Made in America

🎭 Made in America

A modern rock opera by ej gold.

Tagline: We built the dream. They stitched the label.
Style: Urban musical drama, full ensemble, two acts, sweat and rhythm, romance and rebellion.

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Made in America – Character List with Short Bios

Rosie Delgado
Age: Late 20s. Role: Lead.
Factory floor supervisor at Empire Stitch. Fierce, witty, and deeply loyal to her workers. Born in the neighborhood, she’s the thread that holds everything together—and she knows it.
Vibe: Dolores Huerta meets Rita Moreno with a clipboard and a backbone.

Zip (Isaiah “Zip” Alvarez)
Age: Early 30s. Role: Lead.
Charismatic leader of the Brass Knots gang. Street-smart, unpredictable, poetic when he lets his guard down. At odds with the factory world, but drawn to Rosie like a moth to flame.
Vibe: Brando in The Wild One if he could rap in couplets and knew how to hem pants.

Tito Rojas
Age: 19. Role: Featured.
A DREAMer working under the radar in the factory. Playful, bright, a dancer at heart. Keeps things light until things get heavy. Secretly undocumented.
Vibe: The little brother of the show—with feet that won’t stop moving and a story that cuts deep.

Mama Lupe
Age: 60s+. Role: Supporting.
Rosie’s godmother and elder iron-press queen of the factory. Cuban refugee, sharp tongue, sharper instincts. The emotional anchor of the workplace.
Vibe: Abuela who’s been through three revolutions and still makes perfect café con leche.

Mickey Solomon
Age: Late 50s. Role: Supporting.
Owner/manager of Empire Stitch. Torn between the boardroom and the breakroom. Old-school liberal values, but pressed down by profit.
Vibe: A reluctant capitalist with union bones and a heart that’s still somewhere on the floor.

Delia
Age: 20s. Role: Ensemble + minor solo.
Factory worker, always in curlers and gossip. Dreamer of love and escape, but she knows how to run a bobbin like a boss.

Frankie “Stitch” Martinez
Age: Late 20s. Role: Supporting gang member.
Zip’s right-hand man. More muscle than mind, but loyal. Keeps watch on the streets—and on Zip’s spiraling focus.

Mrs. Weber
Age: 50s–60s. Role: Factory Office Worker.
Dry wit, tired eyes, and union dues in her purse. Her jokes could slice denim.

ICE Agent / Authority Figure
Various ages. Role: Antagonistic presence.
Represents looming threats of deportation, shutdowns, or oppression. Sometimes played by the ensemble in shadow.

Ensemble Roles
Factory Workers – Seamstresses, ironers, cutters, runners — all ages and ethnicities. Build the human engine of the show.
Brass Knots Gang – Swagger, attitude, sharp moves, street presence.
Street Kids / Locals – Played by dancers and chorus.
Union Reps / Reporters / Cops – Fill in the corners of the world as needed.

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🧵 Act I – Outline

Scene 1 – The Floor
Rosie rallies the workers at shift start. Factory tension is high—pay is low, expectations high.
Song 1: “City’s Always Sewing” – full ensemble. The heartbeat of labor, youth, and the city.

Scene 2 – The Corner
Zip and the Brass Knots control the block. Zip watches Rosie pass and is intrigued.
Song 2: “Needle and Knife” – Zip & Rosie. A fiery flirt-fight duet.

Scene 3 – Lunch Break
A rock hits the factory window. Tensions rise between factory workers and the gang.
Song 3: “Thread the Needle” – Ensemble. A metaphor-filled jam about walking the line.

Scene 3.5 – Mickey’s Office
Song: “Pressing Matters”

Scene 4 – The Block Party
Rosie proposes a peace-building event. Emotions flare, but connections form.
Song 4: “Patch Me In” – Rosie & Zip. They let their guards down.

Scene 5 – The Riot at Empire Stitch
Police raid the block party. Factory windows smashed. Trust shattered.
Song 5: “Torn at the Seams” – Rosie solo into ensemble reprise.

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🧵 ACT II – Outline

Scene 1 – Fallout & Silence
Lights up on the damaged factory. Rosie’s bruised but determined. Zip is nowhere.
🎵 Song 6: “The Papers Ain’t Mine” – A new DREAMer-style solo for Tito, a younger gang member hiding his undocumented status. Rosie overhears. We realize: citizenship is a hidden thread through this whole fabric.

Scene 2 – Rosie Confronts the Bosses
Rosie tries to convince Mickey to protect undocumented workers. He’s torn between family, profit, and conscience.
🎵 Song 7: “Pressing Matters” – Mickey’s solo. Corporate expectations vs. doing what’s right.

Scene 3 – Intermission Return: FULL COMPANY
🎵  “Made in America (But Not By Name)”

• Latin rhythm meets Motown brass.

• Factory girls, gang members, Tito, Rosie—everyone sings.

