Interesting Day at the Old Surratt Hacienda

[Gene C]

Where's my twin Payne in this production? I could win an award if I portrayed him.

Thomas, your first audition involves going to Laurie's house first thing in the morning to dig a gutter. (or any other manual labor chores she wants done)
Second audition involves running down a busy street yelling "I'm mad, I'm mad"
Third audition involves falling of a horse and spending the night in a grave yard.
Fourth audition involves a romantic scene with a MUCH older woman (don't worry, she should still have some of her teeth left)

[Eva Elisabeth]

Toitoitoi, Thomas! (Just in case: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toi_toi_toi )

[RJNorton]

Fourth audition involves a romantic scene with a MUCH older woman (don't worry, she should still have some of her teeth left)

I always confuse Mary and Margaret. Don't pick the wrong one, Thomas, or there could be trouble.

[brtmchl]

That sounded like a very fun day. Thanks for posting.

[Thomas Kearney]

Where's my twin Payne in this production? I could win an award if I portrayed him.

Thomas, your first audition involves going to Laurie's house first thing in the morning to dig a gutter. (or any other manual labor chores she wants done)
Second audition involves running down a busy street yelling "I'm mad, I'm mad"
Third audition involves falling of a horse and spending the night in a grave yard.
Fourth audition involves a romantic scene with a MUCH older woman (don't worry, she should still have some of her teeth left)

1. I need to obtain my learner's permit before digging Laurie's gutter. (I take the test tomorrow)

2. Someone better accompany me and explain to passerby why I'm yelling that I'm mad.

3. I fell off a horse at age 8, so that is taken care of. Plus I heard there are illegal activities by gangs in cemeteries during the night.

And 4. The MUCH older woman I have the affair with has to be Kate Hudson.

---

Fourth audition involves a romantic scene with a MUCH older woman (don't worry, she should still have some of her teeth left)

I always confuse Mary and Margaret. Don't pick the wrong one, Thomas, or there could be trouble.

Roger,

No affair with Kate Hudson=No audition.

[Gene C]

1. I need to obtain my learner's permit before digging Laurie's gutter. (I take the test tomorrow)

2. Someone better accompany me and explain to passerby why I'm yelling that I'm mad.

3. I fell off a horse at age 8, so that is taken care of. Plus I heard there are illegal activities by gangs in cemeteries during the night.

And 4. The MUCH older woman I have the affair with has to be Kate Hudson.

No affair with Kate Hudson=No audition.

Thomas

1) Payne walked
2) You'll be in DC. Everyone's used to hearing that
3) Just carry a lantern and a shovel. No one will bother you.
4) Love scene, not affair. I've seen photo's of Kate and she doesn't qualify as an older woman. (Think of someone more like Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched)

[Thomas Kearney]

1. I need to obtain my learner's permit before digging Laurie's gutter. (I take the test tomorrow)

2. Someone better accompany me and explain to passerby why I'm yelling that I'm mad.

3. I fell off a horse at age 8, so that is taken care of. Plus I heard there are illegal activities by gangs in cemeteries during the night.

And 4. The MUCH older woman I have the affair with has to be Kate Hudson.

No affair with Kate Hudson=No audition.

Thomas

1) Payne walked
2) You'll be in DC. Everyone's used to hearing that
3) Just carry a lantern and a shovel. No one will bother you.
4) Love scene, not affair. I've seen photo's of Kate and she doesn't qualify as an older woman. (Think of someone more like Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched)

Gene, You Crazy!

1. I'd rather drive than walk. I don't know if I should dig the ditch at Laurie's home or the Surratt Hose
2. I'll do it this Friday.
3. I don't live within walking distance of a cemetery.
And 4. Anyone older than Jennifer Lopez....NO WAY! I get MeTV, don't assume I have no clue what Bewitched was.

[Gene C]

Oh well!

[L Verge]

Well, history is ruined again. One of the Surratt volunteers saw this production the other day and gave a very disgusted review of it to me on the phone. Now I know why one of the actors commented to me that he didn't like the way history was being screwed up.

According to my source, everything is screwed up! They could not even get Mary Surratt's birthdate correct (1817 instead of the correct 1823). It only got worse from there with lots of "artistic license" and enough profanity to keep modern critics happy.

Bill and Lisa Binzel will be seeing it this week while it is still in D.C. I'll let him give you the scoop. The bad thing is that I understand the attendance has been great. I sure hope some are inspired to visit Surratt House in order to learn the real history.

[Gene C]

Did you ever stop to consider that maybe everybody else has their facts wrong?

[L Verge]

You are really begging to get slapped, you know! Just kidding (I think).

[RJNorton]

According to my source, everything is screwed up! They could not even get Mary Surratt's birth date correct (1817 instead of the correct 1823).

Laurie, I do not know the source they used, but many years ago I recall seeing the incorrect 1817 birth year for Mary Surratt in a book. I just do not recall the book's name, but I know I saw it somewhere. Conceivably their source was the same book where I once saw the 1817 birth date. This is still no excuse, but the incorrect year is out there in print somewhere.

[L Verge]

According to my source, everything is screwed up! They could not even get Mary Surratt's birth date correct (1817 instead of the correct 1823).

Laurie, I do not know the source they used, but many years ago I recall seeing the incorrect 1817 birth year for Mary Surratt in a book. I just do not recall the book's name, but I know I saw it somewhere. Conceivably their source was the same book where I once saw the 1817 birth date. This is still no excuse, but the incorrect year is out there in print somewhere.

Quite a few books have given her birthdate as either 1820 or 1821, but I don't recall seeing 1817. Would love to know who did that one. I think things got confused when reporters in 1865 referred to Mary as being "about 45." Researchers didn't bother to do any further checking.

[Susan Higginbotham]

Guy Moore has "about 1817" in his book about Mary.

[L Verge]

Guy is still a member of the Surratt Society (although quite elderly), so I may have to chastise him! And, that's exactly where the theater people got the 1817 from. Three of them were here last week (before I got the review of the play), and in discussing something, they mentioned his book was used as a source for interpreting the trial. I don't think Guy would be pleased.

His is an interesting story. When we opened Surratt House in 1976, his book and the pair of Helen Jones Campbell's "interpretations" on Mary's history and that of her son as a Confederate Courier, were about the only things available as reference books - except for the intimidating Web of Conspiracy by Roscoe (which would have caused the majority of our early volunteers to resign!).

Mr. Moore had written The Case of Mrs. Surratt as a Master's thesis. His wife was a great defender of Mary Surratt, so she pushed him to have it published. That is sort of the same course that Timothy Good's great account of eyewitness reports took - from college requirement to good book.

I appreciate Mr. Moore's work because (despite errors), he tried to produce a well-balanced interpretation from a legal standpoint.