ACT ONE

The play is set in Victorian England – first in the countryside, later in the city of London.

In a prologue, ISAAC SEWELL shares his paternal pride in the novel written by his daughter ANNA – “BLACK BEAUTY.”   In addition to changing the world – convincing humans to view their horses as more than mere beasts of burden – the book has special significance for ISAAC.  ANNA SEWELL based it on the noble, heroic thoroughbred her father tended and loved as a boy. (WHAT MY DAUGHTER DID).

Now the story begins, with ISAAC serving as narrator.  We meet Our Hero the day he is born, in Farmer Gray’s meadow.  He quickly matures, but his idyllic childhood ends abruptly when he is sold and taken to a new home – Birtwick Park.  He is now a magnificent- looking thoroughbred, but what most impresses crusty stablemaster JOHN MANLY and his new owners, SQUIRE GORDON & wife LYDIA, is his determination always to do his best. (DAZZLE)

Despite pleasing his owners, Our Hero stumbles badly in his initial meetings with his new stablemates, managing to offend all three horses.  First is SIR OLIVER, a retired military horse. The horrors of war left him traumatized and a bit dotty.   (AN OLD SOLDIER)

Next is neurotic, self-absorbed pony MERRYLEGS, overwhelmed by the rambunctious Gordon children, who are being taught to ride on his back. (THE LITTLE ONES).

Last is belligerent mare GINGER, who regards him as an interloper into the stable she clearly rules.  All three horses are dismissive of the new horse, assuming he will soon be sold off, not having been given a name by the master.  Our Hero is daunted, but not defeated. For him, a new dawn always holds promise. (SUNRISE).

Our Hero soon proves his worth, when he saves SQUIRE GORDON and MR. MANLY by refusing to move forward over a bridge they are unaware was swept away in a blinding storm.   Next, he saves his three new stablemates from certain death in a blazing fire. Staying calm, he calls to the panicked creatures, who follow his voice through the smoke and fire to safety.  Rejoicing at their rescue, GINGER sees Our Hero in a different light (I HEAR YOUR SONG)

Orphaned stableboy JOE GREEN (who ISAAC SEWELL tells us is based on him, as a boy) has had a hard time adjusting to life at Birtwick Park. For months he had been unable to please demanding stablemaster JOHN MANLY.  But in recent months, JOE has found his footing and to his delight, MR. MANLY has begun treating him kindly.  (PROGRESS!)

An urgent stable bell shatters the night. LYDIA GORDON has taken ill.  MANLY and OUR HERO make a hard run for eight miles to fetch the local doctor. The exhausted horse then repeats the journey back to Birtwick Park, this time carrying the portly physician. Failure is not an option; the life of the mistress is at stake!  (FOR MY LADY)

On arriving home at Birtwick Park, Our Hero is left in the care of JOE GREEN. Not knowing better, the lad offers the horse ice cold water and leaves him uncovered, assuming the animal is too overheated to need a blanket.  It’s the exact opposite of what a horse requires, as a furious MR. MANLY screams at the horrified boy the next morning, when they find Our Hero barely conscious. (ANYWHERE BUT NOW).

The local vet attends to Our Hero.  He will need care and several months rest, but he will recover. A chastened JOHN MANLY – feeling he failed to instruct JOE properly – surprises the lad by asking him to oversee the horse’s recovery. In the ensuing months, JOE and the horse form a bond the lad swears will last a lifetime, and he comes up with the perfect name for his new friend.  (A THING OF BEAUTY).

Several happy years at Birtwick Park end when LYDIA GORDON’S failing health forces the family to emigrate to Bermuda.  JOE GREEN learns he will have a new job at Earshall Hall, the grand estate to which the horses have all been sold.  MR. MANLY, now JOE’S friend and mentor, will be taking a job elsewhere.

The horses are aware of the impending move, especially GINGER.  As her stablemates know, GINGER suffers from bad dreams. Her nightmares subsided during the last few years but now have returned with a vengeance. 

