the music
The music of RAILS takes you on its own kind of journey, shifting in genre and tone as the stories of Maggie’s life move through the decades and across two continents. Contemporary musical theatre gives way to the fiddles and flutes of an Irish folk tale, the playful swing beat of a 1930s romp, and the simple grandeur of post-WWII American heartland.
The main action of the show is set in 1978. References to other years denote the setting of a story within the story.
Prologue: The Flying Seanchaí
Jerry Whittaker is fixing an old train set. When the transformer shorts out, he suddenly recalls the day his grandmother Maggie gave him this first of many model trains.
Good Girl
1920. Maggie, a young, impoverished Irish immigrant and single mother, arrives in America to seek work and raise her baby. Having grown up on her own in a railway boxcar, she begins to doubt her ability to be a proper mother.
Surprise Me
1937. Maggie’s daughter Christine is sneaking away to Chicago with the shy, awkward Jackson. While Jackson is determined to stick to a very regimented schedule, Christine begs for more spontaneity in their future.
Proud to Be Yours
1937. Maggie is now a maid for Callie Crawford. Behind closed doors, they also share a secret love. On a train to Chicago together, Maggie longs to reveal their secret, but as a Black businesswoman, Callie knows she can’t take the risk. Afraid of losing Maggie, Callie asks if the impasse will jeopardize their relationship.
Train Wreck
1937. Caught up in the stories of Maggie’s life, Pete begins playing some of the characters. Here, he’s serving drinks in the bar car of a train to Chicago. Jerry plays the train’s Conductor. What begins as a playful duet between two fictional characters ends up cutting close to the bone for the very real couple playing them.
Some Assembly Required
Jerry’s attempt to revive Maggie’s old self with familiar stories falters when she, in confusion, wrecks their beloved model trains. He now sits amid the ruins of the trains, grappling with their journey to this moment and what’s ahead.
A Mighty Railroad (Reprise)
After the revelation of his mother’s sacrifice in letting Maggie raise him, Jerry confronts his own selfishness. Determined to put Maggie’s needs first, even if it means letting her go, he wrestles with the uncertainty of a life without her.