Cowboys! A Musical Vaudeville and Medicine Show is a rambunctious musical comedy set in the old west
of Wyoming in the 1880’s. Love, betrayal, family secrets, crooked politics, and cross-dressing are at the
heart of this retelling of the singing cowboy movies of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and the Sons Of The
Pioneers.

Ultimate Comedic Battle

This is the ultimate battle of brother against brother, family betrayal, thwarted love and happy endings. But
it’s more. There are deceitful con artists, politicians (redundant), long lost relatives and hanky-panky under
the influence. And yes, there is cross-dressing and Royal Canadian Mounties.

Nonstop Musical Comedy

Cowboys! A Musical Vaudeville and Medicine Show is set in the old west of Wyoming with lots of
wonderful songs in the style of The Sons Of The Pioneers, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, with quick-witted
comedy and a collision course of characters guaranteed to entertain all ages. From the moving and lovely
torch song Love Is Gamble to the buoyant duet A Robber’s Life, this musical comedy is designed to
entertain from start to finish. Soulful solos, exciting company numbers and clever comic tunes tell the story
of a love ordained to be filled with laughingly fitful fights, clever insights and potentially love filled nights.
The musical numbers hearken back to another era when names like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Sons Of The
Pioneers, Trigger, Champion and Rin Tin Tin entertained audiences with magical moves, musical panache
and snappy comedy.

Characters and Plot

Phinnius Phalstaff, and his second banana Toadsticker, pull into town to sell the cure-all elixir Golden
Reign, The Medicine of De’ Medici. To facilitate his sales, Phinnius employs a “yarn” about two brothers,
Mean Boss Lynch III and Colonel Lynch, and the betrayal that separated them (forcing the Colonel into a
life of crime as the leader of Robber’s Roost); two more brothers, Alfred and Rusty Rowland, forced to part
company by the conniving Mean Boss Lynch III; the niece and daughter of Mean Boss Lynch III, Rose and
Kitty, and their escape to Robber’s Roost; Rusty’s old friend, Blabby Gaze and the long lost mother, Ginny
Rowland (who has amnesia and thinks she’s the dance hall tart with a golden heart, Margo Bordeaux).
Mean Boss Lynch III cheats his brother out of his land by making him believe his daughter was killed by
Indians; he falsifies court records to get Alfred to cheat his brother Rusty out of his half of the Rowland
ranch and then cheats Alfred out of the ranch; he lies to get his niece and daughter to help him win his
election for territorial governor, which forces them to disguise themselves sneak off to Robber’s Roost, in
search of the Colonel, Rose’s father. Rose disguises herself as a cowboy gunfighter, which causes no end of
problems when she discovers that her beloved Rusty is also at the Roost. Alfred is in love with Kitty, who
will never love anybody but a Mounty; Blabby is in love with Ginny, who thinks she’s Margo, and Mean
Boss Lynch III who is in love with himself. Through a series of zany maneuvers Alfred returns as a
Mounty and saves the day, winning his Kitty’s love; Rusty gets Rose; Blabby gets Ginny; and Mean Boss
Lynch III gets caught. By the end of this musical comedy, as is the case at the end of every singing cowboy
movie, it’s happy trails and singing into the sunset!

Why Audiences Love Cowboys!

This musical entertains on every level possible. This is written for high-energy singers, dancers and actors
who love to entertain in every way. The plot is proven, the conflicts are universal and the characters are
deftly defined. When is love most likely to occur? When and where it is least expected. Cowboys! A
Musical Vaudeville and Medicine Show is available exclusively through Musical Bard. See our FAQs for
licensing and other information or use the box to your right to register and gain full access to Musical Bard.

Requires: Six men, three women as principles; (minimum) 3 men / 3 women ensemble