PAINT YOUR WAGON at Ojai Valley School

Authors

• Alan Jay Lerner
• Frederick Loewe
• Frederick Lowe

"The musical is about a love affair between Jennifer Rumson, who is the daughter of a prospector, and a Mexican boy named Julio during the days of pioneers in the gold rush era," explain press notes, "It's 1852, and Ben Rumson is looking to strike it rich in the gold fields of California. He has raised his daughter Jennifer in the gold camps, and she has become a beautiful, if somewhat tomboy-ish, young woman. She's also the only woman for miles around, and some of the miners have become skittish around her. One day she meets and falls in love with Julio, a handsome young Mexican miner. When a lecherous miner with designs on Jennifer discovers that she loves Julio, he frames Julio as a gold thief, forcing them to run off together. Meanwhile, Ben strikes it rich, and an enterprising miner imports some beautiful "fandango" girls to keep the miners entertained. Ben finds himself falling in love with the lead fandango girl. The story plays out against some of the most striking and memorable show tunes in Broadway history - 'I Talk to the Trees,' 'They Call the Wind Maria,' and 'Paint Your Wagon,' among others - and the arrival of the fandango girls results in several big song-and-dance numbers."