BLACK BEAUTY (as Our Hero is now called) persuades GINGER to share the source of her nightmares.  In harrowing detail, GINGER relives the horrific breaking-in she suffered at the hands of a sadistic stablemaster, MR. YORK.  In the end, resisting his efforts to torment her, she kicks YORK in the face, putting out his eye. (FADE TO BLACK).

After sad farewells at Birtwick Park, JOE GREEN leads the four horses to their next home.  The journey increases the animals’ misgivings.  They arrive at Earshall Hall and meet their new owners and the recently hired new stablemaster.  He turns out to be GINGER’S nemesis, the one-eyed, vengeful MR. YORK!  The futures of BLACK BEAUTY and his three equine friends seem in serious jeopardy, as the curtain falls.   (A HORSE NEVER KNOWS).

ACT TWO

The story resumes a quarter of a century later.  Narrator ISAAC SEWELL admits he did not live up to his vows to protect BLACK BEAUTY.  Soon after arriving at Earshall Hall an incident occurred, prompting the new owner to sell off all four Birtwick Park horses. Shocked by this development and still needing a job, the boy remains as a stable hand. He is excited when the estate hosts a dazzling fox hunt. (RIDING TO THE HOUNDS)

The hunt ends in disaster.  A huntsman fails to clear a fence.  The rider is killed, the horse suffers a gravely broken leg. The lad is ordered to shoot the horse and put him out of his misery.  To his horror, the injured creature looks like BLACK BEAUTY (and actually is the horse’s elder brother). Frozen, unable to pull the trigger, the lad flees, wanting nothing to do with horses ever again.   

ISAAC relates that from here on in, his life and that of BLACK BEAUTY’S diverge onto very different paths.  As for ISAAC, he got married, became a tradesman and fathered two children: young son JOEY and wheelchair bound, seventeen-year-old daughter (and author-to-be) ANNA SEWELL.

London.  Now old and worn, BLACK BEAUTY is being auctioned off. He is purchased by cab driver JERRY BARKER, who seems rough-hewn and antagonistic as he negotiates the horse’s price.  All signs indicating his newest master will be a harsh one, BLACK BEAUTY reflects on happier days, memories which remain whether he wants them to or not.  (HARD FORGETTING).

But JERRY BARKER was merely pretending to be mean, to drive a hard bargain. Though poor and in ill-health, he is kindly and loves horses.  He gently leads his new purchase through the crowded city – a hell for the horses who work its filthy streets.  JERRY introduces his wife and children, who rehabilitate BLACK BEAUTY for his new life as a cab horse. (DAZZLE Reprise).

Back in the countryside, ANNA SEWELL talks to her “uncle,” the elderly, retired stablemaster JOHN MANLY.  MANLY has just come to live out his days with the SEWELL family, surprised to learn ISAAC owns no horses at all.   Sensing that ANNA lives a very circumscribed life, made even more lonely by her overprotective father, MANLY asks if she has thought about learning to use a horse and carriage, so she can get about on her own?  ANNA can’t imagine it.  Her father is uneasy around horses.  She begs Uncle John to tell her what happened to the horse ISAAC tended as a boy, and now refuses to discuss.

JOHN MANLY relates the tale he pieced together over the years (seen in a flashback).   Sadistic Mr. York wreaked vengeance on GINGER, tightening the dread bearing rein to such an extent she again acted out.  In the ensuing chaos, GINGER kicked BLACK BEAUTY, who fell and badly damaged his knees, instantly turning him from prize horse to damaged goods. Deciding the Birtwick Park horses were unworthy of a grand estate, the mistress had them all sold off as lowly work horses.  ISAAC still blames himself for failing to protect them.

ANNA understands. Unable to protect what he loved as a boy, ISAAC now monitors his daughter’s every move. She miserably concludes her father won’t ever loosen his grip. MANLY gently suggests that perhaps the decision is hers to make.  “This is your life we’re talking about, isn’t it?”  ANNA considers and decides on a new approach. (GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE).

