THE TOWN WAS MINE is a collection of songs, written for a musical CC and bookwriter John Weidman were exploring in the early 2020s about a school shooting.

 

The following songs are selections from the score.

We are in a public high school in the middle of America. Four students and a teacher are hiding in a classroom closet during a school shooting. Among the kids are two seniors, one junior, and a sophomore. The four kids have been hastily corralled from the hallway by a teacher (Ms. Abrams). None of them know each other well before the event. Various conceptual devices (such as direct address of the audience and fantasy) allow the characters to intermittently exist outside the closet.

1. "On This Day" - This song acts as a Prologue. The four kids sing to the audience.

2. "Manifesto" - Early in the shooting, the shooter's manifesto appears on the kids' phones. They start to read it aloud while Noah (a senior) objects by covering his ears and blocking out the sound. Then, outside the closet, he sings his own "Manifesto" to the audience.

3. "Larkin's Grandmother" - Larkin (a senior) lives with and takes care of his grandmother. Throughout the shooting, he's been dealing with a barrage of calls and texts from her. She is confused, concerned, and can't quite understand what Larkin is going through. He tries to explain.

4. "Rounds" - The kids sing to the audience.

5. "Sitting Tight" - Kids: "What do we do now?" Teacher: "We sit tight.”

6. "Drive You Home" - In reality, Marta's father is on a plane, on his way to Seattle for business. In Marta's thoughts, he appears in the space and has come to drive her home.

7. "Don't Look Down" - Marta has heard from her friend Ginny, who has been similarly sheltering in place on the other side of the building. The shooter is still at large, and the cops have entered and started sweeping through the building, one classroom at a time. Ginny and her cohorts were told (as they were led out of the building) to put their hands on their heads and walk in single file. They were also repeatedly cautioned to not look down.

8. "Life Itself" - Once outside the school, the kids are taken to a grassy patch a safe distance from the building to await questioning. This song acts as an Epilogue.