“The river flows on, carrying secrets, songs, and stories past the people who live by its banks.”
A musical journey along America’s waterways “River of Dreams” is a stage work by Frank Cuthbert,based on the book by Hudson Talbott, blending folk traditions, American history, and theatrical imagination into a story carried by the current of a river that connects generations.
The Story
Set against the backdrop of the Hudson and beyond, River of Dreams follows ordinary people whose lives intertwine with the shifting tides of history. Farmers, traders, dreamers, and wanderers gather in scenes that merge music with memory. Characters chase fortune, resist change, fall in love, and learn what it means to belong to something larger than themselves.
The river is more than a setting—it is a living presence, a guide, and sometimes a trickster. It carries old songs forward while sweeping away what no longer belongs, reminding us that all stories flow into the same sea.
This is not just a tale of boats and banks. River of Dreams reimagines America’s waterways as a stage for human longing, ambition, and resilience. By mixing humor, romance, and myth with a score steeped in folk and Americana traditions, the musical invites audiences to see themselves in the currents of history.
A blend of folk, Americana, and theatrical storytelling, history, belonging, ambition, memory, and renewal.
Music and Lyrics: Based on The book by Hudson Talbott | Words and Music by Frank Cuthbert
Running Time: Approx. 45 minutes with no intermission
Genre: Folk musical infused with American and European influences