• It’s joyful, angry, proud, defiant.

• Verses reveal how they’ve built the city but are denied ownership of it.

Scene 4 – Mama Lupe’s Counsel
Rosie’s ready to give up. Mama Lupe tells her of fleeing Havana, making her way stitch by stitch.
🎵 Song 9: “No Pattern Fits” – duet. Old world vs. new, both still fighting for a place.

Scene 5 – Zip Returns
Zip’s been hiding out. He’s broken, scared—but Rosie calls him out.
🎵 Song 10: “Zipper’s Lament” – solo. Gritty, vulnerable. A guy who doesn’t know who he is without the gang.

Scene 6 – Election at the Factory
The workers vote to unionize and take a stand. But ICE (or 1950s equivalent) arrives.
🎵 Song 11: “Threadlines” – building tension, multiple voices, urgent harmony.

Finale
A compromise. The factory becomes a co-op. Zip starts a printing shop. Tito’s citizenship is in process. Rosie leads with fierce grace.
🎵 Song 12: “Stitch It Back” – reprise + elevation. Gospel energy, factory and street together. Curtain down on joy, fire, and change.

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The Script:

Act I, Scene 1

Act I, Scene 1 – “City’s Always Sewing”
Location: Empire Stitch & Zip Garment Co., Lower East Side, NYC
Time: 6:58 AM, Summer, 1956
Set Description:
Dim morning light. Rows of sewing machines sit silent. A punch clock ticks like a metronome. Steam lingers near the pressing station. The floor is clean but worn. A battered American flag hangs above the foreman’s glass office. Sound of pigeons outside. The building breathes.

Characters Present: Tito, Rosie, Mama Lupe, Factory Workers (entering during song)

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Lights up. Tito is sweeping the factory floor, earbuds in (old transistor radio, clipped to belt). He hums and dances as he works. Rosie enters briskly, clipboard in hand. She watches him for a second, unimpressed.

ROSIE
Tito. The floor’s not a dancehall—it’s a production line.

TITO
I can sweep and groove at the same time. It’s called style.

ROSIE
It’s called stalling. Where’s the inventory sheet?

TITO
Somewhere between the spool table and destiny.

ROSIE
You keep up that sass, you’ll find your destiny out back with the dumpsters.

From offstage, Mama Lupe’s voice booms through the factory.

MAMA LUPE (off)
If anybody touched my iron, I’ll beat you with a hem gauge!

TITO
(to Rosie)
You hear that? That’s what love sounds like in this place.

ROSIE
That’s what heat stroke sounds like.

She claps twice, sharply. Footsteps echo faintly. Rosie lifts her chin and calls out.

ROSIE
Alright, let’s wake the floor. Time to sew some sweat into those seams.

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[MUSIC UP]

Song: “City’s Always Sewing”
Leads: Rosie, Tito, Mama Lupe
Ensemble: Factory Workers
Style: Rhythmic, percussive, Broadway-meets-street anthem. The sound of a city that never stops moving.

[VERSE 1 – ROSIE, WORKERS]
ROSIE
Seven A.M., and the stitch line sings
Needle in my hand, ain’t pullin’ no strings

WORKERS (layered)
Pop the bobbin, thread the line
Pay gets docked if you miss the time

MAMA LUPE
Seam ripper’s faster than the boss’s pen
Don’t cry over thread—just start again

[CHORUS – FULL COMPANY]
City’s always sewing, can’t you feel the beat?
Steam in your lungs, leather under your seat
We ain’t rich, but we shine just right
Running on dreams and a busted streetlight

[VERSE 2 – TITO, OUTSIDE GANG VOICES BLEEDING IN]
TITO
On the block where we paint our name
Pavement’s the thread in the city’s frame

GANG (faint, offstage)
Hustle for a buck, play the turf like drums
Snapbacks, switchblades, bubblegum slums

[BRIDGE – ROSIE & TITO, TRADING LINES]
ROSIE
You got swagger, but no paycheck
TITO
You got timecards and a stiff neck
BOTH
Still we dance in the same old show
Tailored dreams and nowhere to go

[FINAL CHORUS – FULL COMPANY]
City’s always sewing, and we’re stitched inside
Torn at the seams, but we still got pride
Clock hits six, and the world’s in heat
We make our way on a two-tone beat

[Company strike a final pose—scissors raised, Rosie and Tito face-to-face, Mama Lupe nodding with approval.]

End Scene.

Act I, Scene 2 – “Needle and Knife”
Location: Street corner near the factory—chain-link fence, alley, stoop, cracked hydrant
Time: Just after 12:15 PM, lunch break
Set Description:
Graffiti-tagged brick wall. Rusty street sign reads “Union & Orchard.” A bodega entrance half-lit in the background. There’s an overturned milk crate, a beat-up radio playing faint doo-wop. The mood is hot, restless, edgy.

Characters Present: Zip, Rico (gang second-in-command), Rosie, a few Brass Knots hanging out.

