Civil War, the Musical

The Great Emancipator

Paul Gregory Nelson and Tim Carroll gave a strong delivery of their roles as Union Captain and Confederate Captain respectively. The renditions of the slave roles, sung by Erick J. Bayne, Felicia Jean, and Moye, really captured the pain and indignity that had to be endured by the Negro slaves.

The song entitled “Freedom's Child,” which was sung by the slaves, particularly moved me. It somehow captured the hopelessness of their condition and at the same time portrayed that vision of freedom that remained alive in these long-suffering human beings. As for the soldiers on both sides, their initial enthusiasm for their role as soldiers quickly faded into the realization that this was going to be a long and terrible hell before it was finished. Early on in the play, they sang the song, "Judgment Day." The poignant line was "For me, every day is Judgment Day."

Their hopelessness reached a crescendo at the battle of Gettysburg, with the song, "The Day the Sun Stood Still." This was based on the story from the bible where Joshua made the sun stand still until the battle was won. However, in this case it was the cry of the soldier who longed for the night when the battle would cease, but it seemed that sunset never would come.

The musical concluded with two tremendous songs. The first was sung by the confederate soldiers as they came to the realization that the cause was lost. They sang "The Last Waltz for Dixie." It was a moving finish to the glory for which they fought so nobly. Then the final piece of music was a song entitled "The Glory." During this number the previous song was blended into the final victory song sung by the Union soldiers, and then joined by the confederate soldiers. "The Glory" was in honor of our great union that had survived this terrible war between brother and brother.

The musical was an excellent portrayal of the suffering of the American Negro Slave and the brutality and horror of war and its futility as a tool for solving mankind's conflicts. I recommend the musical highly for those who want to experience more than just the facts of the terrible war between the states..