Sat 5/25 @ 10:30-11:45AM, 3:30-4:45PM
Sun 5/26 @ 10:30-11:45AM, 3:30-4:45PM
While Civil War reenactments are such a big thing escapes me — it doesn’t seem like an event we’d want to repeat if we aren’t members of the Proud Boys or the wife of a Supreme Court justice.
But the Century Village Museum in Burton is presenting something special this year at its Civil War reenactment, in addition simulated encampments and field hospital, and battlefield re-creations. The weekend will include four performances of John Brown, the Dulcimer Diaries, a musical performance created by singer/actress/educator Treva Offutt, who has performed at Dobama and Karamu and with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and The Musical Theater Project, and musician/visual artist Craig Matis, remembered by many in the music scene for the multiple incarnations of his cutting-edge band Uzizi.
Using song, narration and live dulcimer music, this musical tells the story of the life and death of abolitionist John Brown, who was executed for treason against the state of Virginia just before the Civil War for inciting a slave rebellion. Brown spent his childhood and youth in Hudson, Ohio, which was a hub of antislavery and Underground Railroad activity, and his father was a supporter of Oberlin College, due to its early acceptance of Black students. John Brown’s actions and death, perceived as martyrdom by the Union, whose song “John Brown’s Body” became a marching anthem for soldiers, were considered significant in feeding the tensions that led to the war. Interestingly, Brown’s anti-slavery zealotry grew out of his fervent Evangelical Christian beliefs. How times have changed!
It will be performed twice each day. Go here for more information.
centuryvillagemuseum.org/civil-war-renactment-2024