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Lights up. Zip is leaning against a lamppost, flicking a matchbook open and closed. Rico squats on the crate, bouncing a handball. The other boys loiter, watching traffic.

ZIP
You ever notice how the city smells different right before the cops show up?

RICO
It’s hot dog water and hot breath, Zip. That ain’t prophecy. That’s deli steam.

ZIP
Nah. That’s tension, baby. The corner twitches when something’s about to go sideways.

(Pause. He sees someone in the distance. He stands straighter.)

ZIP
Hold up. Is that her?

Rosie crosses the street, brisk, unreadable. She clutches her clipboard like it owes her money. She does not make eye contact.

ZIP
(to Rico, smirking)
There she is. Queen of the Sewing Hive.

RICO
Leave it alone, Zip. She don’t need you messing with her patterns.

ZIP
I ain’t messing. I’m appreciating. There’s a difference.

Zip steps out onto the sidewalk, intercepting Rosie’s path. She stops short. Looks him dead in the eye.

ROSIE
Wrong sidewalk.

ZIP
Sidewalk don’t belong to you.

ROSIE
You’re standing in my time slot.

ZIP
Time slot?

ROSIE
Fifteen-minute lunch walk. I don’t waste it dodging mouthy statues.

ZIP
So now I’m a statue?

ROSIE
No, statues have value. This is just gum under my shoe.

Beat. Zip raises an eyebrow. The gang lets out a low “ooohhh.” Zip laughs softly.

ZIP
You know, most people flirt with a compliment.

ROSIE
I’m not flirting. I’m warning.

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Song: “Needle and Knife”
Style: Latin-jazz duet with tango-like tension and street swagger. Think West Side Story meets Chicago.
Leads: Rosie & Zip
Backing vocals: Gang snapping, low harmony, factory girls chiming in from across the street.

[VERSE 1 – ZIP]
You walk like you own the block
Clip-cloppin’ like a union clock
Got thread on your shoes and fire in your jaw
Girl, you’re a strike wrapped in protocol

[ROSIE]
You lean like a busted fence
Talk slick, smell like consequence
I’ve seen your type in the breakroom blur—
Too much mouth, not enough worker

[CHORUS – BOTH]
Needle and knife, we don’t mix clean
You cut with charm, I sew with steam
You play the edge, I run the line
You draw the blood, I keep the spine

[VERSE 2 – ZIP]
I’m not your problem, I’m your cure
Add a little mischief to your perfect blur
You punch that clock like it did you wrong
Why not dance to a different song?

[ROSIE]
Your “different song” is a record scratch
Empty beats and a no-win match
I’ve got stitches to place and quotas to meet—
Not dreams in boots on a busted street

[CHORUS – BOTH]
Needle and knife, steel and thread
You chase the rush, I count what’s bled
You like noise, I build with care
You start a fire, I breathe the air

[BRIDGE – SPARKS FLY]
ZIP
But maybe we’re pieces cut from the same roll
ROSIE
Or maybe you’re the scrap I throw
ZIP
You keep stitching me out
ROSIE
And you keep tugging the hem
BOTH
But the city won’t sleep ‘til we meet again

[FINAL CHORUS – DUET BUILD]
Needle and knife, sharp and proud
Words like scissors, voices loud
You tear the street, I sew the sky
But we both live where sparks still fly

[End on a tight freeze—Rosie walking past Zip, who watches her go. Rico tosses the handball again.]

ZIP
(to Rico, quiet)
I think I just met my union rep.

[LIGHTS FADE]

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Act I, Scene 3 – “Thread the Needle”
Location: Factory breakroom—metal tables, a sputtering vending machine, steam drifting in from the floor
Time: 12:30 PM, just after the confrontation on the street
Set Description:
Old linoleum floors. One fluorescent light flickering. A pot of coffee on a warmer. Workers in stained aprons sit eating sandwiches from wax paper. Voices low, the air tight with unspoken worry. A small radio plays static.

Characters Present: Rosie, Tito, Mama Lupe, Factory Workers, brief entrance by Mickey at the end.

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Lights up. Rosie walks in, still flustered from her run-in with Zip. Tito sits at the table, sketching something in a notepad. Mama Lupe stirs coffee like she’s fighting it. A worker slams a paper cup into the trash.

WORKER 1
Still no word about the raise?

WORKER 2
Raise? I’m just trying to hold onto my hours.

ROSIE
They’re cutting shifts from both ends. Stitch quota’s up, pay’s flat, and now half the buttons are missing.

TITO
Someone’s skimming. The question is, who?

MAMA LUPE
Don’t ask. Don’t point. Don’t push. You still want your job next week?

ROSIE
What job? They’re gutting us with a smile. The threads are snapping, and we just keep sewing like it’s all fine.

