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Lost Colony (play)
Encyclopedia
The Lost Colony is a historical play by Pulitzer Prize
-winning playwright Paul Green about Roanoke
, the first English colony in North America
. The play is based on the historical accounts of Sir Walter Raleigh
's failed attempts to establish a permanent settlement in the 1580s in part of what was then the Colony of Virginia. It has been performed since 1937 in an outdoor theater located on the site of Sir Walter's colony on Roanoke Island
in the Outer Banks
region near present-day Manteo, North Carolina
. As of 2009, it is the United States' second longest running historical outdoor drama, behind The Ramona Pageant
.
Meant only to last for one season, The Lost Colony has become a North Carolina tradition, produced for over four million visitors since 1937.
On July 4, 1937, The Lost Colony first opened. The drama underwent many conceptions before July 1937. First, there was as an annual picnic event, then a silent film
, a pageant and finally a symphonic outdoor drama
.
In the early 1900s, a group was formed to create a “pageant” of the story — an oratorio of the events using pantomime, music, and narration. W.O. Sounders, editor of the Elizabeth City Independent was a passionate proponent of these plans. But due to the national financial depression, the plans remained dormant until Roanoke Island native and Dare County School Superintendent Mabel Evans Jones awakened interest with a 1921 silent film of the historic events that she conceived, wrote and produced, and in which she starred. The finished film toured across North Carolina. It was the first silent film produced in the state.
After her successful film, Jones and other community leaders then create a dramatic pageant based on her film script. On Virginia Dare
’s birthday in 1925 a lost colony pageant was performed “sound side” against the natural backdrop of the Roanoke Sound.
The “pageant” was very successful and organizers sought to build on their achievement in their preparations for the 350th anniversary of Virginia Dare’s birth. They approached North Carolina playwright Paul Green about developing a new pageant script.
Green envisioned a combination of music, dialogue, and dance that he called “symphonic drama.” Blending history with common themes, he gave voice to the lost colonists by creating a drama sympathetic to common ideals of freedom, struggle and perseverance—guiding themes for a nation in the grips of the Great Depression
.
Using Works Progress Administration
(WPA) funds, English-born architect Albert Quentin “Skipper” Bell began construction of the large-scale set with construction assistance from the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC). Bell had previously designed a log-structured village on the grounds of Fort Raleigh.
The drama’s first Director, Samuel Selden, was one of Green's associates in the UNC Playmakers of Chapel Hill.
WPA funds were used for salaries as part of a Theatre Works initiative to assist out-of-work Broadway
actors from New York City
. These talented performers were hired to fill the major roles along with the playmakers, Roanoke Islanders, and the CCC members.
Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks of North Carolina experienced a boom in tourism: hotels, motels and restaurants thrived despite the bleak economy. The village of Manteo was changed: the town’s streets were named from characters in the drama.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
saw the production on August 18 of that year and remarked, "We do not know the fate of Virginia Dare or the First Colony. We do know, however, that the story of America is largely a record of that spirit of adventure."
Many local Roanoke Islanders and North Carolinians have played a part in the drama. Among them, Manteo-born Sen. Marc Basnight
(Dem.
, N.C.) who performed as a colonist child, Marjalene Thomas who first performed with the show in 1938 and throughout the years played every female role — with the exception of one, and Robert Midgette (The Lost Colony’s current fight director) who has been with the show 38 years. Actor Andy Griffith
, who performed at Waterside Theatre
from 1947 to 1953, liked Manteo so much he decided to live there permanently.
The production has served as a training ground for hundreds of alumni over the decades. Like Andy Griffith
, notable actors Leon Rippy
, Chris Elliott
, Eileen Fulton
, Terrence Mann
and R.G. Armstrong got their stage legs at the Waterside Theatre. Academy Award-Winner Ted Tally
spent a summer in the production long before winning top honors for his screenplay of Silence of the Lambs. His niece appeared in the 2008 production.
