MTI musical · Full-length
Paint Your WagonScript, Piano/Vocal Score & show details
- Full-length · 2 acts
- Large cast (21+), flexible
- Roles: 5 women · 6 men + ensemble
- PG
The printed Paint Your Wagon script comes with your MTI license. The digital version is a separate add-on for your whole cast and crew. See pricing
Paint Your Wagon synopsis
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner · Music by Frederick Loewe
One of the team’s early Broadway collaborations, Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon is an homage to the Old West, featuring gorgeous standards such as “They Call the Wind Maria,” “I Talk to the Trees,” and “Wand’rin’ Star.”
A hardened old California gold prospector, Ben Rumson, strikes it rich when his daughter, Jennifer finds gold and the love of a local miner, Julio. The town grows more populous and prosperous as news of the strike spreads, but Jennifer heads east to attend school. When she returns, Jennifer finds the town abandoned as its citizens head off to another gold strike, leaving Jennifer to reunite with her father and create a new life with Julio.
Full synopsis
Act One
In the midst of the California Gold Rush, a widowed miner, Ben Rumson, and his 16-year-old daughter, Jennifer, discover gold dust. Ben lays claim to the land and soon scores of fortune-seeking prospectors arrive to Rumson ("I'm On My Way"). Soon the entire male population, except Jennifer, reaches 400 and the prospectors plan to send for Cherry and her Fandango Girls ("Rumson").
Jennifer wonders "What's Going On Here?" when a handsome Mexican miner, Julio, arrives from just outside of town and the two connect ("I Talk To Trees"). The prospectors pontificate their wandering lifestyle ("They Call The Wind Maria").
Ben wishes his wife were alive during these tumultous times ("I Still See Elisa") as the all-male population pressures Ben to send Jennifer away. Ben decides to send her east when he discovers her love for Julio ("How Can I Wait?"). A Mormon newcomer, Jacob Woodling, arrives and the prospectors immediately pressure him into bidding one of his two wives, Sarah and Elizabeth ("Trio"). Surprisingly, Ben finds himself attracted to Elizabeth ("In Between"), and bids the highest ("Whoop-Ti-Yay"). A devastated Jennifer is appalled by her father and runs away, promising to reunite with Julio in a year ("Carino Mio"). Cherry and her Fandango Girls arrive to Rumson ("There's A Coach A Comin' In"). Julio discovers his mining is running dry, and must move on from Rumson.
Act Two
A year passes, and now that the Fandango Girls have arrived, the prospectors of Rumson celebrate ("Hand Me Down That Can o' Beans"). Ben is unaware of other miners interest in Elizabeth, and Julio considers investigating a lake rumoured to have gold dust at the bottom ("Another Autumn"). A freshly educated Jennifer returns to Rumson ("All For Him"). Ben explains to Jennifer his desire to move on from Rumson ("Wandrin' Star"). Jennifer learns from the departing Fandango girls of Julio's plan to search for new gold and Elizabeth runs off with another miner, leaving Ben alone.
News of a new strike reaches Rumson and the prospectors pack up and leave. All that remain are Jennifer, waiting for Julio, and Ben, who understands that Rumson is indeed the place for him. Months pass, and a haggard Julio returns to Rumson, surprised to find Jennifer still there. An ailing Ben welcomes him and he and Jennifer are reunited.
Synopsis courtesy of Music Theatre International (MTI).
Paint Your Wagon characters & vocal ranges
The Paint Your Wagon musical has 11 named roles plus an ensemble, for a large cast (21+), and the cast size is flexible. Many roles can be cast across gender. ‘Written as’ reflects how MTI lists each role.
| Character | Written as | Vocal range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Rumson | Male | G4–G2 | A likeable old miner and founder of the newly gold-struck town of Rumson, a place soon over populated with hopeful prospectors. He misses his departed wife, Elisa, and has a 16 year old daughter, Jennifer. |
| Jennifer Rumson | Female | C#5–F3 | Ben's spitfire 16 year old daughter. As the only female inhabitant during the origin of Rumson, she is sent to school back east. Before leaving, she falls in love with a handsome young miner, Julio Valveras. Determined, she promises to reunite with Julio after school. |
| Julio Valveras | Male | G4–Bb2 | A handsome, young miner of Mexican descent. Follows the gold and and falls in love with Jennifer. |
| Steve Bullnack | Male | D4–C3 | A miner in Rumson. |
| Jake Whippany | Male | E4–C3 | A banjo-playing miner in his thirties. Runs a popular music hall in Rumson. |
| Elizabeth Woodling | Female | F5–E4 | A beautiful Mormon wife of Jacob Woodling and newly arrived to Rumson. |
| Sarah Woodling | Female | Eb5–Bb3 | A second wife of Jacob Woodling, pompous and patronizing. |
| Jacob Woodling | Male | D4–C3 | A Mormon man in his thirties with two wives when he arrives to Rumson. |
| Cherry Jourdel | Female | Not listed | The French accented leader of Cherry and her Fandango girls. In her twenties with a mature air nabout her. |
| Ensemble Men | Male | Not listed | Miners and prospectors. A wide variety of men. |
| Ensemble Women | Female | Not listed | The eventual women that inhabit Rumson, primarily Cherry's Fandango Girls. |
Paint Your Wagon song list
- I'm On My Way
- Rumson
- What's Goin' On Here?
- I Talk To The Trees
- They Call The Wind Maria
- I Still See Elisa
- How Can I Wait?
- In Between
- Whoop-Ti-Ay!
- Carino Mio
- There's a Coach Comin' In
- Hand Me Down That Can O'Beans
- Another Autumn
- Wand'rin' Star
How to get the Paint Your Wagon script & Piano/Vocal Score
The printed materials come with your MTI license. The digital version is an add-on that gives your whole cast and crew immediate access. See what that looks like
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Delivered through ProductionPro, MTI’s exclusive digital delivery partner. Looking for a free Paint Your Wagon script PDF? The script comes with your MTI license, so it isn’t available on its own.
What is a digital script?
Your Paint Your Wagon script and Piano/Vocal Score, digitally, alongside your printed copies
Immediate access for your whole cast and crew.
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- Lines, assigned onceEvery actor finds their own lines and harmonies.
- Rehearse at homeAdd rehearsal tracks and choreography videos, linked to each scene.
Curious how it would work for your show? Hear from directors who’ve used it.
