Admiral George Dewey Off-Off-Broadway Play Reading To Show His Compassionate Side
A historical drama about how Admiral George Dewey came to the court martial defense of his defeated Spanish naval foe at the Battle of Manila Bay aims to change the way most Americans think about him. Dewey, who is still the only person in history to hold the rank of Admiral of the Navy, distinguished himself at the May 1, 1898 Battle of Manila Bay where he gave his famous order, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." He received New York City's first ticker tape parade which was attended by an estimated crowd of two million.
Now Dewey is forgotten. His 2017 death centennial passed without much fanfare.
Manila, Philippines based playwright, author and screenwriter Dennis Posadas struggled for years how to tell the forgotten story of the Battle of Manila Bay which marks its 120th anniversary next year and is considered America's first overseas naval victory.
"I came across this short paragraph in Admiral Dewey's 1913 Scribner autobiography that explained how he saved Contraalmirante Montojo from a guilty court martial verdict in Madrid, Spain in 1899. When I saw this I knew I had my Hollywood twist," Posadas explained. He then reworked his script from an epic big picture naval battle story to a historical drama that focused instead on the life of Contraalmirante Patricio Montojo and the compassion shown to him by Admiral Dewey.
"The premise of compassion between two warriors after a hard fought war just seized me to the core. I guess it came at a time when I became jaded with a long series of news events about modern day treachery and terrorism," said Posadas. He was so enamored with the idea that he wrote both a film and stage play version.
The play version of The Court Martial of Admiral Montojo will debut with a free off-off-Broadway reading on Saturday, December 9 3pm at the Manhattan Rep Theatre at 17-19 West 45th Street, NYC.
After the play reading, he said his plans for Admiral Montojo are open. "I'd really like to get this feel good story out. It's like a salve to a long series of mental wounds inflicted on our society by terrorists and mentally deranged people," he said.
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