Lewis Loves Clark

History remembers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as two of America’s greatest explorers. But what if there was more to their story?

Lewis Loves Clark is a wildly funny, unexpectedly moving musical tragicomedy that reimagines the legendary Corps of Discovery expedition through the lens of an unrequited love story.

As Lewis struggles with his feelings for the oblivious Clark, the expedition’s other central figures—including the resourceful Sacagawea and the enslaved York—navigate their own complicated relationships with the promise and contradictions of the American Dream.

Featuring an original score blending bluegrass, folk, and contemporary pop, Lewis Loves Clark combines irreverent comedy with a sharp examination of American mythology, westward expansion, and the people whose stories have been left out of the history books.

At its heart, the musical asks what it means to love someone, to belong somewhere, and to pursue a dream that was never designed for everyone.

Book & Lyrics

Mike Ross

Music

Dylan MarcAurele

Director

Robert O’Hara

Lead Producer

DJL Productions

Executive Producer

Seaview

Lewis Loves Clark was initially developed through the 2020–2021 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, with subsequent development supported by the Foundation in collaboration with Cherokee dramaturg DeLanna Studi.

In 2023, the musical received the prestigious Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The following year, it was selected for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s 36th Annual Festival of New Musicals.

In October 2026, DJL Productions presented an invited developmental workshop at MCC Theater in New York City, directed by Robert O’Hara. The workshop culminated in two industry presentations on October 23, featuring a company of Broadway performers led by Taylor Trensch as Meriwether Lewis and Sam Gravitte as William Clark.