THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505110193
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
In 1587, 117 men, women and children sailed from Plymouth, England, to begin a new life in a strange land.
They settled on Roanoke Island, but the stay was brief.
The settlers disappeared without a trace, leaving historians and archaeologists with a mystery that has never been solved.
Now, 408 years later, 137 men, women and children work to keep that story alive in the 55th production season of ``The Lost Colony.''
Rehearsals begin Saturday for Paul Green's symphonic drama, which opens June 8 at Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Green wrote ``The Lost Colony'' as part of the 350th birthday celebration of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World.
The show premiered on July 4, 1937, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attended the play on Aug. 18 and watched from his car, parked atop a specially built ramp at the Waterside Theatre.
The play was scheduled to run for one season, but it didn't work out that way.
America's first ``outdoor drama'' was so popular that it ran the next season and, except for the war years of 1942-1944, has run every summer since.
About 3 million people have seen the play since its debut. And public relations director Eric Hause says some 80,000 are expected to view it this summer.
One major change this year is the ``off'' night. For the past several seasons, there were no performances on Sunday. But this year, the cast and crew will rest on Saturdays.
That doesn't mean the 2,000-seat amphitheater on Roanoke Sound will be dark every Saturday. On July 1, The North Carolina Symphony will perform classical selections in a concert under the stars.
Other special events at the theater this summer include a fireworks display on Anniversary Night July 4, and the Virginia Dare Birthday Celebration at Fort Raleigh on Aug. 18.
The birthday celebration was recently voted one of the top 20 events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. By the way, Virginia Dare, born to Ananias and Eleanor Dare on Aug. 18, 1587, turns 408 this year.
Each summer, ``The Lost Colony'' celebrates her birthday by casting local infants in the role of baby Virginia Dare.
One interesting note about this year's cast: The play could be subtitled ``The Bridges of Dare County.'' The Durham-based Bridge family will have three players onstage. Father Don Bridge appears as Old Tom, his wife Lisa will play the queen starting Aug. 1, and their son Max plays Wano. Barbara Hird leaves the queen role on July 31 to take her one-woman show, ``Elizabeth R,'' to her native England.
Tony Award-winning costume designer William Ivey Long is back with a new title: scenic designer. He'll be responsible for planning and implementing a new approach for all the scenic elements of the production, including props, sets and costumes. Long is well-represented on Broadway these days; three productions, ``Laughter on the 23rd Floor,'' ``Crazy for You'' and ``Guys and Dolls,'' use his costumes.
What else can we expect from ``The Lost Colony'' this year?
``We have a new sound guy,'' Hause says. ``So we probably will hear some more big bam-booms.''
And when ``The Lost Colony'' opens on June 8 at 8:30 p.m. (Green selected the time to coincide with the natural lighting behind Waterside Theatre at sunset), it will mark its 3,107th performance. MEMO: John Harper covers Outer Banks entertainment for The Carolina Coast.
Send comments and questions to him at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C.
27959.
ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Indians and colonists share a peace pipe in this scene from ``The
Lost Colony,'' outdoor drama staged annually in Manteo.
WHAT & WHEN
What: ``The Lost Colony'' outdoor drama
When: June 8-Aug. 25, 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday from June 8
to Aug. 25
Where: Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island
For ticket information: call 473-2127 or (800) 488-5012.
by CNB