In a present-day Brooklyn, Miriam Cantor and her older sons, Stewart and Joe start off for Madison Square Garden. Tonight, Miriam’s youngest son, Sam, is fighting in the main event. At nineteen years old, he is the youngest contender to ever battle for the championship of professional wrestling.
The Garden is packed with characters of all kinds—with good guys and bad guys. They flock to the arena in anticipation of the battle between the champion, King Sid and the challenger, Sam “SAMSON” Cantor, a boy some believe is a genuine, modern day, Samson. Sam may or may not be a real Superman, but his super pride has made him dangerously unpredictable. And so the outcome of the championship bout isn’t clear—even to the man in charge, the head of the wrestling world and all world bad guy, The General (THE OPENING NUMBER ). Before Samson enters the ring, our narrators, the Three Sisters, redirect us back to when the story began. When Sam was eight years old.
At home, Miriam and her husband Jacob are arguing. At first, their disagreement is over Sam. Miriam acts as if their eight-year-old son is actually Samson, the biblical character blessed by God with the strength of a thousand men. Jacob wants Sam to have the chance to be a normal boy. He wants to have Sam’s hair trimmed. Miriam won’t allow it. The couple’s argument cuts deeper when it turns to the core issue—the business that Jacob inherited from his father, a business that afforded the Cantor family a wonderful lifestyle, is bankrupt. The family has moved to the other side of the tracks—where their old friends, don’t have friends. Jacob assures Miriam that they’re making a tough transition but everything will be fine (WHEN WE GET THERE ).
In the backyard of the Cantor home, eight-year-old Sam Cantor, with shoulder length hair, watches his older brothers play basketball. He wants to play too but Stewart and Joe won’t let him. They resent their younger brother because the uprooting of the family has affected them as much as anyone else, but no one seems to care. Young Sam receives all the attention and concern. The older boys taunt Sam and warn him that his future looks dim (IT TAKES MORE THAN STRENGTH ). By the song’s end, Sam’s frustration peaks. He punches the metal pole supporting the backboard and basket. The pole snaps and smashes into the side of the house, barely missing Stewart and Joe. They are stunned and never mention it again while Sam has scared himself and never shows his strength again until…
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With his nineteenth birthday approaching, Sam Cantor has no desire to follow in the Samson tradition. But one tradition he does respect is his annual picnic with the feisty girl-next-door, Naomi Sands. On the first day of summer, Sam and Naomi have had a private picnic every year since they were nine years old. Late, Sam rushes out of the house and bumps into his father. Jacob doesn’t seem to be in the best of health but when Sam shows concern, Jacob dismisses it. Sam leaves his father but before entering the park to meet Naomi, he stops to contemplate his future (LEAP OF FAITH).
Sam’s concern for his father’s health turns out to be well-founded. At only forty-nine years old, Jacob is ill. Miriam shows concern about their lack of good health insurance. She worries about the kind of care her husband will receive. Jacob assures his wife and his sons, Stewart and Joe, who are now in their mid-twenties, that he will recover. Then he asks that his illness be kept a secret from Sam. Jacob recognizes that Sam is at a crossroads and he doesn’t want to over-burden him, for now.
At the picnic, Naomi is relentless. To her, it’s ridiculous for Sam to want to be a normal person. She teases him until Sam chases her, playfully. They are about to kiss when a harrowing sound breaks the moment. A block away, the driver of an eighteen-wheeler has lost control. Sam and Naomi arrive at the scene. The giant truck has plowed into a storefront. And pinned under one of its tires is a young girl. The girl screams out, afraid the truck will fall and crush her. With no time to think, Sam acts. He grabs the front bumper of the truck and lifts it off the ground. He saves the young girl’s life and forever alters his own.