The current production is led by an artistic team, several of whom credit The Lost Colony for their own beginnings. Five-time Tony Award
-winning Production Designer William Ivey Long
and Emmy-nominated Executive Director/Producer Carl V. Curnutte III began their artistic careers with the show. Robert C. Richmond, the production’s current director staged William Shakespeare
's Much Ado About Nothing
for a special reception at the White House
for President George W. Bush
.
The drama is performed nightly June-August at 8:00 pm Monday-Saturday.
and Plymouth, a group of about 120 men, women and children bravely established one of the first English settlements in the New World on Roanoke Island in 1587. Shortly after arriving in this New World, colonist Eleanor Dare, daughter of Governor John White
, gave birth to Virginia Dare
. The Governor's granddaughter was the first English child born in North America.
However, life on the island was difficult. Low on supplies and facing retaliation from the Native Americans
they had displaced, the colonists sent Governor John White back to England in the summer of 1587 for supplies. Because of the impending war with Spain, Governor White was unable to return to Roanoke Island until 1590. When he arrived, the colony had vanished, leaving one tantalizing clue as to their whereabouts: the word "CROATOAN" carved on a post. The fate of those first colonists remains a mystery to this day and is one of America's most intriguing unsolved mysteries.
spotted a fire across the sound on Roanoke Island and called 9-11. All fire departments north of Oregon Inlet responded to find part of The Lost Colony’s Waterside Theatre in flames. The fire crews worked to control the blaze, and to save the men’s dressing room structure nearby. In spite of their efforts the maintenance shed, Irene Smart Rains Costume Shop, and a small storage building were completely destroyed. No cause has been determined.
Except for a few costumes stored at the dry cleaners and others on display at the NC Museum of History in Raleigh, the productions costumes suffered a total loss. The destroyed costumes include vintage costumes by Irene Rains in the 1940s and 1950s; all of Fred Voelpel’s costumes made in the 1960s, 70s and early 1980s, and the costumes designed by Tony award-winner William Ivey Long.
Another fire is a part of the production's past. Sixty years before on June 24, 1947, a late afternoon fire destroyed most of the theatre. However, the costumes in the 1947 disaster escaped the flames and the theatre was rebuilt in six days and resumed production that summer. American actor Andy Griffith
was in the company at the time and assisted with the rebuild.
Recovery from the 2007 tragedy involved assistance from federal, state, and local sources in additions to donations from individuals and foundations. The costumes were replaced and the building was rebuilt for opening night on May 30, 2008.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning playwright Paul Green about Roanoke
Roanoke Colony
The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States was a late 16th-century attempt to establish a permanent English settlement in what later became the Virginia Colony. The enterprise was financed and organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and carried out by...
, the first English colony in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The play is based on the historical accounts of Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
's failed attempts to establish a permanent settlement in the 1580s in part of what was then the Colony of Virginia. It has been performed since 1937 in an outdoor theater located on the site of Sir Walter's colony on Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English exploration....
in the Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
region near present-day Manteo, North Carolina
Manteo, North Carolina
Manteo is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, located on Roanoke Island. The population was 1,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dare County.-Geography:...
. As of 2009, it is the United States' second longest running historical outdoor drama, behind The Ramona Pageant
The Ramona Pageant
The Ramona Outdoor Play, formerly known as the Ramona Pageant is an outdoor play staged annually at Hemet, California since 1923. The script is adapted from the 1884 novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson. It is held over three consecutive weekends in April and May in the Ramona Bowl, a natural...
.
Longest-running symphonic outdoor drama
On July 4, 1937, The Lost Colony first opened. The drama underwent many conceptions before July 1937. First, there was as an annual picnic event, then a silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
, a pageant and finally a symphonic outdoor drama
Symphonic outdoor drama
The symphonic outdoor drama is a kind of historical play, set outdoors on the very site depicted in account. It combines music, dance, and drama in a unique way to tell the story....
.
