VCU to present theatre production "The Civil War"

By Mike Frontiero
VCU School of Education

Theatre VCU will present "The Civil War," a musical-theatre event that aims to generate a renewed interest in Richmond's place in history as the former capital of the Confederacy and bring healing to a city that still resonates with the legacy of America's greatest conflict.

More than three-dozen gospel, rock, R&B, country and pop songs are on the score, representing the many styles of American music that come together as a harmonious and uplifting retelling of the Civil War era from many perspectives.

The show will run for three weeks under the direction of Broadway veterans David Leong -- the original fight and movement choreographer of the 1999 Broadway production of "The Civil War" -- and Patti D'Beck, a dancer and choreographer whose shows include "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Grease."

“I selected this show for VCU because of its Richmond-based roots and the definitive statement it will make to this community,” said Leong, who describes the production as a gift to the city. “It’s one of those feel good shows that affects you deeply.”

Broadway director Frank Wildhorn wrote “The Civil War,” relying on research he conducted into battlefields and the diaries of soldiers and their families.

“We would try to see with the eyes of Americans long dead and ask ourselves the questions they died about: ‘What is freedom?’ ‘What is faith?’ ‘What is right?’” said Wildhorn.

Images taken by famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady and others of the era act as a giant backdrop to the stories of northern and southern soldiers and their families and those of enslaved African Americans.

General admission tickets are $15. Seniors, VCU faculty and staff tickets are $12. Admission is free for VCU students. Group rates are also available. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on April 7-9, 13-16 and 20-23, and at 2:30 p.m. on April 17 in the Raymond Hodges Theatre, W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave., Richmond, Va. For more information call (804) 828-6026.

Theatre VCU is one of the largest and most prolific theater programs in the southeastern United States. With 24 faculty and staff and 280 graduate and undergraduate students, the department has produced many students who have developed national and international success after graduation.