The Devil and Daniel Webster

Adapted from the short story by Stephen Vincent Benet.

Cast

3 Women, 17 Men
Plus ensemble (doubling is possible)

Synopsis

New Hampshire, 1829. All hardworking farmer Jabez Stone wants is to save his failing property and marry Abigail Stevens. Sadly, Jabez is plagued with terrible luck and neither seem likely. It’s enough to make a man do something drastic – like sell his soul to the Devil for a new beginning. But after seven years of prosperity, it’s time to pay the Devil his due. Jabez begs the prestigious lawyer, Senator Daniel Webster, to plead his case. Webster isn’t one to shrink from a challenge, even if it means facing the Devil in a court of law. But there are trials and then there are trials. With the proceedings weighted against him, and the jury stacked with notorious villains like Lizzie Borden, John Wilkes Boothe, and Al Capone, things look bleak but never underestimate the appeal of freedom and the power of persuasion of a man from the Granite state.