Home on the Mornin' Train - USA/Canada ONLY

1839, Talledega, Alabama and slavery is alive and doing quite well in the United States

1939, Hamburg, Germany and Hitler has called for the extermination of Jews

Jewish children Rifka and Aaron are sent by their parents into hiding with the Westemeier family in rural Germany

Soon they are joined by other Jewish children, Baruch, David and Ledah. The plan is to take them by boat to safety in Denmark

While in hiding, the Jewish children read from a first-person account of a runaway teenage slave named Brave Mary

They learn of the history of slavery in the United States and Brave Mary's story of escaping an Alabama plantation in the 1830s

Brave Mary is joined in her escape by Katie-Mae and a young boy named Kindred. The means of survival for both groups of children is the Underground Railroad

The Westemeier's son, Karl, helps his father smuggle the Jewish children out of Germany

In America, Adelaide, the daughter of an abolitionist banker, gives asylum to runaway slaves on their flight to freedom. Olivia, a slave, puts herself in jeopardy as she uses her owner's boat to ferry blacks across the Ohio River. Trials and tribulations beset both groups of children

However, the Jewish children are inspired by the strength and courage of the black children trying to find their way to Canada, as they make their own way to Denmark

This play has songs that reflect African-American and Jewish cultures, and small pieces of dialogue are spoken in German, Yiddish and Hebrew

Area staging - runs about 75 minutes

Songs

"Steal Away"
"Follow the Drinking Gourd"
"You Are the Plowman and You Sow"
"Oh, Freedom"
"Wade in the Water"
"Shlof of Mayn Kind"
"I'm Goin' Home on the Mornin' Train"

All the songs used in the play are in public domain

"I'm Goin' Home on the Mornin' Train" can be found at the back of the playbookand the rest are are widely available

The author suggests that you contact a Baptist of AME Black church and a synagogue for assistance with the music

This contact was made for the original production and proved to be invaluable to the production and in the community support for the show

Songs from Black culture include "Steal Away," "Follow the Drinking Gourd," "Oh, Freedom," "Wade in the Water" and "I'm Goin' Home on the Mornin' Train"

Songs from Jewish culture include "You are the Plowman and You Sow" and "Sholf Mayn Kind."