The Hot New Deal

Written by Carole Graham Lehan

Surprising glimmers of hope, love, courage, and community shine through in an unexpected time.

It’s the summer of 1933, and a new president is making sweeping changes to relieve the deepest strains of the Great Depression. A New Orleans jazzman, named Big Dog, finds himself in the small town of Sharondale, Indiana on his way to meet the rest of his band for a recording session. 

He discovers that the studio canceled the session due to cutbacks but stays in Sharondale to help a group of kids, led by Mary Howard, rehearse for The Next Best Thing, a music contest at the Chicago World's Fair. Mary is an optimistic teenager who simply wants to lift the spirits of the town.

Big Dog teaches the young group about jazz to help improve their odds and their outlook. As he shares with Mary and her group about the cultural background of this new art form, some of the residents of quiet Sharondale grow uneasy about Big Dog’s New Orleans influence and mores. 

Watch how these characters navigate a changing world, open their minds to new beginnings, and build relationships that they never expected. 

Sammy Miller and the Congregation joins Glenelg Country School to develop and perform this original story using traditional music with a jazz twist. Songs include: "St Louis Blues," "Just a Closer Walk" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Sammy Miller’s professional New Orleans-style jazz band is “on a mission to put the generosity back into jazz.”

The Hot New Deal is an unprecedented collaboration.

www.Sammymillercongregation.com