
10-MINUTE MUSICAL COLLECTION
Franklin Pierce Dragon Slayer
Book & lyrics by Preston Max Allen, Music by Will Buck
When eighth-grader Jennifer is assigned Franklin Pierce for her class's President's Day project, she's bummed to have gotten one of the history's most forgettable presidents. However, late that night Franklin himself visits Jennifer to tell her the real truth behind his presidency.
Comedy
Overview






Cast Size
1m,1f
Duration
10 Mins



Setting
Bedroom at Night, Present



Cautions
None



Subgenre
Fantasy, Science Fiction



Themes
Adolescence, Politics



Target Audience
Appropriate for all audiences






Style
Classic/Standard Musical Theatre
Instrumentation
Piano/Vocal, Percussion, Bass, Guitar



Additional Resources
Accompaniment Tracks
Synopsis
Jennifer, an incredibly average eighth grader, is in the midst of struggling to complete a class assignment on tragically boring president Franklin Pierce “FRANKLIN PIERCE DID NOT”. Disappointed that everyone in class will have a more interesting president to show off in their presentations, Jennifer puts her project away for the night. But as soon as she goes to sleep, Jennifer is awakened by a mysterious visitor: Franklin Pierce himself!
That’s right, former president Franklin Pierce has come to Jennifer to inform her that once a year a student is assigned a report on his presidency, and once a year he pleads with them to set the record straight. It wasn’t that he was a boring and disappointing president - he was actually distracted from his White House duties by a secret magical dragon war threatening mankind “TELL THEM ALL”. Franklin’s world-saving adventure stayed a secret after his death, and now he’s determined to finally convince someone to present the truth.
However, Jennifer isn’t swayed by his fantastical story and insists he just get used to his real, boring life where he’s simply not cool. Franklin sees Jennifer’s really talking about herself and tries to get her to see the unique person she is, even if she’s not that popular “THE YOU YOU ARE”. Jennifer realizes he’s right and is ready to embrace her special brand understanding that Franklin was using the dragons as a metaphor to show her how silly it looks when you try to be more exciting than you are. But as Jennifer champions her new positive attitude, Franklin tries to insist that no, it wasn’t a metaphor, he really did slay a clan of dragons.
Just then, Jennifer wakes up from what she believes was a wild dream. But when Franklin Pierce appears at the foot of her bed with one last plea, no one can be sure!
Casting Information
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JENNIFER: A jaded eighth grader. Practical, subdued which reflects in her style.
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FRANKLIN PIERCE: Literally the former president.
Songs
Media
Production History
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2016 - Written for the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
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2017 - SOUND BITES 4.0 Festival at the Signature Theatre Center, NY.
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2018 - Finalist for City Theatre’s National Award for Short Playwriting Contest.
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2019 - City Theater in Miami from May 30th - June 23rd as part of their 24th Annual Summer Shorts Festival.
Author Bios

WILL BUCK is a composer, lyricist, and pianist. His musical Only Anne (book and lyrics by John Dietrich) was featured in Goodspeed Opera House’s Festival of New Musicals in January 2016. His short piece, Franklin Pierce: Dragon Slayer (written with Preston Max Allen), was featured in the 2017 Sound Bites Festival in New York and 2018’s City Theatre Summer Shorts in Miami, where it was a finalist for the National Award for Short Playwriting. Other writing credits include: Toybox (with Teresa Lotz), GO (with Cory Conley), and the upcoming Larry And Larry And Me (with Deb Poppel), Nureyev (with Dietrich) and Powerless. He is an alumnus of Northwestern University and the NYU Musical Theatre Graduate Writing Program, and is a current member of the BMI Workshop. www.willbuck.com

PRESTON MAX ALLEN is a playwright, composer, and lyricist whose work has been performed at the New Amsterdam Theatre, Signature Theatre, Lincoln Center, Chautauqua Institution, The PIT, Joe’s Pub, Musical Theatre Factory, and Feinstein’s/54 Below. He conceived and wrote the book, music, and lyrics for We Are The Tigers (Off-Broadway; Theatre 80), Never Better, Agent 355 (co-book/dramaturgy by Jessica Kahkoska), and Carrie 2: The Rage, An Unauthorized Musical Parody (Jeff Nominee, Best Musical). Preston is an LA Ovation winner for Best Lyrics/Composition (We Are The Tigers), member of the Ars Nova Play Group (2019/2020), and an alumni of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop. @prestonmaxallen