Great Americans on Stage

WYN

Description

Playwright WYN's Great Americans on Stage shines a light on key figures in our country's early years-its decades of ascent from revolution, disorder, and division to unbreakable union and rising economic and political power. Two of the plays in WYN's collection center on men known to all, Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln. The third asks theatergoers to remember the once-famous Light Horse Harry, a hero of the American Revolution and the only man in the ranks to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. As enlightening as they are entertaining, the plays collected in Great Americans on Stage will delight theater lovers and inspire directors.

Sujets

• Historical
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 09 janvier 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977209313
• Langue: English

Extrait

Great Americans on Stage
“Light Horse Harry” – Alexander Hamilton – Abraham Lincoln
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2019 WYN
v2.0

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc.
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ISBN: 978-1-9772-0931-3

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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA


Table of Contents and Play Notes
The “Light Horse Harry” Play - “An American Patriot”
Nowadays, few people remember “Light Horse Harry” (nickname for Henry Lee III), yet during our great war for independence, hardly anyone was more renowned than this colorful scion of the Lee family. On the heels of his wartime glory came rewarding marriages to wealth and beauty, and an eminent political career, capped by Governorship of Virginia. Unfortunately, Harry’s later life was ill-fated – his wealth frittered away in an excess of land speculation, and his body crushed by a pro-war mob of “patriots” when, in 1812, Harry came to the aid of an anti-war newspaper in Baltimore.

The Hamilton Play - “The Great Alexander”
Written more than a decade before the triumphant hip hop version on Broad-way, WYN’s play “The Great Alexander” boasts no musical pyrotechnics. Instead, it leans towards a more intimate, detailed, and revealing portrait of Hamilton’s life. Animated by sparkling dialogue, this play vividly portrays “the great Alexander’s” brilliance, his ardent romances, and his critical role in laying the foundation for American greatness. Hamilton’s Achilles Heel was his inordinate pride, prompting him, time and again, to pour out fiery words which hurt his own party, sapped his political career, and ultimately led to his fatal duel with Aaron Burr.

The Lincoln Play - “Say No to War! Mr. Lincoln”
While the two other plays in this collection have an essentially realist foundation, this Lincoln play is spun almost entirely out of the author’s imagination. It pretends that, en route to his inauguration, Lincoln stopped by in Alexandria to sound out the views of a young Quaker who had won renown as a leader fighting for peace. In a warmly cordial but conflicted discussion, these two men shed light on the crucial issues affecting Lincoln’s impending decisions. A pleasing sub-theme of this play is a budding romance between the devout young Quaker, and a lovely but irreligious woman reporter.


List of Illustrations
1) Light Horse Harry, mounted on his steed

2) Portrait of Handsome Harry

3) Alexander Hamilton, portrait with currency backdrop

4) Hamilton and Burr, facing each other

5) Lincoln Portrait - seated alone

6) Lincoln Seated with Officer standing by him

7) Cannon at Fort Sumter

8) The Attack on Fort Sumter – opening shots in Civil War



Light Horse Harry
An American Patriot
Chapters in the Life and Loves of “Light Horse Harry” Lee


A Play in Three Acts
by WYN*


(*Pen-name for Irwin Shishko)





© Irwin Shishko June 30, 2003
Table of Contents
Preface: An American Patriot – Truth or Fiction?
The Characters
Act I
Scene 1 Courtship
Scene 2 After the Wedding
Act II
Scene 1 Reunion at Stratford
Scene 2 Hard Times
Scene 3 Alexandria (June 1812)
Act III
Scene 1 The Barricade
Scene 2 The Rampage
Scene 3 Requiem for a Hero