A silence settles over the room like a dropped sheet. Rosie stands. Tito looks up. One of the workers hums under her breath—almost a lullaby. Rosie nods once. A beat begins to form—feet tapping, hands drumming the table. The song begins.

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Song — Thread the Needle

[VERSE 1 – ROSIE]
Thread the needle, count the stitch
Patch the tear, ignore the glitch
Breathe in lint, exhale steam
Pray the floor don’t break your dream

[WORKERS – layering in]
Hold the line, bite your tongue
Swallow doubt, it weighs a ton
Mark the time, skip the rest
Keep your name off management’s desk

[CHORUS – ENSEMBLE]
Thread the needle, ride the line
Make it pretty, make it mine
They cut us close, but we still mend
Thread the needle, don’t pretend

[VERSE 2 – TITO]
They say it’s fine, they say it’s fair
But ghosts don’t get no dental care
I’m on the list, but not the books
A name they skip, a life they took

[BRIDGE – ROSIE & TITO, call and answer]
ROSIE: You work like fire
TITO: But you burn alone
ROSIE: We stitch in silence
TITO: We sweat like stone

But if we rise, and rise as one
There’s no way they’ll come undone
We are the hands, we are the cloth
We are the flame behind the moth

Thread the needle, don’t look down
Stitch your name into this town
We bend the spine, but not the head
We sew the truth they’d leave for dead

Thread the needle—make it tight
Pull that cord and spark the fight
If they fray us, they’ll still see:
The thread they cut… is holding me.

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[End of Scene.]
As the song fades, Mickey appears in the doorway, watching in silence. He turns and walks away.
Lights dim.

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Act I, Scene 3.5 – “Pressing Matters”
Location: Mickey’s office above the factory floor
Time: Immediately after “Thread the Needle,” during the workers’ lunch break
Set Description:
Desk cluttered with open folders, invoices, and union notices. One family photo in a tarnished frame—his father at the factory ribbon-cutting. A single oscillating fan ticks side to side. Mickey stands in silence, watching through the dusty glass.

Character Present: Mickey (solo)
Mood: Alone, pressured, unraveling quietly.

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Lights up. Mickey is standing with both hands on the desk. A beat of silence. He exhales.

MICKEY
(to himself)
I learned how to read ledgers before I learned how to lie.
But nobody tells you how to lead.

(He picks up a form letter from “Amalgamated Textile Workers Union,” unfolds it, refolds it, then tosses it.)

MICKEY
It was simpler when I was just the kid sweeping the floor.

(He walks to the window, looks down at the factory floor.)

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[MUSIC UP]

Song: “Pressing Matters”
Style: Reflective ballad, slow burn. Think Sweeney Todd’s “Not While I’m Around” meets Spring Awakening’s “Left Behind.”
Performed by: Mickey (solo)

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Song: Pressing Matters

[VERSE 1 – MICKEY]
The books are full, the bins are bare
I sign the checks, but no one cares
I wear the suit, I hold the pen
But I’m not sure I’m one of them

The fans all hum, the coffee’s cold
The same damn fight, just growing old
They stitch their dreams, I seal the box
But all I see are ticking clocks

[PRE-CHORUS]
My father said, “It’s all routine”
But he never stitched a single seam
Now the threads are pulling loose
And I don’t know what to do

[CHORUS]
I was born into comfort, into cash and clean shoes
I thought I owned the factory—but I’m owned by what I choose
The workers are rising, the rules are unclear
And the only thing pressing… is fear

[VERSE 2]
They say we’re safe, they say we’re right
But every shift now feels like fight
I shuffle paper, I fake calm
I lost my grip but smile like mom

[BRIDGE]
If I close the gates, I keep the name
But lose the soul that lit the flame
If I open wide and let them lead—
What’s left of me? What’s left to need?

[CHORUS – REPRISE]
I was born into comfort, but it’s slipping away
And the silence in the breakroom has too much to say
The press keeps hissing, the phones all ring
And I don’t know a damn thing

[CODA – WHISPERED]
The numbers don’t breathe…
But they do.
They do.

[MUSIC FADES]

Mama Lupe appears at the door. Mickey doesn’t look at her.]

MAMA LUPE
They’re watching. You should decide what you are.

(Mickey doesn’t respond. He just stays by the window.)

Lights slowly fade. End Scene.

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Act I, Scene 4 – “Patch Me In”
Location: The street outside the factory—dressed for a makeshift block party
Time: That same evening
Set Description:
Folding tables, paper lanterns strung between light poles, tamales steaming on the stoop. Kids chase each other through chalk outlines. Someone’s plugged a radio into a long orange extension cord. Music hums in the background. Factory folks and gang members are keeping to their own sides—uneasy truce in the air.

Characters Present: Rosie, Zip, Tito, Mama Lupe, Mickey, Workers, Brass Knots, Neighborhood.

Lights up. Workers are setting up food. Zip leans on a hydrant, watching. Rosie tapes a hand-painted sign to the wall: “WE ARE THE FABRIC.” Mama Lupe brings out a tray of pan dulce and sets it with unnecessary force.

