To Revive “Lost Colony”
14»
Iks dnwn in Dare County are looking for¬
ward to starling up the famous pageant
again next summer. It will be produced on
a more elaborate scale than ever before.
EMBERS of the cast of "The
Lost Colony.” Playwright
Paul Green’s symphonic
drama of the Sir Walter Raleigh
colonists' attempt to implant the
democratic ideal in this country,
thought ten months was a long
time to wait between seasons
when the play was being presented
each summer from 1937 through
1941 at the Waterside Theater on
Roanoke Island. And it was a
long time- long enough for wom¬
en players to marry and bear a
child, as some of them did. and
long enough for some of the male
players to develop bay windows
of sufficient proportions to pre¬
clude them from taking the part
of lithe Indians.
Now. with gasoline, tire and
outdoor lighting restrictions lifted,
it is planned to resume production
of the show next summer after a
five-year lapse, and the problems
which beset the cast and the pro¬
duction staff in prewar years are
much worse.
Little Jean Basnight. who was
one year old when "The Lost
Colony” was last presented in
1941, is of kindergarten age now
and much too large to play again
the part of Virginia Dare, first
child born of English parents in
this country. Finding another one-
year-old to play this non-speak¬
ing part will not be too difficult,
though. Less easy will he the job
of filling some of the other roles.
Take the girls who ap|K-ared in
К у
KEITH SAUNDERS
the Milkmaid Dance. Five of the
nine have married since 1941. and
several have moved away from
Roanoke Island. Fred Howard,
who played the part of Uppowoc.
the Indian medicine man, and
whose Indian dances were an out¬
standing feature of the production,
is in the Coast Guard and there
is a possibility he may not be
released by next summer.
In fact, a majority of the men
in the 1941 cast entered the armed
forces during the war, some never
to return, others returning with
disabilities which will incapacitate
them for their former roles. And
two of the men whose services
counted heavily in making “The
Lost Colony" a success have passed
on since the last production. They
were Frof. Frederick H. Koch,
founder of the famous Carolina
Playmakers of the University of
North Carolina and advisory di¬
rector of the pageant-drama, and
D. Bradford Fearing, president of
the Roanoke Island Historical As¬
sociation and executive director
of the production.
Selden Succeeds Koch
Offsetting these losses and diffi¬
culties. however, are some en¬
couraging facts. Samuel Selden,
who succeeded Professor Koch as
director of the Carolina Play-
makers. will be back on the job
as director and already is holding
conferences on the 1946 produc¬
tion. It is hoped that sprayings of
DDT will eliminate the mosqui¬
toes which under certain wind
conditions proved something of a
distraction to audiences in the
open-air theater on the shores of
Roanoke Sound. Albert Q. Bell,
the Englishman who built the
theater in 1937, has started plans
for remodeling and improvments.
rebuilding of the stage, erection
of a new stockade and platforms
and replacement of logs blown
away during recent storms. Best
of ail, he is going to put backs on
the seats, thus removing another
of the minor inconveniences of
previous years.
The electric organ, which, to¬
gether with the Westminster Choir,
provided the thrilling music woven
subtly through the production, is
to be replaced by a larger instru¬
ment. and a larger and more
flexible switchboard is to be in¬
stalled to expedite the clever light¬
ing effects which make it possible
for the eleven scenes to move
along without a second's wait. The
playwright is discussing some
changes in the script but has not
yet specified what he will do. The
music, consisting of moving old
Elizabethan hymns, carols and
ballads, will be much the same
as before.
Also, according to Mr. Selden,
there is some indication that four
THE STATE. OceiMOKR 15. 1945
