Act I
The curtain rises on an elaborate Ziegfeld Follies production number. The song, led by a dynamic leading lady known simply as “Ziegfeld’s Favorite,” celebrates Will Rogers, whose daily newspaper column has America entranced (Will-a-Mania”). After all the pageantry, Will enters and humbly addresses the audience, commenting on politics and current events with frankness and homespun humor (“Never Met A Man”). Claiming Mr. Ziegfeld insists upon an entertaining show, Will throws in a few rope tricks (“Give A Man Enough Rope”).
Will takes the audience back to an Oklahoma ranch house in 1879, when Clem Rogers and his six daughters celebrate the birth of little Will (“It’s A Boy!”). Young Will grows up and, at age nineteen, vows to leave the family ranch to become a cowboy in Argentina (“It’s A Boy!” Reprise).
Mr. Ziegfeld interrupts the show, pointing out that Will has presented two scenes and “we still haven’t met the girl.” Enter Betty Blake, an Oklahoma farmgirl pining for love. Of course, in this Ziegfeld production, Betty descends from the moon and sings from a giant trapeze (“My Unknown Someone”). Will and Betty meet in a train station, and he promises to come back for her in a year.
That one year turns to several, as Will tours the country performing his cowboy routine (“The St. Louis Fair”). Will and Betty marry and have four kids, and the entire family travels the country on the Vaudeville circuit (“The Big Time”). Betty wonders if she made the right decision in marrying a traveling man (“My Big Mistake”)
Florenz Ziegfeld offers Will a part in the famous Ziegfeld Follies, and he accepts. After six fabulous seasons, Will accepts an offer to go to Hollywood. Ziegfeld insists that Act I conclude with a wedding, so the company recreates Will and Betty’s wedding day (“Marry Me Now” / “Without You”). As the number concludes, the entire family exits carrying suitcases spelling out “Hollywood or Bust.”
Act II
Will and a quartet of cowboys wow the audience with a display of elaborate rope tricks (“Entr’acte/ Give A Man Enough Rope”). Will chats with the audience and laments the destruction of America’s natural landscape (“Look Around”).
In 1928, Will decides to run for President (“Our Favorite Son”), but he loses the election. Betty, who has been left in California with the children, appears atop a grand piano and voices her troubles through a torch song (“No Man Left For Me”). Apparently, Will has been so busy making movies, talking on radio, and writing newspaper columns that he barely sees his own family. Will attempts to placate Betty with lavish gifts (“Presents For Mrs. Rogers”).
Suddenly, the stagehands begin dismantling the set; the Great Depression has arrived. Will knows people are in real trouble, and he worries that all he does is tell ’em jokes. But the ghost of Will’s father Clem reassures Will that his straight talk and simple truths soothe the nation’s jitters (“Will-a-mania” Reprise).
Will’s buddy Wiley, a pilot, arrives to fly Will up to Alaska in a flight that will ultimately prove fatal. Will says his final goodbye to Betty (“Without You” Reprise). Will explains to the audience that his plane crashed on August 15, 1835, and the nation mourned his passing. The entire company recalls the profound effect Will Rogers had on America. Will, reflecting on his life and career, encourages everyone in the audience to “start livin’ your life in such a way that you’ll never be embarrassed to have Mr. Ziegfeld do a show about you” (Finale: “Never Met A Man I Didn’t Like”). As the number ends, Will turns upstage, strikes his signature pose, and disappears into a tunnel of white light.