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TITO
This party feels like a ceasefire.

MAMA LUPE
A ceasefire is a start. A table is stronger than a brick.

ROSIE
(sighs)
I just want people to show up… without their armor on.

ZIP (approaching)
I left mine at home.

Rosie rolls her eyes but doesn’t walk away.

ROSIE
This isn’t a game, Zip. People are scared. We’ve got folks with no papers, no backup, no plan B.

ZIP
You got all the plans, Rosie. All the rules, too. That clipboard of yours’s sharper than any knife I carry.

ROSIE
It’s not a weapon. It’s protection.

ZIP
Exactly.

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Song: “Patch Me In”
Style: Soulful Latin-folk duet with ensemble harmonies—gentle rhythm, emotional tension, something between hope and hesitation
Leads: Rosie & Zip
Backup: Ensemble echoes, subtle call-and-response from Workers and Gang

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Song: Patch Me In

[VERSE 1 – ROSIE]
I don’t need another sweet-talking smile
Another guy with a crooked style
But there’s a look in your eyes I can’t hem
Like the thread pulling loose on the edge of my hem

[ZIP]
I don’t do rules, I don’t do neat
But I’m tired of living halfway on the street
You speak like thunder, stand like steel
You make this whole broken block feel real

[CHORUS – BOTH]
Patch me in, don’t let me drift
I ain’t perfect, but I’ve got a gift
I break things, sure—but I can mend
Give me one stitch. Just one end.

[VERSE 2 – ROSIE]
You see the world through a busted pane
But still you look for what remains
I hold the needle, you hold the spark
Maybe we’re both just sewing in the dark

[ZIP]
I ain’t a savior, and I ain’t clean
But I’d cross a line to join your team
You stitch your soul into every line—
I don’t know why, but I want that spine

[CHORUS – BOTH + ENSEMBLE JOINING IN]
Patch me in, I’ll drop the mask
This ain’t a dare, it’s just a task
You lead strong, I’ll follow the seam
And maybe this ain’t just your dream

[CODA – ENSEMBLE ECHO]
Patch me in… patch me in…
We all want to begin again…
Patch me in…

MICKEY (from offstage, quietly)
We’ve got trouble.

Blackout.

End Scene.

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Act I, Scene 5 – “Torn at the Seams”
Location: The block party spills into the factory entrance
Time: Later that night
Set Description:
Chaos. Paper lanterns knocked sideways. A broken tray on the ground. Police lights flash red-blue against the brick. One of the factory windows is shattered. Workers are yelling, gang members forming a wall. Somewhere, a whistle blows too late. Time fractures.

Characters Present: Rosie, Zip, Tito, Mama Lupe, Mickey, Workers, Gang, Police (unseen)

Lights up. Sirens. The block party is breaking apart. Rosie is holding back a young worker. Zip stands in front of Rico, trying to calm him down. Mama Lupe holds her arm—she’s been grazed by something. Mickey rushes in from the shadows, breathless.

===========================================================================

ROSIE
(to everyone)
Get inside! Everyone inside! Stay away from the glass!

TITO
They threw it. They threw the rock. I saw it!

ZIP
It wasn’t us.

RICO
Like hell it wasn’t! You want a fight? You got one!

MAMA LUPE
Quiet! All of you!

MICKEY
(to Rosie)
It’s out of control. I didn’t call the cops. They just showed up.

ROSIE
Too late for disclaimers, Mickey.

TITO
They’re asking for papers out front.

Everything stills. That word—papers—shuts mouths.

ZIP
(to Rosie)
What do we do?

ROSIE
We hold the line.

=====================================================================

Song: “Torn at the Seams”
Style: Orchestral build-up from stillness to a chaotic, near-operatic climax.
Leads: Rosie, Zip, Tito, Ensemble
Tone: Grief, anger, fear, and resolve

====================================================================

[VERSE 1 – ROSIE (quiet, shaking)]
We planned a feast, not a fight
We lit the street, not a spark
But one brick through a window
And now the dream’s gone dark

[ZIP]
I walked a line I never knew
Now I’m standing here with you
I wanted peace, I found a flame
Now everything’s got someone to blame

[TITO]
They say “show ID,”
I got none to show
They say “go home”
But where do I go?

[CHORUS – ENSEMBLE, building slowly]
Torn at the seams, ripped at the edge
We danced on a wire, now we bleed from the ledge
They say we’re trouble, but we were just hope
And the hands they fear are the hands that cope

[VERSE 2 – ROSIE]
You can fire the stitch, but not the soul
We’ve been patching this city from gutter to goal
They break our windows, but not our will
They throw their fear—but we’re standing still

[BRIDGE – FULL COMPANY]
We are not shadows, we are not stray
We are the reason this block stands today
The light they shatter still burns in our chest
We rise with the needle. They fall with the rest.