Preface
An American Patriot – Truth or Fiction?
It must occur to anyone who sees or reads “An American Patriot” to wonder: how much of this play is fact and how much fiction? The answer to this question cannot be altogether precise. The play’s bare bones – its dates, names, places and principal events – are largely “true” in the sense that they correspond to information presented in various works about “Light Horse Harry” Lee. (See references below) I owe much to these works for such raw material, and also for shaping my initial impression of Harry’s personality. However, I have certainly taken the liberty to reconfigure his character as I wished for dramatic purpose, tilting him further in the direction of a typically flawed tragic hero. Beyond that (as is perhaps self-evident), nearly all of the play’s dialogue is imagined, except for quotations drawn from Baltimore records about the 1812 riots. And nearly all of the play’s characters, though based on real persons, are in their dramatic essence, products of the author’s imagination. In all, it may be fair to say that the skeleton of this play is largely factual, while its flesh and spirit are mainly invented.
On the face of it, An American Patriot may seem to be an instructive tale suitable for the History Channel, or a lively melodrama fit for Hollywood. However, in aspiration at least, this play attempts to create personalities that are something more than neat historic types. Of course, I must leave it to the actors’ magic and the audience’s judgment to determine whether we have breathed life into our iconic hero, his maturing wife Ann, and other leading characters, such as Ann’s verbally adroit friends Mary and Willie, the empathetic island boy, Phiny and the redoubtable Alexander Hanson. Finally, I might observe that, although this work is not a “message play”, it revolves around a central irony: the blind patriotism of a mob which destroys an American Patriot, a man who shed blood for their freedom and might have commanded the armed forces they revere.
WYN


Principal References :
Boyd, Thomas - Light Horse Harry Lee (1931)
Gerson, Noel B. - Light Horse Harry (1966)
Nagel, Paul C. – The Lees of Virginia (1990)
Royster, Charles - Light Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution (1981)
Chronicles of Baltimore – WebRoots.org Genealogy Foundation


The Characters
Henry Lee III (“Light Horse Harry”)
Ann Hill Carter – the young woman Harry is wooing, later his wife
Charles Carter - Ann’s father
Mary Farley - Ann’s cousin
The Honor Guard
The Green-jacketed Men
Col. James Lingan (later General) Lt. Marion Capt. Rogers
Capt. John Fitzhugh Capt. Joe Armstrong Lt. George Handy Lt. Smythe
Henry Lee IV – Harry’s son by his first wife, Matilda
Lucy Grymes Lee - Harry’s daughter by Matilda
Charles Carter Lee (“Carter”) – Ann and Harry’s son
William Champe Carter – Mary’s husband.
Alexander C. Hanson – editor of the Baltimore Federal Republican
Slaves – Charlotte and 2 others
Hanson’s friends: Ephraim Gaither John Thompson Daniel Murray George Winchester
Capt. Crabb Gen. Stricker – Commander of Baltimore’s Armed Forces
Mayor Johnson – Baltimore’s Mayor
Capt. Barney – officer in charge of Baltimore’s Cavalry Unit
Mr. Mumma – a butcher
Dr. Owen
Dr. Hall
Phineas Miller Nightingale – General Greene’s grandson
Ten Unnamed men in Hanson’s Group
Voices of the Crowd


Act I, Scene 1
Courtship
Center stage is the rear entrance to Shirley Mansion. It is springtime, and the setting is beguiling with flowering trees on each side of the mansion... and the river visible behind. A path stretches down from the pillared veranda and divides into garden walks. To the audience’s left near front stage, Ann Carter sits on a bench in a flowered alcove, singing and accompanying herself on the lute. She is a slim, and very attractive 20 year old, with a rosy complexion and dark eyes which echo her dark brown hair.
ANN
(singing):
Now is the month of May-ing, When merry lads are playing
Fa la la la la la la la la, fa la la la la la la
Each with his bonny lass, A dancing on the grass
Fa la la la la la la ………
She interrupts her singing, and puts down her lute, when she sees her friend Mary Farley approaching. Mary is prettily dressed, one and twenty, fair, blond and blue eyed and, in her own way, as lovely as Ann. The two women embrace.
ANN
Ah Mary. I’m so glad you’ve come.
MARY
You have only to say a Hail Mary, and I appear…And you….you look so radiant, or should I say so…o fired up …like a young mare in heat.
ANN
You are always so…o outrageous.
MARY
I am always ready to “Harry” the blushing bride.
ANN
Not yet a blushing bride I fear… my father’s strangely hesitant to give his consent.
M