Count Basie Center Turner Academy of the Arts in Red Bank, N.J., will present a staged reading of Sally Wister, a new play for young actors by D.W. Gregory, author of Radium Girls.
Sally Wister is based on the true story of a Quaker girl’s flight from Philadelphia during the British occupation of 1777-1778. It was inspired by Sally’s own letters.
Directed by Jessica O’Brien, the reading will take place at 7 p.m. in The Vogel theater on the Basie Center campus at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank. The event is free to the public, but registration is recommended.
“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to work once more with Jessica and her students at Count Basie,” Gregory said. “They produced Radium Girls a few years ago, and when I finished an early draft of Sally Wister, I took the script to her.
“This reading is an essential step in developing the play. So far I’ve only heard it once, and this presentation will give me the chance to hear this latest draft in front of an audience.”
The Story
As the British army advances on the city, leading Quaker families face increasing pressure to renounce their pacifism and commit to the Patriot Cause. To escape the scrutiny of their neighbors, 16-year-old Sally Wister and her family flee to relatives in the north.
Within days, however, Sally’s peaceful sojourn is shattered when the Maryland Militia arrives to requisition her aunt’s home as headquarters for General William Smallwood. Among Smallwood’s retinue is a dashing young major who soon captures Sally’s heart–and puts her faith to the test.
“When I first read Sally’s letters I was struck by how contemporary she seemed,” Gregory said. “She was a typical teenager, pre-occupied with her social life. And Sally was a bit dazzled by the parade of young officers who moved through her household over about nine months, between September 1777 and June 1778.”
Witty and Insightful
“What comes through is a witty and insightful young woman. I was inspired to write something that would tell the story of the Revolution through the eyes of characters we almost never hear from — the women, the conscientious objectors, the conflicted, and the loyalists who never got behind the cause of Independence.”
“The Quakers, who were pacifists, were suspected loyalists. Some of them actually were, but many were not. They were simply struggling to be true to their faith while remaining neutral in the conflict.
“What the play wrestles with is whether neutrality is ever possible. Do you–by refusing to choose a side–ultimately land on one side or another by default?”