The Last American Hammer (Piano Vocal Score)

Milcom Negley, a one-man militia, rages against the tyranny of federal overreach. He is hunkered down in a rural Toby jug museum in a rust belt Ohio town where Tink Enraught, a mannered curatrix, offers him tea and cookies. Milcom is a “Thirteenther” – a conspiracy theorist who believes an obscure, would-be Thirteenth amendment negates the authority of our government. He occupies the museum because it is the only place left in his failed town to receive federal funds – a grant for the upkeep of a rare 17th-century British pitcher known as “Sir Oswyn.” Although Milcom expects to be swarmed by military drones, attention is paid only by Agent Reyes, a young rookie FBI field specialist. Milcom explains that the town’s only major source of employment – a hammer manufacturer – has gone under, leaving the residents lost. He is armed with “the Last American Hammer” to roll off the plant’s line and intends to hold a proxy trial against the US government using Toby jugs as physical stand-ins for a court. 

With a bluegrass-infused score that brings American roots to the operatic stage, The Last American Hammer combines tragedy, comedy, and empathy in small town USA.

Productions at Urban Arias, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh Opera, The University of Illinois, and Opera Grand Rapids