×
×
homepage logo

Play reenacting John Brown’s trial to take place in historical location

By Tabitha Johnston - Chronicle Staff | Oct 6, 2023

The cast is pictured together in their rehearsal space, from left to right: Stacey Shaw (Mahala Doyle), Katherine Bonner (narrator), Jack Shaw (Captain Sinn), Thomas Ruhf (Clerk of the Court), John Griffith (Joseph Brua), David Hammer (Thomas Green), Michael Hippchen (Col. Lewis Washington), Homer Speaker (Andrew Hunter), David Hippchen (George Hoyt), Joe Yates (John Brown), D. Frank Hill III (Judge Richard Parker), Daniel Hayes (Lawson Botts), John Spears (Hiram Griswold), James Eros (a minister), Leo Bonner (Jailer Avis), John Doyle (Conductor Phelps), Jim Schmitt (John Allstadt), Emily Wanger (Mary Brown), Charles Devine (Dr. Mason Starry), Charity Ward (narrator), Richard Yates (Henry Hunter) and Matthew Ryan (Alexander Kelly). Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Jefferson County Courthouse became the focal point of eyes across the nation, when the trial for John Brown began there on Oct. 27, 1859.

In the end, the trial was completed in a surprisingly short five-day period, as its jurors required only 45 minutes to reach the verdict that Brown was guilty on all accounts related to his July 3, 1859 raid of the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry. That trial will be reecreated over this and next weekend back in the courthouse, where it all took place, with the production of Julia Davis’ play, “The Anvil.”

“I started working on this show for the first time about 35 years ago,” said producer and director Joe Yates, of Shepherdstown, referring to his long history with the play. “I’ve been involved in theater in one way or another my whole life, and this is one of my very favorite experiences.

“My first experience with this play was when I was in my early 20s — I’m 60 now,” Joe said, noting he played the role of the minister in that production. “I have played Brown several times under different directors, and took over the producer/director role about 10 years ago, when the guy who used to produce it, Jerry Bayer, moved to Florida.”

The play was premiered with a production at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Aug. 1961, according to Joe. Since then, it has been produced there a number of times, although the last such occasion was nearly a decade ago.

“The last time we did it was 2014, and many people have asked about it since,” Joe said. “I started to [work on producing] it again right before COVID hit, so that ended that idea. But I thought now would be a good time to do it, given the political climate of the time. We, as a country, are about as divided now as we were in 1859. And some of the lines and ideas of the show are as appropriate to today’s world as they were then. I sent the governor of Florida an invitation, but I doubt he’ll show up.”

Joe Yates will not only be working behind the scenes, but will also be returning to play the role of John Brown, alongside a carefully selected cast of local residents, including: Emily Wanger, John Doyle, Sandy Andrews, Katherine Bonner, Leo Bonner, Charles Devine, James Eros, John Griffith, Daniel Hayes, D. Frank Hill III, David Hippchen, Michael Hippchen, Thomas Ruhf, Matthew Ryan, Jim Schmitt, Jack Shaw, Stacey Shaw, Homer Speaker, John Spears, Charity Ward, Richard Yates and David Hammer.

“The play not only takes us through the actual trial, but we also go inside Brown’s jail cell, where he argues that slavery is ‘contrary to the teachings of Christ!’ but that his own deadly actions are ‘wielding the Sword of the Spirit,'” Joe said. “We meet his wife Mary, mother of 13 of his 20 children; and we meet Mahala Doyle, the woman whose husband and two sons were ‘murdered in my hearing’ in Kansas.”

Noting that only a couple of chairs have been added to the courtroom to expand the seating area to fit about 100 audience members comfortably into the courtroom, Joe said showings of the play will be held tonight at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., October 13 at 8 p.m., October 14 at 8 p.m. and October 15 at 2 p.m.

“Come, be a part of our shared history!” Joe said. “Stare into the eyes of John Brown; those who stood with him, those who stood against him and those simply caught in the grip of our nation’s greatest struggle. Madman or saint, you decide.”

Reservations are encouraged, and can be made by texting the date, name and number of tickets to 304-676-8059, or by emailing anviltickets@gmail.com. Tickets are $15, or $10 for those under 20 and over 60.