Sarandon, Cabell, Etc. Set for Westport's 'Sedition'

A world premiere play based on a true story about a college professor who stood up in defense of the freedom of speech and the price he paid for his courage will be staged at Westport Country Playhouse (Tazewell Thompson, artistic director, and Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, managing director), August 2 through August 18.   Titled Sedition, the new work is written by David Wiltse of Weston, Westport Country Playhouse playwright-in-residence.  The director is Tazewell Thompson, Playhouse artistic director.

Sedition is "set in mid-America during World War I when President Wilson's administration passed The Sedition Act of 1918 that made it illegal to criticize the war or the U.S. government. The stunning new play questions with razor sharp dialogue---and not without a sense of humor---what it means to stand up for something that you believe in," state press notes.  "Wiltse's play is based on the actual experience of his grandfather, a scholar and professor of German at the University of Nebraska, who was subjected to a state defense council hearing for not taking a 'sufficiently virile stance' in favor of the war."

"In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson took this nation into his war of choice, World War I," explained Wiltse.  "The most famous of the reasons he cited for engaging in this unprecedentedly bloody conflict was to 'make the world safe for democracy.' In pursuit of that ideal, he encouraged neighbor to spy upon neighbor and child upon parent. The spying was part of espionage and sedition acts, passed after entry into the war that made it illegal to speak against the war, or the conduct of it.  It was also a crime to hear such 'sedition' and not report it to the authorities.

"Sedition raises questions about a citizen's rights in time of war and the razor-thin line between sedition and free speech.  "The highly mixed personal motives, base as well as noble, that impelled by grandfather to put himself and his wife in peril in a period of volatile and violent national hysteria are what have prompted me to write this play," stated Wiltse.

David Wiltse has written 11 plays, published 12 novels, and produced more than 50 projects for film and television. He is the winner of a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Playwright for his first produced play, Suggs, which was premiered at Lincoln Center.  His second play was the comedy, Doubles, which ran for the l985-86 season on Broadway. That play was also produced subsequently at Westport County Playhouse, the first of his five productions in that theatre. The comedy Triangles for Two and the drama The Good German had their world premieres at Westport Country Playhouse.  Wiltse's comedy A Marriage Minuet was on the Playhouse stage last summer and his thriller Temporary Help was also produced there.

Cast members of Sedition are Hannah Cabell (Mary's Wedding at Westport), Jeffrey DeMunn (Broadway: Our Town, The Price, etc.), Bryant Martin, Colin McPhillamy (Broadway: Waiting in the Wings), Chris Sarandon (film: Dog Day Afternoon, The Princess Bride; theatre: The Light in the Piazza, Nick and Nora) and Mark Shanahan (Journey's End at Wesport).

The production team includes Donald Eastman, set, Ilona Somogyi, costumes, Robert Wierzel, lighting, Fabian Obispo, sound, and Kate Boyer, production stage manager. 

Visit www.westportplayhouse.org for more information.

Photo by Kathleen O'Rourke - David Wiltse of Weston, second from right, brings his new play, Sedition, to Westport Country Playhouse, August 2 through August 18.  Cast members are, from left, Colin McPhillamy at Chancellor, Jeffrey DeMunn as Megrim, Chris Sarandon as Andrew Schrag, Hannah Cabell as Harriet Schrag, Mark Shanahan as Cassidy, Wiltse, and Bryant Martin as Tellig

To post a comment, you must register and login.