Back in London, BLACK BEAUTY is now a valued cab horse for JERRY BARKER, whose health continues to decline.  When JERRY stops for tea, BLACK BEAUTY has a chance meeting with old friend GINGER, who he is pained to see now is an overworked cart horse, hauling coal.   BEAUTY admits he has begun to question his years of faithless service to humans. many of whom are needlessly cruel or ignorant and foolish. Not that he ever really would…but sometimes he even dreams of striking back, as GINGER did with MR. YORK years ago.

GINGER confesses she keeps herself going now only by imagining a life she has heard whispers about over the years – a life where horses serve no masters and run wild.  In dance, for one blissful moment, she and BLACK BEAUTY share in the fantasy. (IMAGINE: FREE).

Several years on, ANNA SEWELL now uses a horse and carriage daily and is a fierce advocate of horses, who allow her to live a fuller life.   She brings a suit against a local merchant, accusing him of badly abusing the horses who carry his goods to market.  With further testimony from JOHN MANLY, the merchant is fined and put in jail. ISAAC marvels at the woman his ANNA has become.

Returning to London, the focus turns to SIR OLIVER and MERRYLEGS, who are still together, teamed up and pulling a London cab.  Now on their last legs, realizing their days are numbered, the two horses look back on the one thing that brought them a measure of happiness.   (CHUMS)

Fortune smiles. Grown up ARTHUR GORDON, son of SQUIRE GORDON, passes by and recognizes his family’s old horses.  He purchases OLLIE and MERRY, taking them to live out their days at Birtwick Park.

In another part of London, JERRY BARKER’S wife and eldest son are regretfully selling off BLACK BEAUTY.  Consumptive JERRY has taken a turn for the worse and will never drive a cab again.  The BARKERS desperately need money and sell BLACK BEAUTY to a cart horse DRIVER who needs to replace his dying mare.

BLACK BEAUTY recognizes the mare:  GINGER.  After a brief, tearful reunion, GINGER dies.  BLACK BEAUTY watches as his friend’s body is hauled away. 

The DRIVER hitches BLACK BEAUTY to his coal cart.  Still overwhelmed by grief, BLACK BEAUTY refuses to move.  For the first time in his life, he feels the sting of a whip!   Shaking with anger, he glares at the DRIVER.   Will Our Hero finally strike back?  He is torn…but no.   This is a horse who always, always does his best.  Summoning his dignity and true to his code, he starts to pull the heavy coal cart, as a hymn is heard.  (THE WAY HOME).

ISAAC SEWELL tells us the hymn was sung at the funeral of JOHN MANLY. After MANLY’S death, fulfilling a promise to her uncle, his daughter ANNA wrote a novel.  A novel about horses.

An older, infirm ANNA asks the publisher who has just returned her manuscript why he is refusing to take on her book, after telling her it was a well-written, interesting story?  He replies he is afraid of being a laughingstock.  The book is written as if the horse had dictated his own tale, as if horses are able to think and can communicate!   ANNA defends her work. Her fervent belief is that horses do speak. If we listen, they speak volumes.  (SO MUCH THEY CAN TELL US)

ISAAC tells us his ANNA died, merely six months after her book was finally published, but she lived long enough to enjoy its success. Now only one question remains. Were ISAAC and his beloved horse ever reunited? 

In the final scene, ISAAC, his wife and son JOEY attend a horse auction.  JOEY thinks he has found BLACK BEAUTY, and ISAAC agrees it looks like his old friend.  But his BEAUTY had a white star on his forehead. This horse is black from head to toe.  Then ISAAC realizes the white star is merely covered up by coal dust, and this is indeed his beloved friend!  BLACK BEAUTY is taken home to live out his days in the same meadow in which he was born.

In her book, ANNA SEWELL returned her father’s horse to him, for all eternity.  And today, BLACK BEAUTY’S story is still alive, still found on the bookshelves of every library on the planet.    (WHAT MY DAUGHTER DID, Finale).