Click here to audition for the We the People cast! (Sept. 1-2, 2026)

We the People was written and performed in 1975-76 in commemoration of the American Bicentennial celebration. It successfully toured Virginia schools for seven years, appearing in virtually every school district in the Commonwealth. It is now being reworked and revived by ATLAS Partnership in commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence. 

The professional premiere of the new adaptation of We the People will take place this fall in Virginia schools. We the People is an official partner of VA250, the statewide agency assembled to celebrate the Sestercentennial. We the People is informed by and in sync with Virginia Standards of Learning.

Performed by a diverse cast of four professional actor/musicians, the show tells the story of the Revolutionary War Era through 23 songs popularized and sung by both free and enslaved populations throughout the colonies/states during the early days of the history of our nation. The oldest song, “Brave Wolfe,” dates from 1759; the newest song, “Evening Bells,” became popular on this continent in 1802.

Some of the songs are somewhat or very well known: “Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” “Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier,” “Simple Gifts” and “Yankee Doodle.” Others are virtually unremembered today: “Days of ’76,” “Free Amerikay,” and “How Happy the Soldier.” 

Regardless of our current familiarity with each tune in We the People, these musical snapshots, and the historical narrative that connects and frames them, provide a unique and revealing look into the dreams, fears and rallying cries of a diverse people hearing and responding to the call of freedom.

We the People correlates to the following Virginia SOLs:

Virginia Studies (Grade 4) - VS.4, VS.5: Colonial Virginia, slavery, Virginia’s movement toward independence, key Virginia leaders, Black Virginians’ experiences and contributions, and the victory at Yorktown.

U.S. History to 1865 (Grade 5) - USI.4, USI.5, USI.6: Colonial life and slavery, experiences of enslaved and free Black people, causes of the Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and major leaders and events.

World History & Geography: 1500-Present (Grade 10) - WHII.4: Enlightenment ideas, their influence on Virginia and U.S. political foundations, and the American Revolution within the broader Age of Revolutions. 

Virginia & U.S. History (Grade 11) - VUS.3, VUS.5: Colonial society and slavery, political ideas of the Revolution, the tension between liberty and enslavement, and the causes and consequences of independence.

General Music (Grades 3-8) - 3.6; 4.7; 5.6; 6.6-6.7; 7.4, 7.6; 8.4, 8.6 - Music as historical and cultural expression, including how songs communicate ideas, reflect their time and place, and serve social and cultural functions.

Theatre Arts (Grades 3, 6-8, High School Theatre) - 3.11; 6.11; 7.11; 8.11; TI.11; TIII.11 - Demonstrates connections among theatre, music, history, and other fields of knowledge through an interdisciplinary musical theatre production.

English (Grades 3-12) - Reading Informational Text & Communication/ Multimodal Literacy - Comprehension and analysis of informational, literary, and dramatic texts, perspective/point of view, use of evidence, integration of historical and contextual knowledge.

Sources: Virginia Department of Education: 2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning; 2020 Music Standards of Learning; 2020 Theatre Arts Standards of Learning; and 2024 English Standards of Learning.