west towards Louisville.)
DANIEL BOONE: Well, Betsy, it looks like we’ve finally found some true wilderness. It’s getting’ so there just ain’t a decent spot that isn’t all clogged up with civilization. I think you and me can set up camp here and find some peace and quiet.
DELIVERY GIRL (entering a few seconds later, excited): Daniel Boone! Daniel Boone! I’ve been looking all over the Appalachians for you.
DANIEL (quickly putting cap back on; to DELIVERY GIRL): Who are you?
DELIVERY GIRL: I’ve got a box for you.
DANIEL: How’d you find me? I’ve been tryin’ to avoid folks like you.
DELIVERY GIRL: I just followed your trail—you really ought to take a bath.
DANIEL: I did. Just three months ago.
(Taking off cap and talking to it.)
Must be you, Betsy.
(Putting back on cap)
That does it. Time to move on—it’s getting crowded around
here.
Song 2
Listen to
a sample!
Oh I discovered yesterday
There’s neighbors 50 miles away
It’s hard to breathe, I’ve gotta flee
A man can’t get no privacy.
I find some place not on the map
To hunt some deer and set some traps
I turn around, what do I find?
A swarm of people right behind!
(At the word “SWARM,” several WILDERNESS EXPLORERS enter,
dressed just like DANIEL BOONE)
DANIEL:
Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo):
Gotta get a move on
DANIEL:
Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo):
Gotta get a move on
DANIEL:
Leave me be or else I just might snap.
Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo):
Gotta get a move on
DANIEL:
Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo):
Gotta get a move on
DANIEL:
It’s just me and my old coonskin cap.
Kentucky’s just too cramped for me
There’re hundreds now in Tennessee
And every time I settle down
Some folks decide to build a town!
(More EXPLORERS could enter here)
DANIEL: Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo): Gotta get a move on
DANIEL: Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo): Gotta get a move on
DANIEL: Leave me be or else I just might snap.
Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo): Gotta get a move on
DANIEL: Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo): Gotta get a move on
DANIEL: It’s just me and my old coonskin cap.
DANIEL and CHORUS:
Gotta get a move on
Gotta get a move on
Gotta get a move on
Gotta get a move on
DANIEL: Leave me be or else I just might snap.
Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo): Gotta get a move on
DANIEL: Gotta get a move on
EXPLORERS (echo): Gotta get a move on
DANIEL and CHORUS: It’s just me and my old coonskin cap.
(exit)
(We now see a DELIVERY GIRL walking up to a very fancy door. SHE knocks. A PORTER answers.)
PORTER: Yes?
DELIVERY GIRL: I’ve got a package for James Monroe.
PORTER: I’m sorry, but he’s unavailable.
DELIVERY GIRL: Don’t tell me HE’s gone West too?
PORTER: No. Mr. Monroe is speaking with President Jefferson at the moment. In secret. Big stuff. VERY big stuff. Hush, hush, very very secret.
DELIVERY GIRL: Can I listen in?
PORTER: Sure, come on in.
(MONROE and JEFFERSON enter, talking.)
MONROE: Mr. President, this is our chance. I think Napoleon will sell
us the Louisiana territory—all the land between the Mississippi
and
the Rockies.
(HE points it out on giant map)
JEFFERSON: What? That’s 800,000 square miles! I was thinking perhaps we could buy just New Orleans, Florida, maybe get some of those little chocolate thingies in the bargain.
MONROE: You mean truffles?
JEFFERSON: I LOVE those. And some toast. Nobody makes toast like the French.
MONROE: But Mr. President—think of it. The Louisiana Purchase. You’d double the size of the nation with one signature.
JEFFERSON: What about those truffles?
MONROE: Sure, we could get some them too!
Song 3
Listen to
a sample!
Let’s go to France and do some shopping
Let’s go to France and buy some stuff
Perfume, pastries, fancy clothes
The other folks can buy all those
We need land, we just can’t have enough!
CLASS: La la la la
JEFFERSON and MONROE:
Let’s go to France and do some shopping
Let’s go to France and eat some snails
When the escargot are escargone
Let’s buy the Rockies and beyond
I hear half the continent’s on sale!
It’s just three cents an acre
We’ve got that kind of dough
We’ll take 500 million
Please wrap ’em up to go.
JEFFERSON, MONROE, and CHORUS:
Let’s go to France and do some shopping
Let’s go to France and buy some land
JEFFERSON (shouted): And some truffles!
JEFFERSON, MONROE, and CHORUS:
The U.S. now is twice the size
That sure is one of our better buys
Let’s head west and get ourselves a tan.
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la land.
(ALL exit. DELIVERY GIRL has a package.)
DELIVERY GIRL (walking along, shouting): Meriwether Lewis, Meriwether Lewis. I have a package here for Meriwether Lewis.
MAN (approaching): Excuse me, but you aren’t looking for Meriwether Lewis, as in Lewis and Clark the explorers, are you?
DELIVERY GIRL: Yes I am. That’s why I’ve come to St. Louis.
MAN: But Lewis and Clark left a year ago, searching for the great Northwest passage, the fabled water route from here to the Pacific.
DELIVERY GIRL: Nuts.
MAN: Excuse me?
DELIVERY GIRL: I’ve got a box full of nuts for Mr. Lewis. Pecans.
Cashews. They’re very good.
(Opening box, offering some to stranger)
Want one? I think there’re some left.
MAN: No thanks.
DELIVERY GIRL (Walking on, shouting): Meriwether Lewis. Meriwether Lewis.
