Spoon River Anthology - program 10/03/21

Sunday, October 3 3 pm | Historic Elmwood Cemetery

charlottesymphony.org

CHRISTOPHER WARREN-GREEN music director

WELCOME Welcome to the Charlotte Symphony’s presentation of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, performed in Charlotte’s historic Elmwood Cemetery.

Today you’ll hear from the former residents of Spoon River. Their stories, told from beyond the grave, will paint the picture of what life was like in this fictional small town in Illinois through personal accounts of their lives, losses, and deaths. There are many parallels between Elmwood Cemetery and Oak Hill Cemetery, the basis for Spoon River. Those who are buried in both cemeteries lived, worked, and died in the same era — facing similar hardships and chasing similar dreams.

Live music will be performed throughout the show by The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a trombone quartet featuring musicians from the Charlotte Symphony. The music will be interwoven and paired with the dialogue, evoking turn-of-the-century America with selections by John Philip Sousa, Scott Joplin, and W.C. Handy — incorporating hymns, ragtime, blues, and classical works inspired by folk traditions such as Copland’s Appalachian Spring and the Largo from Dvořák’s New World Symphony.

THANK YOU Support for Spoon River Anthology comes from Roberta H. Cochran.

Operational Support for Spoon River Anthology comes from William Bibby, Director of Cemeteries for the City of Charlotte.

Costumes were provided by Historic Rosedale.

Additional support comes from UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture.

World Premiere of a New Stage Adaptation written by Chris Stonnell PROLOGUE Spoon River | Percy Grainger I.

The Hill Nearer My God to Thee | Lowell Mason

II.

Townies The Easy Winners | Scott Joplin

III. IV. V.

‘Til Death Did Us Part The Saloon

Amboss Polka | arr. Jerome Naulais

Trials and Tribulations Saint Louis Blues | W.C. Handy

VI.

Haunted Être ou ne pas être | Henri Tomasi

VII.

‘Til Death Did Us Part II

VII.

Ghosts of War Battle Hymn of the Republic | William Steffe

IX.

Rural Don Juan Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet (excerpt) | P.I. Tchaikovsky

X.

Family Politics The Thunderer | John Phillip Sousa

XI.

The Courthouse Ritual Fire Dance | Manuel de Falla

XII.

Life to the Fullest

Simple Gifts | Traditional

EPILOGUE Going Home (Largo from 9 th Symphony) | Antonin Dvořák

BIOGRAPHIES CHRIS STONNELL, author/director Chris is the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Charlotte Symphony, where he has worked since 2006. He has participated in local theatre as an actor, director, and author, and nationally as a screener for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. More recently, he created several musical theatre revues for the Old Courthouse Theatre in Concord.

GRAY RODGERS, assistant director Gray wants to recognize Chris for breathing so much life into his brilliant adaptation and Kat for her friendship and creative collaborations. Gray’s recent credits include Tim Allgood in Noises Off at Lee Street Theater, Director of Company Carolina’s The Laramie Project, and Assistant Director of NRACT’s Spring Awakening.

KAT BROWN, stage manager Kat Brown is excited to get a chance to manage her first outdoor performance — one in a cemetery no less! You may have previously seen her on stage; you may have not seen her many more times backstage for multiple community theatres in the CLT Metro area since 2015.

NICK ASA, actor Nick appeared as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Theatre Charlotte this year and performed all the Shakespeare plays with Davidson Community Players in The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) before that. Proud father of a threeyear-old son, he works as a child therapist in Gastonia and Shelby.

MELISSA BOWDEN, actor Melissa’s career spans from Improv to Musicals to Shakespeare and everywhere in between. Melissa has been performing for over 30 years and has appeared in many roles all over Northern California, the Carolinas and NYC. She is thrilled to be working with the Charlotte Symphony bringing this story to life. She would like to thank Chris Stonnell for inviting her to be a part of this show and a big thanks to you, the audience, for your support.

NANCY COTTINGHAM, actor Nancy is having a blast in her first show since COVID hit, and is delighted that this show features a trombone quartet and is performed in a historic cemetery! Typically, Nancy is seen on theatre stages in the greater Charlotte area, including Theatre Charlotte, Old Courthouse Theatre, and Uwharrie Players.

FRANK DOMINGUEZ, actor Frank attended Adelphi University with Jonathan Larson, creator of the musical Rent.

Local credits as an actor and director include Actors Theater of Charlotte, Children’s Theater, and Opera Carolina. Frank is radio host of the Night Music on 89.9 WDAV and Concierto, a national classical music program presented in English and Spanish.

BIOGRAPHIES ISABEL GONZALEZ, actor Isabel graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2019 and has performed with Children’s Theatre Of Charlotte, Actors Theatre Of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte, Old Courthouse Theatre, and Piedmont Players. You can catch her next as Paloma in Children’s Theatre of Charlotte’s production of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba.

HALEY HARKINS, actor Haley is an actress based in Charlotte, NC. Haley’s education includes the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts earning an AA (concentration in Acting for Film and TV) and UNC Charlotte earning a BA in Theatre (concentration in performance).

Haley’s credits include Safe Alliance Promotional Ad, Far Away, and No Rest for the Wicked Series.

MORGAN McDONALD, actor Morgan is currently a senior at UNC Charlotte. After graduating in December, she hopes to go on to complete her Master’s in Contemporary Stage Performance.

