IN THE WINTER of 1846, the American "Army of Occupation" has moved across
the disputed Nueces River and settled into Corpus Christi Camp, Texas, along
the Gulf Coast. Their purpose is to taunt the Mexican Army into firing the
first shots of the war that will result in the acquisition of much of the
American Southwest from Mexico and ease the growing tensions between the
North and South. As the long winter passes without incident, the army grows
restless; to alleviate some of the boredom, a young captain - John Magruder
- builds a theatre and begins producing plays to pass the time. When he decides
to produce Shakespeare's Othello, two promising young lieutenants - Ulysses
S. Grant and James Longstreet - are invited to audition for the role of Desdemona.
Grant and Longstreet have been best friends since they were cadets at West
Point, but the contest for Desdemona soon begins to encompass other differences,
and they find themselves divided on questions of nationalism, loyalty, fate,
and purpose. As resentments become betrayals, their friendship dissolves
even as war with Mexico looms. The ghost of Mexican President and General
Santa Anna conducts and narrates much of the action, invisibly leading the
two lieutenants by the hand toward their destinies in the American Civil
War, where Grant will find himself leading the Union Army to crush the Southern
rebellion, led by his old friend and brother-in-arms James Longstreet.
PRODUCTION HISTORY:
2004: General Desdemona was performed in Edinburgh, Scotland as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House
Lady Glenorchy’s Church, Roxburgh Place.
2005: A staged reading of the play was produced at 78th St. Theatre Lab in New York.
2008: The play will be produced by the Proctors New Play Festival in Schenectady, NY in April, 2008. Click here for more information: |
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Production Staff
Playwright - Egan Reich
Director - Alex Harvey
Company Manager - Kate Webster
Production Stage Manager - Anna Wiencrot
Costume Designer - Lisa Gonzalez Price
Projections Designer - Gary Ashwal
Asst. Projections Designer - Paul Edwards
Scenic and Properties Designer - Ian Forester
Graphics Designer - Sam Friedman
Producers
Cheryl Conkling, Hari Kalyan,
Egan Reich, Kate Webster
Associate Producer
Sam Roberts
Cast
SANTA ANNA - John Carter Brown
SAVANNAH - Katie deBuys
GEN. WORTH - Paul Edwards
LIEUT. PORTER - Ian Forester
CAPT. MAGRUDER - Erik Hellman
LT. ULYSSES S. GRANT - Tony LoVerde
LT. JAMES LONGSTREET - Anthony Nelson
MUSICIAN - Tim Requarth
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