In the early 1900s, a group was formed to create a “pageant” of the story — an oratorio of the events using pantomime, music, and narration. W.O. Sounders, editor of the Elizabeth City Independent was a passionate proponent of these plans. But due to the national financial depression, the plans remained dormant until Roanoke Island native and Dare County School Superintendent Mabel Evans Jones awakened interest with a 1921 silent film of the historic events that she conceived, wrote and produced, and in which she starred. The finished film toured across North Carolina. It was the first silent film produced in the state.
After her successful film, Jones and other community leaders then create a dramatic pageant based on her film script. On Virginia Dare
Virginia Dare
Virginia Dare was the first child born in the Americas to English parents, Eleanor and Ananias Dare. She was born into the short-lived Roanoke Colony in what is now North Carolina, USA. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery...
’s birthday in 1925 a lost colony pageant was performed “sound side” against the natural backdrop of the Roanoke Sound.
The “pageant” was very successful and organizers sought to build on their achievement in their preparations for the 350th anniversary of Virginia Dare’s birth. They approached North Carolina playwright Paul Green about developing a new pageant script.
Green envisioned a combination of music, dialogue, and dance that he called “symphonic drama.” Blending history with common themes, he gave voice to the lost colonists by creating a drama sympathetic to common ideals of freedom, struggle and perseverance—guiding themes for a nation in the grips of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Using Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(WPA) funds, English-born architect Albert Quentin “Skipper” Bell began construction of the large-scale set with construction assistance from the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
(CCC). Bell had previously designed a log-structured village on the grounds of Fort Raleigh.
The drama’s first Director, Samuel Selden, was one of Green's associates in the UNC Playmakers of Chapel Hill.
WPA funds were used for salaries as part of a Theatre Works initiative to assist out-of-work Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actors from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. These talented performers were hired to fill the major roles along with the playmakers, Roanoke Islanders, and the CCC members.
Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks of North Carolina experienced a boom in tourism: hotels, motels and restaurants thrived despite the bleak economy. The village of Manteo was changed: the town’s streets were named from characters in the drama.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
saw the production on August 18 of that year and remarked, "We do not know the fate of Virginia Dare or the First Colony. We do know, however, that the story of America is largely a record of that spirit of adventure."
Many local Roanoke Islanders and North Carolinians have played a part in the drama. Among them, Manteo-born Sen. Marc Basnight
Marc Basnight
Marc Basnight served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing the 1st District, from 1984 through his resignation just before the start of what would have been his 14th term in 2011...
(Dem.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, N.C.) who performed as a colonist child, Marjalene Thomas who first performed with the show in 1938 and throughout the years played every female role — with the exception of one, and Robert Midgette (The Lost Colony’s current fight director) who has been with the show 38 years. Actor Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
, who performed at Waterside Theatre
Waterside Theatre
The Waterside Theatre was an independent theatre/arts venue in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.- History :The theatre has been part of the town for many years, once housing the town's first cinema. The building was also home to a visitor attraction, The World of Shakespeare...
from 1947 to 1953, liked Manteo so much he decided to live there permanently.
The production has served as a training ground for hundreds of alumni over the decades. Like Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
, notable actors Leon Rippy
Leon Rippy
Leon Rippy is an American actor.-Life and career:He has worked with Roland Emmerich on seven movies including: Moon 44 , Eye of the Storm , Universal Soldier , Stargate , The Thirteenth Floor , The Patriot , Eight Legged Freaks and also had a role in the 2004...
, Chris Elliott
Chris Elliott
Christopher Nash "Chris" Elliott is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman, starring in the cult comedy series Get a Life and for his recurring role as Peter MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond...
, Eileen Fulton
Eileen Fulton
Eileen Fulton is an American actress.Fulton is known for her role as Lisa Grimaldi on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, a role that she played almost continuously for 50 years from May 18, 1960 until the show's cancellation on September 17, 2010.-As the...