MAN: Didn’t you hear me? He’s long gone.
DELIVERY GIRL: I know. But I love saying the word Meriwether.
MAN: I wonder how those two men and their Corps of Discovery are doing.
(CORPS OF DISCOVERY GUYS enter, looking pretty dirty and beat-up, talking to SACAJAWEA, the Shoshone wife of one of the guides)
CORPS GUY #1: Please, Sacajawea. You were born in these parts. You can guide us through the Shoshone territory.
SACAJAWEA: But it has been many years since I lived with the Shoshone.
CORPS GUY #2: We need your help—I’m not sure Lewis and Clark know what they’re doing.
Song 4
CORPS GUYS:
Looking for a northwest passage
Looking for the sea
Hoping that the hungry grizzlies
Aren’t looking for me.
Stumbling through a land uncharted
It’s no walk in the park
Getting lost in America…with Lewis and Clark.
SACAJAWEA:
Maybe I can recall the land of my childhood.
Maybe I can recall the land of my childhood.
CORPS GUYS:
Looking for a water highway
We’ve found lots of mud
Flees, tics, and immense mosquitoes
They’ve drained off our blood.
Seen so many wondrous creatures
We should have an ark
Getting lost in America…with Lewis and Clark.
SACAJAWEA:
Maybe I can recall the land of my childhood.
Maybe I can recall the land of my childhood.
CORPS GUYS:
Sacajawea please help us
Sacajawea lead the way
Sacajawea
It’s so good to see ya
Give us some help today.
SACAJAWEA:
I’ll help and we’ll find the passage
We will find the sea
Read maps and consult your compass
Then just follow me.
SACAJAWEA, CORPS GUYS, CHORUS:
Stumbling through a land uncharted
It’s no walk in the park
Getting lost in America…with Lewis and Clark.
(This concludes the first one-third of the script.)
The Songs
Click on any song to listen to a snippet. Click the cart icon to purchase any track for $1.
Standards
Common Core and Other National Standards
History/Social Studies
- National History Standard 5 for K-4th
- National US History Standards, Era 4, for 5th-12th
- National Social Studies Standards 2, 3, 5, and 6
Language Arts
- Common Core Reading Standards for Literature: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
- Common Core Reading Standards: Foundational Skills:
- Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards: Comprehension and Collaboration - 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
- Common Core Language Standards: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use -3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
- Common Core Standard 10: Range, Quality & Complexity:
National Core Arts Standards
- Music - Anchor Standards 4-6
- Theater - Anchor Standards 3-6
- Dance - Anchor Standards 1-6
Vocabulary
pardon
anew
manifest destiny
roam
flee
truffle
escargot
acre
loom
sown
“anchors aweigh”
breeches
sodbuster
turf
Historical Terms
Appalachians
Napoleon
Mississippi River
Rockies
The Louisiana Purchase
Northwest Passage
Shoshone
Cherokee
Trail of Tears
prairie schooner
Willamette Valley
Cape Horn
Donner Party
transcontinental railroad
the golden spike
Vocabulary From Stage Directions
dufflebag
swift
particular
coonskin
davimary –
Yikes! This is complete erasure of the history of indigenous populations on this land. This is not amusing, children’s perceptions’ of history will be damaged if exposed to this play. Do better Bad Wolf Press.
Store manager admin –
Thank you for your feedback! While we never intended to erase indigenous populations in this show, this play was written 25 years ago when educational standards and expectations of historical presentations were quite different. Parents didn’t want to see much ugliness, even if true, in a school play — that was supposed to be taught behind the scenes. We recognize that expectations and awareness have changed! The topic needs a whole new approach and we intend to write a different play about westward expansion.
Mrs. Kirby (verified owner) –
This is a fantastic resource! I have read the teacher's manual front to back several times and feel 100% equipped to direct this play in a successful fashion. My students are really enjoying the songs and it lines up so well with the westward expansion unit in our History curriculum. Thank you so much for putting the time and effort into creating this amazing work, it is so appreciated by this 4th grade, and very novice theatre, teacher!
Leah Clark (verified owner) –
We presented the play "Incredible Westward Movement" with our 3/4 grade class, as they are studying Idaho History. The students loved the play, and the sense of humor was right on for this grade level. The songs were easy to learn, and the historical content was there.
I always struggle with the white-washing and retelling of Manifest Destiny, without a conversation of the cost to First Nations. I appreciated the addition of the Trail of Tears, however I was unsure how to cast a group of non-native students in those roles. Sacagawea was similarly challenging.
Overall, the play was a hit. Students and parents reacted positively to the performance and it was really fun for them to demonstrate their learning with singing and dancing, rather than writing an essay or taking a test.
Mary Carriker, 3rd Grade Teacher (verified owner) –
My Third Grade class is preparing to perform the musical, "Incredible Westward Movement." The kids LOVE the songs! We recently had a field trip and they sang all the songs during our bus ride! The lyrics reinforce what we've been learning in our Westward Expansion Unit in Social Studies, and truly make the characters come alive. The students are especially excited to learn about the specific character they are playing in the musical. Thanks for helping to make learning so much fun!
garnet (verified owner) –
This is a great history lesson set to music. The children ages 6-11 have really been enjoying rehearsals, and are looking forward to our show.
SLcms (verified owner) –
Overall, this is a fun and easy to use script. The music is a little tricky, down beats and complicated counts, but practicing with the music including lyrics helped the students. Great opportunities for social studies lessons throughout! Older students think the jokes are lame, but younger elementary love it.