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Community Corner

Added Performance: Civil War Drama Comes to Life at NJ REP

New
Jersey Repertory Company, located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, is proud to
present the World Premiere of Butler by Richard Strand, directed by
Joseph Discher and starring Ames Adamson, David Sitler, Benjamin Sterling and
John G. Williams. Butler is a recipient of a prestigious Edgerton
Foundation New American Plays Award and is based on real life events that
changed the lives of more than 10,000 slaves. The play begins at the start of
the Civil War and Butler, a successful Massachusetts lawyer in civilian life
has just been promoted to Major General and is given command of Fort Monroe, a
Union hold-out in the state of Virginia. 


The Fort, situated in a highly strategic location between North and South, was
considered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee to be a great threat to
Richmond, a center of Confederate strength. By the time Butler assumed command,
he was thrust into the thick of things and was already considered by his
superiors to be a prickly individual who had a tendency to bend orders and to
over-step authority. It is this independence of spirit that ultimately leads to
the explosive situation that becomes the central event of the play.

The
catalyst that sets these events in motion is the unexpected appearance of Shepard Mallory, a runaway slave, who
requests sanctuary at the fort. However, the law of the land at the time has
not yet changed and slaves are still considered property that must be turned
over to their "rightful owners".  This is tantamount to a
death-sentence and Butler is confronted with a daunting moral dilemma.

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Butler runs through Sunday, July 13. Tickets may be purchased by calling
732-229-3166 or online at www.njrep.org.


Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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