Theater Previews at Duke Will Present the World Premiere of
Gore Vidal's Newest Work On the March to the SeaDurham, N.C. - Theater Previews at Duke, the professional producing arm of the Theater Studies Department at Duke University, will present the premiere of On the March to the Sea by Gore Vidal Feb. 22 – March 6, 2005 at Reynolds Theater on the Duke campus in Durham, N.C. Vidal’s new play will be produced as a staged theatrical concert reading, in the style of such classical presentations as Don Juan in Hell, John Brown’s Body, and, more recently, Love Letters and The Exonerated. Vidal will be active in both the production process and in related academic activities on campus.
Warner Shook will direct On the March to the Sea. Artistic director of the Intiman Theater from 1993-2000, Shook directed the world premiere of The Kentucky Cycle, Robert Schenkkan’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic drama.
“On the March to the Sea is a play whose universal themes of betrayal, honor and integrity in time of war resonate now more than ever,” says Zannie Giraud Voss, producing director at Duke. One of our nation’s most respected authors delivers a ripping new tale set during one of America’s darkest hours. At the height of the Civil War, Hinks, a Southern opportunist, christens his palatial new home and sends his sons off to war. But when the Union soldiers commandeer his estate, Hinks must choose between duty to his friends and the Confederacy or protecting his legacy.
Gore Vidal is an outspoken and prolific American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, historian and essayist, one of the great stylists of contemporary American prose. His 22 novels include his historical series: The American Chronicle comprised of seven novels, including Burr, Lincoln, 1876, Hollywood, Empire, Washington, D.C. and The Golden Age. Among his other major works are: Williwaw,The City and the Pillar, Julian, Myra Breckenridge and Duluth. His plays include Visit to a Small Planet, The Best Man, Romulus, Weekend and AnEvening with Richard Nixon. His film works include The Catered Affair, Suddenly, Last Summer, Ben-Hur, The Best Man (Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival) and Is Paris Burning? He has also written short stories, political and literary essays, reviews and a volume of memoirs. Vidal remains active in several other arenas, including politics, television and publishing. In 1993, a collection of his criticism, United States: Essays 1952-1992, won the National Book Award.
Theater Previews at Duke’s mission is to serve as a breeding ground for professional, innovative and high quality new plays and musicals, and to offer audiences the opportunity to engage in productions in a variety of stages of development. The presence of the playwright is an essential part of the program. Theater Previews provides the personnel, space, time and support required to bring his or her vision to fruition in the course of producing work that makes a contribution to the field on a national scale.
“We seek to serve playwrights by nurturing their works, which in turn serves the American theater by contributing to our generation’s body of expression and legacy and provides audiences with engaging, stimulating and high caliber art,” says Voss.
On the March to the Sea received a developmental reading this past fall at Hartford Stage Company. ###
