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Reviewed by Curtis W. Long



A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS
(Play by Paula Vogel)

In what turns out to be a chock-full-of-music drama, this one-night episode placed in the embattled U.S. capital in December of 1864, had a limited engagement at the Lucie Stern Theater in Palo Alto, California. It marks the 40th anniversary of Theater Works of Silicon Valley.

Playwright Paula Vogel is a native of Washington, D.C., and she uses her knowledge of the layout of that city as the backdrop for a complicated rendering of imaginative, stylized sequences of what might have occurred there upon a Christmas night just prior to the end of the Civil War. It would be handy to be aware that within four months of that moment, 1) Lincoln would be inaugurated for his second term; 2) Grant would meet with Lee at Appomattox; and 3) John Wilkes Booth would make a devastating visit to a private box at Ford’s Theater. A presaging of all of these events is woven into the icy tapestry of one December night.

The amply talented cast excels dramatically and musically. The characterizations cover military personnel from both sides of the conflict, as well as people still in bondage and those who have undergone manumission. Prominent also are the president and first lady, along with Booth and assorted conspirators.

It appears that the intent of the author is to contrast the projected placidness of the season with the dénouement of the most horrendous internal conflict experienced by the young United States of America. Intersecting therein are the personalities and situations which, by spring, will have become stamped into the annals of history.

The musical nature of the play was totally unexpected. It is not a “musical” in the strictest sense, in that no original music is used. Instead, carols, spirituals and other compositions well into the public domain liberally are sprinkled throughout the performance. Although I spoke with cast members afterwards, I neglected to inquire as to whether Ms. Vogel had written in the songs used in just that way, or if liberties had been taken in that regard.

Seats had been set aside for those of us at the Veterans Administration Western Blind Rehabilitation Center. Individual electronic receivers were offered for those who wished to listen to a running audio description of the play. Although I had used such devices in the past, apart from the pre-performance and intermission descriptions, after awhile I found it disruptive to my concentration.
The theater seating, I would estimate, is about 12 or 13 hundred people, and it was at capacity on Saturday night. I would suppose the audience mainly consisted of attendees from Stanford University and Silicon Valley.

The performance is divided into two one-hour acts, with a 15-minute intermission. The scene changes are seamless and without fanfare. There is no changing of sets and no curtains are used. Use is made of the aisles for entry and exit.

The acting is exceptional. Although, with the plethora of music, the cast just as easily could have given a full choral performance.

Paula Vogel’s incisive representation of the Zeitgeist of that period is commendable. It reflects the artistry that led to her receipt of the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.