Farm Arts Collective’s newest show, “Johnny Appleseed,” begins with a question: “Do you love America?”

The roving performance takes place on Willow Wisp Organic Farm on the shores of the Delaware River in Damascus, PA and being in that place connects to the story of Johnny Appleseed, who traveled across America selling and planting apple seeds and acquiring land.

Known as an American legend, Appleseed, whose real name was John Chapman, is a real person—unlike other folklores like Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and John Henry.

The play, directed by Tannis Kowalchuk and written by Melissa Bell, Mark Dunau, Kowalchuk and Doug Rogers, sets about to piece together the story of Johnny Appleseed—pulling from real life research and filling in the gaps in between.

The real-life John Chapman was born in Massachusetts, and the play begins with a young Johnny Appleseed, who is introduced to the concept of selling commodities and decides upon apple seeds.

He then travels to Wilkes-Barre, PA (complete with a joke about the pronunciation: Wilkes-Barry? Wilkes-Bar?) and begins his cross-country adventure.

Young Johnny Appleseed, played with fervor by Jess Beveridge, is supported on the journey by the ensemble cast, who at different points in the play are different characters. They also sing songs and dance, adding an element of enjoyment to the performance.

Also along for the journey is Rosalee, played by Kate Schroeder, who knew Johnny as a child and admires him. Schroeder had a lovely singing voice and provided the guiding hand in moving the audience along.

In the play, and in real life, Johnny Appleseed introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting), which allows for a greater variety of species of apples. They are also good for making hard cider—which was introduced in a scene at a tavern.

Beveridge passes the torch (or, walking stick) to middle-aged Johnny Appleseed played by Jim Sullivan, who continues on his journey discovering a Native American settlement that had been destroyed by the Army.

His emotional speech sets the tone for what seems to be the crux of the play: we must take care of each other and take care of the land. This message is what real-life Johnny Appleseed was known for.

“Johnny Appleseed” was part seven of the decade-long Dream on the Farm series of ecologically-centered performances by Farm Arts Collective, and is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts America 250 programming.

The show aims to say that Johnny Appleseed was a true American: a savvy sense of business and real estate, but even more important: tending to and protecting the land.

[The show runs until August 9, Thursdays to Sundays. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. to explore The Museum of Curious History. Showtime is 7 p.m. Tickets cost $39, or $12 for children under 12, or pay what you can at the door.]