, Terrence Mann
Terrence Mann
Terrence Vaughan Mann is an American actor, director, singer, songwriter and dancer who has been prominent on the Broadway stage for the past three decades...
and R.G. Armstrong got their stage legs at the Waterside Theatre. Academy Award-Winner Ted Tally
Ted Tally
Ted Tally is an American playwright and screenwriter.-Screenwriter:Born William Theodore Tally in North Carolina, Tally was educated at Yale College and the Yale School of Drama, and has also taught at each of them...
spent a summer in the production long before winning top honors for his screenplay of Silence of the Lambs. His niece appeared in the 2008 production.
The current production is led by an artistic team, several of whom credit The Lost Colony for their own beginnings. Five-time Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning Production Designer William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy for You, Grey Gardens and Young Frankenstein.-Early life and education:...
and Emmy-nominated Executive Director/Producer Carl V. Curnutte III began their artistic careers with the show. Robert C. Richmond, the production’s current director staged William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
for a special reception at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
for President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
The drama is performed nightly June-August at 8:00 pm Monday-Saturday.
Historical background
Before JamestownJamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
and Plymouth, a group of about 120 men, women and children bravely established one of the first English settlements in the New World on Roanoke Island in 1587. Shortly after arriving in this New World, colonist Eleanor Dare, daughter of Governor John White
John White (surveyor)
John White was an English artist, and an early pioneer of English efforts to settle the New World. He was among those who sailed with Richard Grenville to North Carolina in 1585, acting as artist and mapmaker to the expedition. During his time at Roanoke Island he made a number of watercolor...
, gave birth to Virginia Dare
Virginia Dare
Virginia Dare was the first child born in the Americas to English parents, Eleanor and Ananias Dare. She was born into the short-lived Roanoke Colony in what is now North Carolina, USA. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery...
. The Governor's granddaughter was the first English child born in North America.
However, life on the island was difficult. Low on supplies and facing retaliation from the Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
they had displaced, the colonists sent Governor John White back to England in the summer of 1587 for supplies. Because of the impending war with Spain, Governor White was unable to return to Roanoke Island until 1590. When he arrived, the colony had vanished, leaving one tantalizing clue as to their whereabouts: the word "CROATOAN" carved on a post. The fate of those first colonists remains a mystery to this day and is one of America's most intriguing unsolved mysteries.
Costume shop fire
On September 11, 2007 a resident of Nags Head, North CarolinaNags Head, North Carolina
Nags Head is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,700 at the 2000 census.-History:Early maps of the area show Nags Head as a promontory of land characterized by high sand dunes visible from miles at sea...
spotted a fire across the sound on Roanoke Island and called 9-11. All fire departments north of Oregon Inlet responded to find part of The Lost Colony’s Waterside Theatre in flames. The fire crews worked to control the blaze, and to save the men’s dressing room structure nearby. In spite of their efforts the maintenance shed, Irene Smart Rains Costume Shop, and a small storage building were completely destroyed. No cause has been determined.
Except for a few costumes stored at the dry cleaners and others on display at the NC Museum of History in Raleigh, the productions costumes suffered a total loss. The destroyed costumes include vintage costumes by Irene Rains in the 1940s and 1950s; all of Fred Voelpel’s costumes made in the 1960s, 70s and early 1980s, and the costumes designed by Tony award-winner William Ivey Long.
Another fire is a part of the production's past. Sixty years before on June 24, 1947, a late afternoon fire destroyed most of the theatre. However, the costumes in the 1947 disaster escaped the flames and the theatre was rebuilt in six days and resumed production that summer. American actor Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
was in the company at the time and assisted with the rebuild.
Recovery from the 2007 tragedy involved assistance from federal, state, and local sources in additions to donations from individuals and foundations. The costumes were replaced and the building was rebuilt for opening night on May 30, 2008.
See also
- Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
- Snow Camp Outdoor TheaterSnow Camp Outdoor TheaterThe Snow Camp Outdoor Theatre is an outdoor repertory theater presenting several dramas each summer in unincorporated Alamance County, North Carolina...
- Unto These HillsUnto These HillsUnto These Hills is an outdoor historical drama staged annually at the 2800-seat Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee, North Carolina. It is the second oldest outdoor historical drama in the United States, after The Lost Colony in Manteo, North Carolina...