"On the twelfth of April, 1861, Confederate guns opened
fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, thus beginning
the bloodiest conflict in American History."  

The Civil War is a dramatic musical event about the lives of people who lived during the single most defining period in American history, and for whom the war brought pride, sorrow, faith, freedom, despair, and death. It feeds upon the emotions in all of us and brings the true tragedy of war home.  Freedom has never been free. 

The play is a moving song-cycle which weaves an emotional tapestry from our nation's history. The show draws on letters and speeches, and uses projections including actual photographs from the war. It is staged as a musical oratorio, leaving a traditional book behind. All of this brings the music and the subject material into sharp focus.

As the play and the war begin, Americans both north and south are enraptured in the glory that will be brought upon them for either binding the nation, or dividing it.

The powerful music in this show covers a wide range of emotions. The Union and Confederate armies sing of their excitement as they prepare to go into war and defend their respective causes. The enslaved sing of their pain and misery as they are sold as property. A soldier and his wife try to ease their separation by writing frequent letters. An abolitionist lobbies his cause, and expresses his frustration with both the injustice that his people suffer and the reluctance of President Lincoln and the Union to address it. A nurse reflects on the work that she is trying to do. Captains from the two armies grapple with the decisions that they must make, not only for themselves but for the soldiers who follow them. The enslaved join in rousing gospel numbers, keeping their hopes and their spirits alive despite everything that they endure. The soldiers of both armies, gradually realizing the horrors of war, face despair, death and defeat.

This intense work delves into one of our nation's most defining times, and is packed with feeling and messages, expressed directly through the wide variety of musical numbers performed.

Presented by Twilight Theatre and directed by Tony Peregoy, the show dates for this production are November 14, 15, 21, and 22, 2008 at Charles Wadsworth Auditorium in Newnan.  All shows are at 8 PM.  Save the date and come enjoy a night of American pride.