In the aftermath of his feat of strength, Sam is transformed from a boy who is afraid of drawing attention to himself, to a boy who is prepared to receive all the attention he knows he rightfully deserves. And this includes female attention which Naomi doesn’t appreciate. Stewart and Joe, who now appear two feet tall next to Sam, join Naomi in attacking Sam for his shallow, self-centered point of view. If only one of them had been given the gift, instead of Sam (IF IT WERE I).
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And while the children bicker, the parents are on to the next problem. Jacob’s illness is progressing and better treatment could be the difference between life and death. Miriam knows that Sam is the only one who can earn enough money to get Jacob better care and hopefully, a better chance. But instead of asking Sam, Jacob calls an old friend, for help.
Max Cobb is a pug-nosed leprechaun of a man. He was once a respected manager and trainer of professional wrestlers. But ten years ago, Max and his partner at the time, The General, managed a great champion, Johnny “The Tower” Powers. And this champion died in the ring. Born out of greed and impatience, Max and the General had pushed Johnny to the point of exhaustion because he was their ticket to the top. Max blamed himself and disappeared. The General pushed on and took control of professional wrestling.
Max’s heartfelt reunion with Miriam and Jacob after ten years is evidence of a special friendship. They reminisce over a photograph of Max and Jacob at the Russian Baths, in the sauna with their wrestling buddies, Bruno Sammartino, Angelo Sivuldi, the wrestler with the cauliflower ear and Johnny Powers, who would die in the ring a week after the picture was taken.
Max has been enlisted to train Sam to be a champion. The Samson character and the business of professional wrestling appear to be a match made in heaven. But Sam sees wrestling as being beneath him, so prompted by Miriam, Jacob asks his son for help (I WOULDN’T ASK). When Sam finds out his father is ill he vows to provide the best doctors and care available. He meets Max at the gym where his training gets off to a rocky start as Max begins breaking down Sam’s cocky attitude. With her family in chaos, Miriam asks God to look after her boys (MIRIAM’S PRAYER ).
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After Sam’s first wrestling match, he feels exhilarated and impressed with himself. The General comes to the dressing room to meet Sam and introduces Sam to his girlfriend, Delilah. A moment later, Naomi enters and rushes into Sam’s arms. And then, despite the fact that he has only just won his first match, Sam asks the General for a shot at the championship. The General assures Sam that all decisions of that kind will be made by him, in due time. The General hustles Delilah out as Sam’s family arrives. Jacob is there, despite his illness. Sam hugs his father and the family appears happy. But as our narrators the Three Sisters tell us, the family is running out of time.
It’s Max who works out the details of the deal with the General. He provides enough of an incentive for the General to grant Sam a big money bout. The General gets the lion’s share but Sam and his family get what they need. Better doctors and hope. With no leverage, the only other concession Max is able to secure is a place in the wrestling organization for Sam’s brothers Stewart and Joe. And so the date is set for King Sid vs. Samson.
A large gymnasium is filled with wrestlers, working out. Sam should be preparing for his match with Sid but he’s distracted. He’s been told he must lose the match—and Samson doesn’t lose. Max is trying to refocus Sam when Delilah enters the gym, followed by Sid. It’s clear that Sam and Delilah’s friendship has a spark to it, which makes Max nervous and Sid, furious. Sam and Sid don’t like each other. Sid thinks Sam is spoiled and disrespectful to the wrestlers who have had to grunt it out for years before getting a break. And Sam sees Sid as the General’s henchman. They almost come to blows right there in the gym but the General intervenes, firmly. Sam asks the General why he has to lose to Sid. The General calls on the support of the other wrestlers and trainers and lays down the law (LISTEN TO THE GENERAL SON ).
The first act ends with the battle in the ring foretold in the opening number. When the moment of truth comes, Sam’s pride won’t allow him to lose. He drives King Sid right through the ring’s canvas. The fans explode in celebration, the General vows revenge and Delilah is completely smitten, as the Act One curtain falls.
Music from ACT ONE | Sample Scenes and Additional Lyrics | Instrument of God (rough recording | Samson Story Act Two