Previous roles of hers include Charlotte in Oliver Twist and M in Crave.

TYLER (HOPE) MILTON, actor Tyler is excited to be a part of Spoon River Anthology. He earned his B.A. in Theatre at UNC Charlotte. His recent credits include Host - Student Union 360 Virtual Tour.

When he isn’t on stage, Tyler enjoys working in lighting, stage management, and volunteering with his local community theater.

ANTHONY NEAL, actor Anthony is currently a Junior at UNC Charlotte, where he majors in Theatre Production.

Within the city, he has been featured in shows produced by UNC Charlotte, Theatre Charlotte, and most recently, Carowinds, where he is now performing for their Fall Season. Enjoy the show!

HANK WEST, actor Hank West been part of the Charlotte/Metrolina theater scene for over 30 years now as an award-winning performer, theater advocate and theatre fan. He has worked with most companies in and around Charlotte, just recently in the BNS Production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Favorite roles include Richard in Richard III, Nijinsky in Nijinsky’s Last Dance, Mozart in Amadeus, the gentleman in The Story of the Little Gentleman, John Merrick in The Elephant Man, and Bette Davis in Me and Jezebel. He would like to dedicate this to the memory of his mother and father. And to all: Imagination is Power!

FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE

TOM BURGE trombone

SCOTT HARTMAN bass trombone

JUSTIN ISENHOUR trombone

MICHAEL HOSFORD trombone

Celebrating its 90th anniversary in the 2021-22 season, the Charlotte Symphony (CSO) is committed to uplifting, entertaining, and educating the diverse communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and beyond through exceptional musical experiences. A cornerstone of Charlotte’s arts and cultural landscape, the CSO is the oldest continually operating symphony orchestra in the Carolinas and performs around 150 concerts annually in addition to robust community engagement and education efforts.

Founded in 1932 and led by internationally renowned Music Director Christopher Warren-Green, the Symphony upholds the highest artistic integrity and takes bold steps to engage the community through music.

The CSO employs 62 professional full time musicians, performs throughout the community, and offers significant educational programming aimed at improving areas of our community with the greatest need.

Core programming runs September to May and includes Classical, Pops, Movie, and Family series, plus other special performances with notable soloists. Annual favorite, Magic of Christmas, delights during the holidays each season. We also serve as the soundtrack to our community’s ballet and opera productions.

We perform everywhere from community parks and schools to breweries, places of worship, and senior care centers. We are deeply committed to the notion that music, accessible to all and experienced in many forms, enriches and unifies our community.

We actively nurture the next generation of musicians and music lovers by supporting three diverse youth orchestras, led by Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees. Project Harmony serves more than 200 students in critical-need areas with free after-school lessons in music and life skills. We employ music as a tool for building community and even as an agent of change.

We believe in equity and inclusion, and aim to reflect diversity on stage.

Our Music For All program welcomes our community members on public assistance to attend select performances for $1 per ticket, and we strive to be an industry leader in imaginative, relevant programming by intentionally seeking out women conductors, underrepresented in our industry, and conductors, composers, and guest artists of color.

The Charlotte Symphony plays a leading cultural role in the Charlotte area and aims to serve the community as a civic leader, reflecting and uniting our region through the transformative power of live music.

EDGAR LEE MASTERS Edgar Lee Masters was born in Garnett, Kansas, on August 23, 1868, but soon after his birth his family moved to Lewistown, Illinois, near Springfield. In 1889 he entered Knox College, but his father refused help, so he returned to law in Lewistown. Admitted to the bar in 1891, in 1892 he left for Chicago. He practiced as an attorney in Chicago for nearly 30 years, and for several years he was the law partner of Clarence Darrow, the lawyer later to become famous as the counsel for the defense at the 1925 Scopes trial. He had long harbored literary ambitions, and under a variety of pseudonyms to avoid possible damage to his law practice, he began to publish poetry in magazines.

Inspired by the form of J. W. Mackail’s Selected Epigrams from the Greek Anthology, he combined free verse, epitaph, realism, and cynicism to write Spoon River Anthology, a collection of monologues from the dead in an Illinois cemetery. Many of the characters in the book were based on real people from the two towns in which he grew up: Lewistown and Petersburg, where his grandparents lived. The poems were first serialized in Reedy’s Mirror from 1914-15, and then issued as a complete edition in 1915. Spoon River Anthology was wildly successful, going through several editions rapidly and becoming one of the most popular books of American poetry in history. However, many who lived in Masters’ hometowns objected to their portrayal in the anthology, and the book was banned from Lewistown schools and libraries until 1974.

Even Masters’ mother voted for the ban…

Although Masters published thirty-nine more books, including novels, plays, collections of poetry, biographies (including one of Lincoln) and a sequel, The New Spoon River (1924), he never succeeded in matching his masterpiece. He died March 5, 1950, in a convalescent home in Philadelphia and was buried in Petersburg, Illinois. His epitaph includes his poem, “To-morrow is My Birthday”: “Good friends, let’s to the fields ...

After a little walk, and by your pardon, I think I’ll sleep. There is no sweeter thing, Nor fate more blessed than to sleep.

I am a dream out of a blessed sleep – Let’s walk, and hear the lark.”