From diaries, letters, newspaper articles and historic archives, comes a tale which winds together the stories of women gone west during the Montana gold rush of 1863.  Dime novels lured a country eager to define itself, with tales of gold, gun-fights, and white-hatted heroes.  But tales untold bust open the myths that shaped a national identity…a “defining” American history…that never was. 

After her brother drowns in a river crossing, “Jack” takes his name and his clothes and goes undercover.  She becomes a cowboy.  Virginia City Montana was a crossroads for characters like Calamity Jane, Sarah Bickford (the first black woman to own a public utility), Mary Sheehan who travels with her father through mining towns and many more voices that have been lost and reclaimed in this play.  

Cast Requirements: 8-12 female/non-binary

5 male

1 buffalo