McCook native pens Civil War musical taking stage at Doane College

CRETE -- A musical play based on the ancestors of a McCook family, and written by one of its members, Jim Harris of Lincoln, will be presented by Doane College next week.

Doane College will present the world premiere of the poignant Civil War musical "My Eyes Have Seen the Glory" March 6-8 in Whitcomb Lee Conservatory.

Evening productions begin at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance begins Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 or free with a Doane ID.

Written by McCook native, now Lincoln resident Jim Harris, a lawyer with Harris Law Offices, the two-act musical includes a character based on one of Harris' ancestors who owned a plantation in the South.

"But the interesting thing about this piece is its equitable point of view between the North and the South," said Robin McKercher, director of theatre at Doane.

After premiering at Doane's Crete campus, McKercher will take the musical to Opelika, Ala., where it will be produced March 13 at the historical antebellum First United Methodist Church with a professional Equity cast of five as a fund-raiser for the Opelika Historical Society.

The playwright Jim Harris' ancestor, Joseph Harris, owned numerous farms that grew cotton during the 1850s and 1860s near the Opelika area. One of those farm plots has stayed in his family.

Gene Morris, director of the Fox Theatre in McCook, has hopes of bringing the production to McCook, perhaps as early as next Heritage Days.

According to McKercher, several equity theatres are interested in the show, including the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Ga., and Alabama Shakespeare Company in Montgomery, Ala. Both LORT theatres are looking at the piece as a possible addition for their 2009-2010 seasons.

"My Eyes Have Seen the Glory" weaves the stories of five ordinary citizens who never met but are defined by their Civil War years.

"Their whole living is caught up in that tumultuous time. The musical shares their struggle to find peace and reconciliation amid a world filled with strife," McKercher said.

Characters are:

* Joe Harris, a plantation owner who witnesses the war from his front porch

* Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a Union colonel who changed the tide of the battle of Gettysburg with his actions at Little Round Top. He also is known for ordering a military salute of honor when Lee surrenders, saluting the defeated Confederates as they marched by in honor of their valor and his wish for peace.

The production is a reunion of sorts for McKercher and Harris, who worked together in the 2002 production "The Civil War" during McKercher's years as director of the Lincoln Community Playhouse.

In their upcoming musical, audience members can expect to be transported by words and music to the Civil War.

The production includes "Civil War-era music reinvented," McKercher said, such as Amazing Grace, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Dixie, and Yellow Rose of Texas. All of the songs are arranged by Mark Hayes, an internationally known composer whose works have been performed at Carnegie Hall.

The set will seem as if lifted and torn from the pages of journals and diaries. Actors will wear contemporary costumes with a hint of the Civil War period.

"We're not pretending we are these people. We are the essence of their passion," McKercher said.

The story will be accompanied by multi-media, including a motion picture slide show that moves in relation to songs and themes.

But audiences will leave most remembering the characters, McKercher promises, "these people who did things that were human in the midst of inhumanity."

For more information, or to reserve tickets, call 402.826.8231 or 826.8280.

Cast List

Joe Harris ........................Michael Ulmer, sophomore, Texarkana, Texas

Elizabeth Keckley..................................Mary Lawson, first year, Lincoln

Theo Perry................................... Zach Kloppenborg, sophomore, Emmet

Harriet Perry..................................... Meghan Connor, first year, Lincoln

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain ........ Jacob Hustedde, first year, Bellevue

Ensemble .......................... Bethie Marshall, sophomore, Lawrence, Kan.

Ensemble ................................................... Ella Wiles, first year, Lincoln

Ensemble ............................................ Levi Gerlach, first year, Plymouth

Ensemble .................................................. Tyler Mahnken, junior, Grant

Ensemble ........................................... Chris Owens, first year, Holdrege