Missouri History in Performance Theatre (MoHiP)

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2009

Song of the Middle River

February 6, 2009

Thespian Hall, Boonville

6:30 p.m. period music by Cathy Barton and Dave Para with play beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Script by Thomas D. Pawley

In 1850 Robert Newsom, of Fulton Township, Callaway County, Missouri, purchased Celia, a young girl of fourteen as his slave and mistress.  Five and a half years later, Celia decided to combat her master’s sexual exploitation of her in the only way available:  she killed him.  Her trial and subsequent execution by hanging riveted the citizens of Missouri. Song examines the days leading up to the murder and captures the tragedy of Celia’s circumstances, revealing the multiple moral dilemmas of human bondage.   Written by Jefferson City playwright Thomas D. Pawley, Song of the Middle River reveals the realities of slave life in Missouri and the personal choices the institution of slavery forced upon slaves and slaveholders. The performance will be directed by cfrancis blackchild, and Boonville musicians Cathy Barton and Dave Para will perform hymns and spirituals of the era.

Tickets are $5, available at the door.

Due to its subject matter, this play is for mature audiences.

poster for Lion of the West by James Kirke Paulding
Lion of the West

September 25, 2009

Thespian Hall, Boonville

7:30 p.m.

Emendations by Mary Barile

Directed by Brett Johnson

Music by Cathy Barton and Dave Para

Paulding wrote Lion of the West in 1831 and it was a hit from its first performances in St. Louis in 1832. The play won a competition for the best portrayal of an American character—the leading role in the play, Colonel Nimrod Wildfire, who was based on frontiersman and congressman David Crockett. Although the scripted performance went through many alterations and name changes over the years, the widespread popularity of Wildfire remained.

KBIA radio producer and announcer Darren Hellwege will play the role of Wildfire, and Columbia Daily Tribune managing editor Jim Robertson plays the nefarious fake English nobleman intent on marrying into a wealthy American family. He runs up against the upright Colonel Nimrod Wildfire, and sparks fly, amid duels, pistols and backwoods rifles.

Popular musicians Cathy Barton and Dave Para start the evening with music of the period at 7:30 p.m., with Lion of the West immediately following.

Tickets will be sold at Thespian Hall the evening of the performance or may be reserved by calling (660) 882-7977. Admission is $5.00 for adults and $2.50 for children under twelve years of age.

Lion of the West is a lively, loud and fast-moving farce complete with backwoods heroes, damsels in distress and English snobbery. Modern audiences will have a chance to see what Missourians laughed with – and at – onstage in St. Louis, 1832.

Tickets are $5.00 adults, $2.50 children under 12, available at the door the night of the performance. For reservations, contact Thespian Hall at (660) 882-7977, or toll free at (888) 588-1477 Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Sponsored, in part, by The Friends of Historic Boonville, Santa Fe Trail Association and the University of Missouri Center for Arts & Humanities.

Miz Jane

October 31, 2009

Tiger Hotel ballroom, Columbia, immediately following the Society’s annual meeting luncheon.  The performance is open to the public with advanced purchase of luncheon meal ticket.

Miz Jane is a one-woman play about the life of Jane Lampton Clemens – a flirt, dancer, fine horsewoman, storyteller, and mother of Samuel, aka Mark Twain.

Jane faced the loss of children and husband, grappled with slavery, and raised a son who would forever shape American literature. Samuel often credited his sense of humor and storytelling to Jane.

The play, which takes place not long after Sam leaves Hannibal for the wide world, reveals an American personality every bit as complex as Mark Twain.

Miz Jane will be performed by Pamela Judd, theatre instructor at Murray State University. The play was written by MoHiP artistic director Mary Barile and will be directed by MU Department of Theatre associate professor Heather Carver.

Talented Missouri artists Jane Accurso and Dierik Leonhard will provide music of the era.

Accurso has deep Missouri Ozark and Arkansas musical roots and offers traditional as well as emerging styles of bluegrass, country, Cajun, and old-time, and brings lead vocals, guitar, and mandolin to the stage. Leonhard is fluent in all styles of banjo picking, is an excellent singer and fiddler, and has taught “Bluegrass 101” for many years in the Columbia Public Schools.