I want YOU to produce this musical!
SAM AND NAM
The Musical
Mrs. Liberty, Sam's wife.
SAM = Uncle Sam; NAM = Vietnam
2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.
A moving picture or "live" performance of SAM AND NAM would serve to commemorate this historical milestone.
Synopsis
Prologue
The musical, OKLAHOMA, begins with a cowboy singing "Oh What A Beautiful Morning." SAM AND NAM begins with two Simon & Garfunkel-type folksingers singing a protest song, "The Ballad Of Sam And Nam." [Click Songs Page]
Uncle Sam comes home to dinner (Easter weekend) and threatens his wife with a handgun when she tells him he can't have guns and butter. Mrs. Liberty dials 911.
Act I
Sam has been placed in a mental institution--for observation. Sam tells the psychiatrist he used to be popular. "We Love You, Uncle Sam, Part One." [Click Songs Page] Lately, Sam feels nobody likes him. "Part Two:" [Click Songs Page] Sam meets four inmates: George Washington (bass); Benjamin Franklin (baritone); Thomas Jefferson (lead); and Alexander Hamilton (tenor). They warn Sam about "The Black Box." (Where they put you when you're naughty.) [Click Songs Page] The inmates are kept ignorant of current events. Sam has to explain the Vietnam conflict to them. They become depressed, then sing about the good old days, "In Revolutionary Times." [Click Songs Page] Enter Prophet of Doom. He warns the end of the world is near. After his depressing tirade, he exits. Benjamin Franklin, and the other 3 patriots sing "Early To Bed," [Click Songs Page] The song is full of pithy sayings. To get well, the psychiatrist tells Mrs. Liberty that Sam must learn to solve his problems without resorting to violence (war). In the ballad, "Sam," Mrs. Liberty vows to stand by her man. [Click Songs Page]
Act II
Before the inmate's t. v. That old "play within a play" cliche. Excerpts from 7 t. v. programs are presented. Uncle Sam, always dressed in red, white & blue, is the focus of each skit. Gun Smoke; he is Marshall Sam (Matt Dillon). Batman; he is BatSam. BatSam and Robin sing a Bat Song duet. [Click Songs Page] An animated cartoon. Sam (LBJ) is Capt. Sam (U. S. Navy). Tarzan; he is Bwana Sam. Basketball game, half-time interview; he is coach Sam. Star Trek; he is spaceship Commander Sam (Kirk). Aliens sing a patriotic anthem, "Puce, Chartreuse And Gold." [Click Songs Page] The final skit is a song, "Secret Documents," from a bogus opera, DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. [Click Songs Page] These skits represent a tongue-in-cheek history of the Vietnam conflict.
Act III
Compulsory chapel service. "Duty, Honor And Country" [Click Songs Page] is sung by the inmates, followed by a duet, "Unspoken War Prayer." [Click Songs Page] (Mark Twain wrote this war prayer after the civil war and before World War One. Evidently Twain was disgusted by the jingoism surrounding the Spanish American War in the Philippines.) In his sermon, the Chaplain claims the Bible does not judge participation in war as a wicked activity. Rioting ensues when the Prophet of Doom interrupts the sermon. He insists that the Bible does indeed label war an evil endeavor. Uncle Sam spearheads an attack on the Prophet Of Doom. Both are placed in solitary confinement. Mrs. Liberty pressures the psychiatrist, who, because it's Easter weekend, decides to release one of the prisoners from solitary confinement. The Inmates get to select the lucky fellow. The inmates choose Sam. Reprise of "We Love You, Uncle Sam Part One.” [Click Songs Page] Sam believes he is cured because...EVERYBODY LOVES HIM AGAIN!