Tom and Sally – Musical
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings had a clandestine, illicit, and loving relationship; and Thomas allegedly fathered six of Sally’s children. Sally Hemings’ mother, Betty, was biracial, and Betty’s father, Captain John Hemings, was white. Sally’s father was John Wayles, who was the father of Jefferson’s wife, Martha. Sally Hemings was half-sister to Jefferson’s wife and three quarters white.
When Jefferson served as United States Minister to France, Sally Hemings joined Jefferson in France to care for his daughter along with Sally’s elder brother, James. At the age of 16, Sally became pregnant. Sally was about 16 years old, and Jefferson 44. Although Sally and her brother James were free in France (which had abolished slavery), Sally agreed to return to Monticello with the understanding that Jefferson promised to free her children when they became of age at 21.
Tom & Sally: A Slave to Love is a fictional account of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
Songs:
Act One
When I Cross That River (Song 1) Chorus
Looking for an Angel (Song 2) Sally solo
Down Slavery’s Road (Song 3) Chorus
Monticello (Song 5) chorus with duets
Down-Home Hoedown (Song 5) Chorus
(Happily) Never After (Song 6) Tom Solo
As Old as the Hills (Song 7) Betty & Chorus
The River Styx (Song 8) Tom solo
The Good Lord is Comin’ for Me (Song 9) Chorus
One Nation, Fair and Free (Song 10) Tom, Sally & Chorus
She’s a Woman (Song 11) Tom Solo
Declaration of Independence (Song 12) Jefferson & Male Chorus
Passage to My Heart (Song 13) Tom & Sally Duet
Virginia’s Real (Song 14) Square Dance
Act Two
Jump the Broom (Song 15) Chorus
Evening Love (Song 16) Sally Solo
A Human Soul (Song 17) Male Solo, James Hemings
Callender’s Revenge (Song 18) Male Solo, Callender
A Mother’s Lullaby (Song 19) Sally Solo
A Slave to Love (Song 20) Sally Solo
Many Thousands Gone (Song 21) Male & Female Solo
A Yankee Doodle Scandal (Song 22) Male Solo
Love is the Loneliest Thing (Song 23) Tom & Sally Duet
Jefferson, the Virginian (Song 24) Chorus
I’ll Head for a New Horizon (Song 25) Madison Hemings Solo
America, The Promised Land (Song 26) Chorus, finale
Cast of Characters
Thomas Jefferson
Hemings:
Sally, slave and mistress of Thomas Jefferson
Betty, mother of Sally, slave and mistress of John Wayles
James, brother of Sally
Madison, son of Sally and Tom
Slaves:
Caleb
Sam
Sukie
Martha Wayles Jefferson
Concerned Gentlemen (3)
Virginia Statesmen (4)
Richard Henry Lee
George Wythe
Carter Braxton
Thomas Nelson Jr.
James Callender, a journalist and local political figure
Aide (or Virginia Statesman)
Setting
Mid 1770s. Monticello, the Virginia estate of Thomas Jefferson.
Act One
Scene 1: on the road to Monticello from the Wayles’ Plantation
Scene 2: the main hall of Monticello, with private room off to one side
Scene 3: the grounds of Monticello, including slave quarters, graveyard
Scene 4: the hall at Monticello
Act Two
Scene 1: the grounds and hall of Monticello
Scene 2: twenty years later, a public road
Scene 3: a few years later, the grounds and hall of Monticello