[FINAL CHORUS – FULL COMPANY, crescendo]
Torn at the seams—but we won’t fray
This is our stitch. This is our day.
If they come for our breath, they’ll meet our roar
We’re the thread they can’t ignore.

===================================================================

ACT II
Scene 1 – “Made in America”
Location: Empire Stitch & Zip Garment Co., the morning after the riot
Time: Just before dawn
Set Description:
Factory floor in disarray. Broken window taped with cardboard. One machine still hums quietly. The punch clock hangs crooked. The American flag is crumpled on the floor. The mood is hollow, but there’s breath in the space.

Characters Present: Tito, Rosie, Mama Lupe, Workers, Gang
Notes: This is the emotional re-entry. Broken but not beaten. Tito opens with a solo. Song builds into a full ensemble anthem of identity and defiance. The audience hears clearly now: this show isn’t just about work—it’s about belonging.

==========================================================================

Song: “Made in America (But Not By Name)”
Lead: Tito
Backup: Rosie, Ensemble

==========================================================================

[VERSE 1 – TITO]
I press the cloth (echo: press the cloth)
I know the seams (echo: know the seams)
I iron out your broken dreams
But when they check my name at night (uh-huh)
I’m a ghost who don’t got rights

Mama prayed I’d never fall
Taught me how to stitch and crawl
But this paper game they play
Says I’m not from U.S.A.

[PRE-CHORUS – TITO, call & echo]
Raised on soda pop and soul (pop and soul)
Yankee caps and Super Bowl (Super Bowl)
Try to sign my name in bold—
They say I don’t belong (I don’t belong)

[CHORUS – FULL ENSEMBLE, strong unison]
Made in America! (But not by name)
Broke my back to light your flame
Built your cities, played your game
Still you act like I got shame
(Echo: got shame… got shame…)

Made in America! (But not by blood)
Wipe your boots on all our love
We don’t hide, and we don’t run
We are the thread. We are the drum.
(Echo: the thread… the drum…)

[VERSE 2 – ROSIE & TITO, trading lines]
ROSIE: They want my body—not my voice
TITO: They want my sweat—not my choice
ROSIE: Sign the check, erase my name
TITO: Still I show up just the same
(Echo: just the same…)

[BRIDGE – CALL & RESPONSE: GANG / WORKERS]
GANG: We were tagged at birth
WORKERS: Stamped without a flag
GANG: Paper says we’re wrong
WORKERS: But we carry the bag
GANG: Turf don’t lie
WORKERS: Thread don’t lie
ALL: You wear us every day—and call it style
(Echo: every day… call it style…)

[CHORUS – FULL COMPANY, big lift]
Made in America! (But not by name)
Don’t need pity, don’t need fame
We’ve got fire, we’ve got flame
And a song that shouts our claim
(Echo: our claim… our claim…)

Made in America! (Can’t erase)
The stitch we hold, the hands, the face
You can’t deport a dream or shame
We’re the spirit in the frame
(Echo: in the frame… the frame…)

[FINAL TAG – LAYERED HARMONY, overlapping voices]
We are the thread…
We are the drum…
We are the name…
It’s where we’re from…
(Repeat in fade, add chorus echo behind)

=====================================================================

Act II, Scene 2 – “No Pattern Fits”
Location: The back corner of the factory near the bolt racks
Time: Just after sunrise
Set Description:
Muted light filters through the warehouse windows. A few bolts of fabric remain untouched. A needle’s broken and left in a pin cushion. Mama Lupe sits with a warm cloth on her wrist. Rosie enters with coffee for both of them. Quiet, sacred space.

Characters Present: Rosie, Mama Lupe
Tone: Intimate. Reflective. Mother-daughter energy. This is where past and present face each other.

Lights up. Rosie sets down the coffee and sits beside Mama Lupe. No words at first. Just breathing. Finally—

========================================================================

ROSIE
You okay?

MAMA LUPE
It’s just a bruise.
(beat)
This isn’t the first time glass broke.

ROSIE
It felt like the first time something in me cracked.

MAMA LUPE
Good. That’s when you start building from truth.

(A silence. The factory creaks. Rosie stares at the bolts.)

ROSIE
What if we’re not strong enough?

MAMA LUPE
Nobody is. Not alone.

