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“The martyrdom of one hero is worth more than the life of a million cowards.”
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, 1859
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Check out this latest illustrated video featuring scenes from "The Return of John Brown."
The Return of John Brown: Legendary Abolitionist Comes
Back to Life in New Musical
A Staged Reading.
The Return of John Brown: Presented by Cultural Worker; Co-sponsored by Teaching for Change and the Labor Heritage Foundation
Thanks to everyone who attended our readings in Baltimore, Washington, DC and Sharpsburg, MD.
See photos below!
I thank all of you for attending and supporting this show put on by our talented cast, director, and musicians…
…with the support of the proprietor of the property, Sprigg Lynn.
Now we need your help to move this toward a fully staged production.
Many of you have already generously contributed. I am asking everyone to consider supporting our effort to get this musical fully staged by contributing here.
In addition, many of you said you had ideas about people, organizations and theaters who might be interested. A cold approach rarely works but if you connect me to any of these places where you know someone I will definitely follow up.
At a moment when our nation is challenged with so many injustices, this musical is one small contribution to making things right. As Bertold Brecht said: Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer to which to shape it.
Let’s get this show into the schools and colleges and neighborhoods -- where it can make a difference!
Gene Bruskin, Playwright
Watch the Next Steps video for “The Return of John Brown.”
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“"Great script. Great acting. Great music." JOHN BROWN FARM audience member
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“The song "You Can't Hang Me Twice" is a real show stopper.” WASHINGTON, DC audience member
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“This is a story that needs to be told, and one that some politicians would like to suppress.” JOHN BROWN FARM audience member
In a staged reading of this new musical, John Brown, who in 1859 became the first person in the nation executed for treason, climbs out of his grave where he was hanged, into the present, only to be rearrested and threatened with another hanging.
As his trial unwinds, the past and the present merge as Brown’s inspiring story is told through humor, music, mystery, and drama – depicting a feverishly charged moment in history that reverberates in today’s political climate. As the plot twists, Brown’s escape plans lead to an unexpected alliance between White and Black farmers hoping to save their land from the Smoke and Mirrors pipeline company and its CEO, King Louie.
The playwright, Gene Bruskin, spent 45 years as a labor union organizer and has written three musicals for and about working-class people since his retirement, “This musical tale connects yesterday’s battles to the need to challenge the enduring destructiveness of racism today.”
The first show debuted on April 26, 2024 in Baltimore, followed by a show on April 27 in Washington, DC. The next weekend on May 4 and 5, the play was featured at the Kennedy Farm, the Harpers Ferry, WV area location where John Brown staged his famous anti-slavery raid.
Welcome to “The Return of John Brown” by playwright Gene Bruskin
Your support makes our performances possible!
Learn more about this iconic figure in civil rights history.
Bios of our team
Check out our list of sponsors and donors.
Links to past musicals written by Gene Bruskin