Civil War Voices tells the compelling and passionate true stories of real
people who lived through the conflict, using the actual words the
characters left behind in diaries, letters, and other writings. All
new arrangements of traditional melodies of the period by renowned
composer Mark Hayes advance the narrative and sharpen the emotional impact
of the stories.
The main characters represent a cross section of America. Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave, bought her freedom,
and became Mary Todd Lincoln's closest friend and personal assistant in
the White House. Joe Harris
was a cotton planter from Alabama with a conflicted conscience about the
war. Theo and Harriet Perry were a young, married couple
from Texas, who were separated by the war. Joshua Lawrence
Chamberlain was a college professor from Maine, who enlisted to fight for
the Union.
The play follows the lives of these characters as the Civil War
progresses. Theo Perry's wife gives birth to a son a few months
after he leaves to fight in the war. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
becomes a national war hero as a result of his actions at Gettysburg and
accepts the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. Elizabeth Keckley
endures the indignity of slavery in early life, but eventually gains her
freedom and moves to Washington, D.C. There she becomes close
friends with the Lincoln family. Her joy at the news of the
Confederate surrender turns to sorrow when President Lincoln is
assassinated. Joe Harris delivers a passionate plea for
reconciliation and forgiveness as the play ends.
Through the lives and words of these five individuals, the struggles,
hardships and sacrifices of Americans become understandable and
real. The extraordinary music of the period reveals the emotions
behind the conflict. The show contains new, exciting arrangements of
some of the greatest songs of the greatest songs of the period such as
Battle Hymn of the Republic, Amazing Grace, and Sometimes I Feel like a
Motherless Child, just to name a few. Significantly, this show
appeals to young people. These songs and stories can help a new
generation of Americans identify with the incredible drama of this
stirring era.