a musical based on the early life of Betsy Ross, (1752-1836) seamstress and war hero. Born Elizabeth Griscom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she married John Ross, an Anglican, in 1773 and as a result was expelled from her native Quaker church. Betsy Ross is the subject of a cherished American legend according to which George Washington, representing the Continental Congress, visited her husband's upholstery shop in the summer of 1776 and commissioned her to make the first American flag, which is said to be partly of her design.
performed at the Indiana University Theatre, State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis Indiana - July 1950
from the Indianapolis Times
Strict Quaker Samuel Griscom
(Howard Ashley) and his wife Rebecca (Nancy Forbes) have a
problem keeping their wayward daughters on the straight and
narrow. "Can't We Go to a Party
Tonight' Backwoodsman Benjy (Tom Boyd)
courts Betsy's sister Isabel (Patty
Wilson) Her Quaker parents are dismayed
when Elizabeth aka Betsy (Mary Jane Vandivier) falls in love
and marries an Anglican, John Ross (Frank
Throop) "We're So Much
Alike" Patty Wilson and Tom
Boyd "Going to Church on
Sunday" The Anglican Episcopalians dress
up in their finery for their Sabbath services, an anathema
to the Quakers. Col. Ross (Dick featheringill)
and General George Washington (David Herriman) ask Betsy
Ross to design a new flag to represent the 13 colonies for
an independent America
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