05/03/11

A Fascinating History

During the Civil War, Delaware was a divided place. Many residents were slave owners who sympathized with the South. Others believed in a strong Union. The state managed to remain neutral, and no battle was fought here. Yet Delaware—especially its famous du Ponts—played a larger role in the conflict than most of us realize.

Learn the story at Hagley Museum, where “An Oath of Allegiance to the Republic: The du Ponts and the Civil War” explains the company’s role as a supplier of gunpowder to the Union forces, as well as the glorious and almost tragic stories of the family.

Chief among them is Henry A. du Pont, who graduated first in the West Point class of 1861. For commanding the 5th U.S. Artillery Division and cutting off Confederate General...

Posted at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

04/26/11

Big Stuff for UD’s REP

It’s not every day that the UD’s Resident Ensemble Players perform the work premiere of a play—or get a play written especially for them by an acclaimed playwright. Yet that is what happened April 20, when the curtain rose on “O Beautiful” by Theresa Rebeck. You can see it at the Roselle Center for the Arts until May 15.

The comedy-drama addresses contemporary controversies over gun rights, race, life and choice, fanatical conservatives and the media. The dramatis personae includes historical and religious figures, from the founding fathers to Jesus Christ, as they meddle, mediate, and comment on the life of five students and their families in a typical American high school.
 

Though Rebeck has written for film and for...

Posted at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

04/19/11

Totally Jazzed

It seems writer-director Kevin Ramsey is becoming the king of musicals about music. Having presented “Fire on the Bayou” and “Sam Cooke: Forever Mr. Soul” at Delaware Theatre Company over the past few seasons, he has returned with “Chasin’ Dem Blues: The Untold Story of Paramount Records.”

“Chasin’ Dem Blues” tells the story of Paramount Records, a label that started in Grafton, Wisconsin, early in the 20th century to record and distribute so-called “race” music, which we know as blues and jazz. It’s a perfect subject for Ramsey, who grew up in no less a musical city than New Orleans.

It was in New Orleans that, as an adolescent, Ramsey was introduced to theater as a way to overcome his...

Posted at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

04/12/11

Grease is the Word

If you’re in the mood for some classic rock ’n’ roll over the weekend, party for a great cause. The Fabulous Greaseband will play Sheldon’s Second Annual Sweet Pea Fundraising Gala on Saturday, April 16, at The Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington. The gala benefits Exceptional Care for Children.

You know the Greaseband—now celebrating 30 years—as one of the most popular entertainers in the area. You may not be so familiar with Exceptional Care, one of the most important pediatric care facilities in the region.

Exceptional Care for Children, in Newark, is a home for children who depend on medical technology or therapy for their survival. Open for only five years, Exceptional Care for Children has already been...

Posted at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

04/04/11

The Cleveland Show

Many of us Delawareans know Cleveland Morris only as a director, but he’s been painting so long now that many others know him only as a visual artist.
 

“I’m lucky to have had two careers I’ve been absolutely enthralled by,” says Morris, whose latest show of still life paintings opens April 7 at Carspecken Scott Gallery. “And I’m awfully glad to be able to come back to Wilmington.”
 

First, a step back…

Morris, a native, was director of the Delaware Theatre Company from 1978 until 1998, which is how most Delawareans know him. He took studio classes at Delaware Art Museum as a boy, then studied art and art history in college—until he was “sideswiped,” he says, by theater....

Posted at 06:19 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0