===========================================================================

Song: “No Pattern Fits”
Style: Acoustic duet, warm and worn. Think Once meets Fiddler.
Leads: Mama Lupe & Rosie
Tone: Legacy, pain, wisdom, strength passed hand-to-hand

===========================================================================

[VERSE 1 – MAMA LUPE]
I crossed the sea with a needle and thread
Left my family, stitched a life instead
My hands are cracked, my back is sore
But I opened doors they locked before

[ROSIE]
I walk your path, but it’s full of mines
They cut new shapes and blur the lines
I read the rules and they still shift
The needle stabs, the pattern drifts

[CHORUS – BOTH]
No pattern fits, no cut is clean
We shape the cloth from what has been
The lines we draw, the seams we press
Are made from hope and brokenness

[VERSE 2 – ROSIE]
You held the line so I could fight
But I don’t see the fabric right
They patch, then pull, then stitch again
But it don’t hold like it did back then

[MAMA LUPE]
That’s the lie: that it ever held
We just made it look like something else
The truth is found in every flaw
That’s where you sew your own law

[CHORUS – BOTH]
No pattern fits, no cut is true
We bend the cloth and make it new
Your hands are mine, your thread is gold
You’re not alone, just brave and bold

[CODA – MAMA LUPE (softly)]
So trace your lines on living skin
And stitch this world from deep within.

[Lights hold on the two women. They sit side by side. Rosie reaches across and takes Mama Lupe’s hand.]

End Scene.

==========================================================================

Act II, Scene 3 – “Zipper’s Lament”
Location: A quiet alley behind the bodega
Time: Later that day
Set Description:
Cracked pavement. A back gate swinging. A pile of torn flyers against the wall. Zip sits alone on a loading crate. No gang. No Rosie. Just him and the echo of what he almost had.

Characters Present: Zip (solo)
Tone: Raw. Vulnerable. He doesn’t admit this stuff out loud to anyone—but we get to hear it.

Lights up. Zip lights a match. Watches it burn down. Drops it.

=========================================================================

ZIP
Funny thing about turf. You fight like hell for it…
Then one day, you realize you don’t know what it is you’re standing on.

(Beat. He stands. Paces. Kicks an empty soda can.)

ZIP
I don’t know who I am without the fight.
Don’t know what she saw in me… or what she saw through.

[MUSIC UP]

===========================================================================

Song: “Zipper’s Lament”
Style: Soulful street-ballad. Think Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” meets Rent’s “One Song Glory.”
Lead: Zip
Tone: Quiet pain with flashes of anger and longing.

===========================================================================

[VERSE 1 – ZIP]
I was raised in a rusted frame
Kissed by concrete, called by name
Learned to fight before I could trust
Turned love to ash, turned hope to dust

I had fists, I had a crew
Had my colors, had my view
Then she walked in with a different fire
And showed me what I could admire

[CHORUS]
But I ain’t built to stay
I’m the rain before the day
I’m a knife without a case
I’m the echo in the space
If she wanted more than charm
She should’ve picked a safer arm
Now I’m stitched too tight to bend—
Too sharp to love, too dull to mend

[VERSE 2 – ZIP, softer now]
They called me Zip ‘cause I don’t talk
But she made me walk a different walk
I let her see what I bury deep
And now that truth won’t let me sleep

[BRIDGE – RISING]
I ain’t a poet, I ain’t no prince
I steal peace and leave the lint
But I’d give it all, my gang, my name
Just to stand beside her shame

[CHORUS – REPRISE]
But I ain’t built to stay
I’m the smudge you scrub away
I’m the tag they paint at night
I’m the fuse that hates the light
If she wanted something clean
She should’ve cut me from the scene
But I’m stitched too tight to bend—
Too sharp to love, too dull to mend

[OUTRO – WHISPERED OVER FADE]
I ain’t got thread…
Just this flame…
And her name…

[Lights dim as Zip leans back against the wall. Not crying. But close.]

End Scene.

===================================================================

Act II, Scene 4 – “Threadlines”
Location: Factory floor, now converted for a worker assembly
Time: Early evening
Set Description:
Chairs have been arranged in rows. The machines are silent. There’s a clipboard on a barrel serving as a ballot box. Posters reading “STAND TOGETHER OR FALL APART” hang crookedly on the walls. Rosie is at the front, clipboard in hand. Tito stands nearby. Mama Lupe sits at the back. A tension you can taste in the air.

Characters Present: Rosie, Tito, Mama Lupe, Mickey, Zip, Workers, ICE Officers (unseen until late), Ensemble

Lights up. Rosie stands before the group. Silence. Zip enters quietly, unseen by most. Mickey lingers in the doorway.

===========================================================================

ROSIE
We’re not asking for miracles.
We’re asking for our names to mean something.

TITO
No more off-the-books. No more silence.
It’s time to vote.

She gestures to the clipboard. One by one, workers begin to line up. Some sign quickly. Some hesitate.

