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Ben Butler
Ben Butler
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Author: Richard Strand Publisher: Dramatists Play Service Format: Softcover # of Pages: 70 Pub. Date: 2017 ISBN-10: 082223632X ISBN-13: 9780822236320 Cast Size: 5 women, 1 man
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About the Play:
Ben Butler is a full-length historical drama by Richard
Strand. When three
runaway slaves
demand sanctuary at a Union Army fort, the General in charge is faced
with an impossible moral dilemma: follow the letter of the law, or
make a game-changing move that could alter the course of US history?
Ben Butler is set in the
early days of the Civil War. Shortly after Virginia seceded from the
Union three
runaway slaves fled across the river to Fort Monroe, run by the newly
arrived Major General in the Union Army, Benjamin Butler, a
businessman and defense lawyer from Boston. The
law of the United States says that the escaped slave who has demanded
to see him must be returned to his owner. But this this extremely
singular individual
– one Shepard Mallory – makes quite a powerful case for himself.
This historical moment would change the course of the war as Butler
made the legal decision to keep southern runaways free from their
slave owners in the confederacy. Based on true occurrences that
happened to Benjamin Butler who graduated from Colby College in Maine
in 1838, and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1840. During
part of the Civil War, he commanded the Union outpost Fort Monroe. A
combination of comedy, biography, and historical drama, Ben
Butler takes a
thought-provoking look at a key decision in the Civil War, and
explores the timeless questions surrounding social conscience,
individual responsibility, and the politics of race in America.
Ben Butler premiered in 2014 at New Jersey Repertory in
Long Branch, New Jersey. Since
then the play had regional premieres Off-Broadway at
59E59 in 2016
and at
professional theatres across the US and has been mounted by community
theatres.
Cast: 5 women, 1 man
What people say:
"[Ben Butler
is] part comedy, part historical drama and part biography, often all
at once…Just call it splendid…The beauty of the script…is how
it approaches thorny topics. In short, it's a hoot. Rather than dry
exposition or long-winded discussions, these men use wordplay that is
by turns sarcastic, droll and witty…[Strand's] comic voice
is…clever without being glib, meaningful without being pretentious.
It's a funny and impressive mixture." — New York
Times
"…simultaneously
thought-provoking and sidesplitting." — TheaterMania.com
"…an extraordinary, artful
script…spirited, intense, often humorous dialogue makes this show
completely captivating…a significant piece of theater and a
timeless exploration of social conscience and individual
responsibility." — BroadwayWorld.com
About the Playwright:
Richard Strand is an American playwright and educator.
He is a professor, technical director, and set designer at Mt. San
Antonio College in Walnut, California, where he teaches Stagecraft,
History of Theater, and Playwriting. |
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