Reviewed by Judy Richter
Playwright Paula Vogel weaves a vivid tapestry of
stories and traditional music in "A Civil War Christmas -- An American
Musical Celebration,"
being given its West Coast premiere by TheatreWorks. All of the stories take place
in and near the nation's capital on Christmas Eve, 1864. The Civil War is
winding down, and it's evident that the North is winning. President Lincoln has
issued the Emancipation Proclamation, so many black people have been freed from
slavery, but its memories are vivid.
The
14-member cast portrays an array of characters, most of them taken from
history. We meet two famous poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Walt Whitman,
both played by Gary S. Martinez, along with President Lincoln, played by very human Robert
Parsons; and his
wife, the somewhat unstable but well-meaning Mary Todd Lincoln, played by Diana
Torres Koss, who
also plays Secretary of War Stanton and others. One of the stories involves the
president's decision to ride out to his summer place to fetch the gloves that
are his wife's Christmas gift. A White House employee hears about the trip and
innocently tells some of his fellow rooming house tenants about it. Those
tenants include John Wilkes Booth (Kit Wilder) and two of his cohorts, who
plan to ambush and kill the president on his journey.
In
the meantime, Mrs. Lincoln is Christmas shopping with her black seamstress and
confidante, Elizabeth Keckley (C. Kelley Wright), who's still grieving for her
Union soldier son, killed in battle. Yet another story involves a black
soldier/blacksmith, Decatur Bronson (Michael A. Shepperd), who's looking for his wife, who
apparently was kidnapped by Confederate forces.
The
most compelling story finds a black mother, Hannah (Tracy Camp), and her daughter, Jessa (Myha'la
Herrold,
alternating with Tiana Travis), making their way to Washington and freedom. After they
become separated, they both wander around the city looking for each other and
the White House, where they believe President Lincoln will take them in. The
scenes of young Jessa wandering frightened and freezing in the increasingly
cold night are gripping, leading one to wonder just how she'll be rescued and
by whom.
One
also wonders at first where all of these disparate stories are going, but Vogel
skillfully brings all of the threads together for an uplifting ending. In the
meantime, she mixes in a variety of traditional songs of the time as well as
favorite Christmas carols, all sung well by the cast, accompanied by musical
director William Liberatore on piano. Daryl Waters arranged and orchestrated the
music. Robert Kelley's taut staging facilitates the shifts in focus, as does Joe Ragey's set design. Costumes by Fumiko
Bielefeldt assist
the actors' shift from one character to another. The sound is by Cliff
Caruthers, and
the lighting is by Pamila Z. Gray.
"A
Civil War Christmas" seems aptly timed when the nation is again at war. It
illustrates some of the casualties of war, but it also sounds strong notes of
hope. It also in another example of Vogel's prowess as a playwright.
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