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Pocomoke and the arts: The Spirit of "1776"
By Jeffrey SmithMay 1, 20163 min read
Rehearsal for 1776: The Musical
The room is silent for a beat and then my character, Colonel Thomas McKean from Delaware, stands. "Surely we've managed to promote the most depressing man on this continent to the head of our troops," I intone in a deep Scottish brogue. Col. McKean was born in Pennsylvania to Ulster-Scot parents, and I may be the only person in the room who can speak confidently with the accent.
Many of the men here have performed with this group before. Perhaps not in a musical, but the production team, the Eastern Shore Madrigals, has performed more than forty shows over the last dozen or more years. Last year, at the Mar-Va Theater in Pocomoke, they put on a well-received production of The Sound of Music. This year, in honor of the 240th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Eastern Shore Madrigals are putting on a play about the meeting of men that drafted and signed the storied document that laid the foundation not only for our nation, but for a new birth of freedom that continues to be an example for freedom around the globe. A document which, in the words of the Thomas Jefferson of the play, "place(d) before mankind the common sense of the subject--in terms so plain and firm as to command assent."
We are, all of us, not professional actors. Less than a handful have performed in prior plays. What we all have in common is a chromosome and a willingness to be on stage six times in June. To stand before an audience and sing, "It's hot as hell in Philadelphia!" For me, that involves channelling a 280-year-old man from Pennsylvania and Delaware who was a passionate believer in independence.
It is an opportunity, according to the director, Mark Tyler, that comes along only once in a decade. The play opened on Broadway in 1969 and ran until 1972. Though it was revived on Broadway in 1997, and ran for 333 shows, one can generally only see this production when it comes to a regional theater like this one.
"1776: The Musical" will be performed at the Pocomoke High School auditorium weekends from June 10 through the 18. For tickets visit www.easternshoremadrigals.com.About Jeffrey Smith
Jeffrey Smith started writing at fourteen on a Smith-Corona electric typewriter he borrowed from his father. His most recent book, Mesabi Pioneers, tells the story of the immigrants who turned a remote area of northern Minnesota into America's greatest source of iron ore. Jeffrey lives in Berlin with his wife, daughter, and three cats. He can often be seen running along the streets, boardwalks, and trails of the Lower Eastern Shore. That's probably him there, in the orange.
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