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Treemonisha. An opera by Scott Joplin. Preface:. The setting is on a plantation in Texarkana somewhere in Arkansas. The year is 1866 to 1884. The white folks basically abandon the slaves leaving them free, but under the care of a black man named Ned in 1866.
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Treemonisha An opera by Scott Joplin
Preface: • The setting is on a plantation in Texarkana somewhere in Arkansas. • The year is 1866 to 1884. • The white folks basically abandon the slaves leaving them free, but under the care of a black man named Ned in 1866. • Most of the Negros believed in superstition, but Ned and his wife Monisha. • Ned and Monisha couldn’t have children, so they hoped to one day be blessed with a child full of knowledge. Also to outsmart the conjurers. • Zodzetrick, Luddud, Cephus and Simon are very old men who live by just selling tricks and superstitious magic to people on the streets. • One day when Ned was out, their prayers were answered by a baby lying under a tree. • They soon go into hiding because they don’t want people to know that that baby isn’t theirs. • They told people that Monisha was with child and she had to go away for awhile. • Monisha soon comes home with her new baby and lives life in her own home. • They named the baby Monisha, But as the baby grew older, three years old, they noticed that she loved to play under the tree she was founded. So they renamed her Tree-monisha. • By the time Treemonisha was seven years old, her parents arranged for the lady of the white family to educate their daughter due to a far away school. They would do the lady’s washing and chop her wood just so Treemonisha could be educated. • Treemonisha was the only educated child in the neighborhood.
Cast Of Characters: Treemonisha Monisha-Treemonisha’s mother Ned-Treemonisha’s father Remus-Friend of Treemonisha Lucy-Friend of Treemonisha Andy-Friend of Treemonisha Zodzetrick-A conjurer Luddud-A conjurer Cephus-A conjurer Simon-A conjurer Parson Alltalk- A preacher Corn-Huskers, conjurors, cotton pickers, visitors, etc.
Act 1-Morning • The scene starts with Zodzetrick trying to sell Monisha a bag of luck. • Monisha attempts to take the bag, but Ned comes running out yelling to Monisha that she doesn’t need it. • Ned tells Zodzetrick to leave, so he leaves. • Here comes Treemonisha trying to scold Zodzetrick as he’s leaving, to stop his trickery ways. • Then here’s Remus, yelling at Zodzetrick also, agreeing with Treemonisha. • Zodzetrick tells Treemonisha that he won’t stop his ways and that he will be back for her. • Then there’s this interlude of happy swing dancing of the song We’re goin around. • Treemonisha and Lucy decides to make wreaths made out of leaves. • They make an attempt to take the leaves from the tree that Treemonisha was found, but Monisha steps in and stops them from harming the tree. • Monisha then sings a song about how she found Treemonisha there, and all the truth about how Treemonisha came to be in their lives. • Treemonisha understands Ned and Monisha’s story about how she came to be and agrees to pick leaves from another tree. • Then Parson Alltalk comes in and does a prayer scene with everybody . • Soon Lucy comes running back very exhausted and tied up. • She explains how her and Treemonisha were captured by the conjurers and how they still have Treemonisha. • Ned and Remus comes up with a plan to save Treemonisha by dressing up like a very scary black crow, something that conjurers are very superstitious about. • Then the chorus cheers for Remus as he’s running to save Treemonisha and scare the conjurers away.
Act 2-Afternoon • This starts with Simon and the chorus talking. • Now Zodzetrick and Luddud are entering wit Treemonisha as their prisoner to the other conjurers. • They start talking about how Treemonisha is a non-believer of superstition and how she wants it to be gone. • They want to punish her by pushing her into a wasp nest. • As they try to do that, they notice something in the distance that looks like the devil. • They get scared and run, and Remus reveals himself to Treemonisha. • He saves her and leaves with her to go back home. • They run across some cotton pickers who are working in the fields. • They ask for directions to the John Smith Plantation. • Then the cotton pickers ends this Act 2 with a song called Aunt Dinah Has Blown De Horn. Aunt Dinah Has Blown De Horn!
Act 3-Evening • Monisha and Ned are anxiously waiting for Remus to return with Treemonisha right beside him. • Remus and Treemonisha enters and they celebrate the victory of Remus and the founding and safety of Treemonisha. • Andy and the boys return with Zodzetrick and Luddud as prisoners. • Everyone screams hurrah that they are silent and scared for their lives for the first time. • The women, men, and chorus are throwing out ideas on how to punish the tricksters. • Than Treemonisha tells them to free the men and let them be. • She starts to sing about how two wrongs doesn’t make a right, don’t treat people wrong for revenge and all that happy stuff. • The Remus comes in and starts to end the song exactly like Treemonisha. He agrees with her. • They shake hands with the conjurers, and let them go free. • Then Treemonisha insist on having a leader. • Everybody chooses Treemonisha as their leader because she is more educated and smarter then them. • She eventually becomes the leader of Women and Men and everyone is ok with it. • Then the show ends with everybody dancing and having a good time. • The End.