===========================================================================

Song: “Threadlines”
Style: Rhythmic ensemble build—spoken-word cadence meets choral swell. Think Hamilton meets The Crucible.
Leads: Rosie, Tito, Workers
Tone: Defiant, urgent, proud

===========================================================================

[VERSE 1 – ROSIE, rhythmically]
Every stitch you made, unpaid
Every hour worked, afraid
Every button, hem, and dart
Was made with soul, not a chart

[TITO – speaking into beat]
They tally profit, not our pain
But we’re the water, we’re the grain
This is our vote, our thread, our name
Sign it proud—don’t play their game

[ENSEMBLE – layering in]
Threadlines, red lines
Crossed but never broken
Headlines, deadlines
Still our truth is spoken

[CHORUS – FULL COMPANY]
We sign with fists, we sign with flame
We sign in silence, we sign in name
We sign in sweat, in grief, in hope
We sign to rise, we sign to cope

[VERSE 2 – VARIOUS WORKERS, one line at a time]
I sign for Rosa, who lost her shift
I sign for Juán, who jumped the lift
I sign for my father, buried in debt
I sign for the raise we haven’t seen yet

[BRIDGE – ROSIE & ENSEMBLE]
They draw the lines to keep us weak
We draw the thread where courage speaks
Our names aren’t numbers. Our time ain’t cheap.
You want a list? We make it deep.

=====================================================================

ip steps forward from the shadows. Signs the clipboard. Dead silence.]

ZIP
Patch me in.

[Just then—sudden pounding on the factory door. Everyone freezes.]

VOICE (OFFSTAGE, SHOUTING)
Federal immigration officers! Open up!

[Panic ripples through the workers. Mama Lupe stands.]

MAMA LUPE
Rosie… what do we do?

[Rosie steps forward slowly. She picks up the clipboard. Holds it to her chest.]

ROSIE
We don’t run.
We sign louder.

[FULL COMPANY]
We sign with fists, we sign with flame
We sign in fire, we sign in name
We won’t be ghosts, we won’t be game
We are the thread you cannot tame

[Bang on the door. Then silence. Lights hold on Rosie, defiant, trembling—but unbroken.]

End Scene.

===================================================================

Act II, Scene 5 – “Stitch It Back”
Location: The factory—rebuilt, reopened, reclaimed
Time: A few days later
Set Description:
Same sewing floor, but it breathes now. Sunlight pours through patched windows. Machines hum—not with pressure, but purpose. The American flag is rehung, carefully, proudly. One chair remains empty. A clipboard is mounted on the wall like art.

Characters Present: Rosie, Zip, Tito, Mama Lupe, Mickey, Workers, Gang, Neighborhood Kids, Ensemble

Lights up. Rosie enters first. She’s carrying fabric—not just to sew, but to share. Zip is already there, setting up folding chairs. Tito adjusts the fan. Mickey walks in with coffee for Mama Lupe. She takes it without a word—but with a nod.

==========================================================================

ROSIE
(quiet, to Zip)
We didn’t win.

ZIP
No.
(pauses)
We built.

TITO
That counts more.

Rosie looks around. She holds up the cloth, a bright bolt of gold.

ROSIE
Let’s stitch it back.

[Music begins—soft piano, then rising into full ensemble. Not mournful. Joyful. Bright.

======================================================================

Song: “Stitch It Back”
Style: Gospel-folk-pop fusion—think Hair meets Come From Away with a little Curtis Mayfield flare
Leads: Rosie & Ensemble
Tone: Uplifting, collective, radiant

=====================================================================

[VERSE 1 – ROSIE]
We were torn, we were bruised
We were left with nothing to lose
But a thread can hold a world in place
And a stitch can mend the human race

[TITO]
We were ghosts in our own street
Now we stand on brand new feet
They tried to cut us from the frame
But we signed back with our name

[CHORUS – FULL COMPANY]
Stitch it back, don’t let it fall
Piece by piece, we’ll mend it all
Every patch, a voice, a vow
We’re the future. We are now.

[VERSE 2 – ZIP]
I walked the wire, I wore the mask
But now I’m ready for the task
No more turf, no more sides—
Just a city that finally abides

[MAMA LUPE]
The hands that fed this beating town
Are sewing joy, not breaking down
The line is drawn, not to divide
But to hold us close inside

[CHORUS – FULL COMPANY]
Stitch it back, don’t let it fall
Piece by piece, we’ll mend it all
From the shadows, from the strain—
We thread our hearts through all this pain

[BRIDGE – CALL & RESPONSE]
ROSIE: You got fear?
COMPANY: Stitch it back!
ZIP: Got regret?
COMPANY: Stitch it back!
TITO: Got no papers?
COMPANY: Stitch it back!
ALL: Stitch it back and don’t look back!

[FINAL CHORUS – GOSPEL BUILD]
Stitch it back, let the sun shine in
This is where the real begins
We are thread, and we are flame—
You’ll never rip us out again

[CODA – SLOW, STRONG]
We stitch, we stand
We rise, hand in hand
We don’t break, we bend
This is our story—
We sew the end.

==========================================================================

[Lights burst into full daylight. Everyone is in motion—sewing, sweeping, laughing, dancing. The factory becomes a home.]

LIGHTS FADE.

CURTAIN.

==========================================================================

Ooohhh, lookit! There’s the Bardo bus just parked there waiting for us to get on board!

===========================================================================

See You At The Top!!!

gorby