Civil War Voices to be Presented in New York City & Gettysburg

July 2, 2010
McCooK, Nebraska

Seventeen months after being performed at McCook's historic Fox Theatre, an original musical production by Jim Harris has been chosen for presentation in Gettysburg, Pa. and New York City, N.Y.

Highlights of "Civil War Voices," based on five true stories from the Civil War era, will be presented Friday, July 2, in Gettysburg during the annual conference of the Civil War International Association.

Three weeks later, Civil War Voices will begin a four-performance run at the June Havoc Theatre in New York City. The production will be featured during the International Midtown Theatre Festival.

"It's a tremendous honor," said Harris, who was raised and attended grade school and high school in McCook. It was during visits to Alabama that Harris discovered a Civil War diary written by his great-great Uncle Joe. This was the inspiration for the Civil War Voices musical which is soon to reach the stage in New York.

Harris will perform in the Gettysburg show as Uncle Joe. He will be joined in that performance by two other members of the cast from McCook: Camille Metoyer Moten as Elizabeth Keckley and Beth Asbjornson as Harriet. Also appearing inthe Gettysburg show will be Evan Rail as Theo and Jeff Kuhl as Chamberlain.

The Civil War Voices performance in New York City will feature a cast of ten professional actors and a three-person orchestra. Dates for the New York City presentation are Saturday, July 24; Sunday, July 25; Monday, July 26; and Sunday, August 1. The June Havoc Theatre is located at 312 West 36th Street.

More information will be available at the festival website: www.midtownfestival.org.

Up to this time, Civil War Voices has been presented four times, It debuted at Doane College in Crete in March of 2008 and shortly afterwards was presented in Opelika, Ala. as a fund-raising event for the Museum of East Alabama. This is the museum founded by Jim Harris' parents: Eleanor and the late John T. Harris.

Then, in 2009, Civil War Voices was presented twice in Nebraska. The first performance was Friday, Feb. 13, 2009, at the Lied Center, followed a week later by the Feb. 21, 2009 performance at the Fox in McCook. That show, presented as a public service by Jim and his brothers J.T., Bill, Bob and Bert, attracted a capacity crowd and generated more than $8,000 in funds for the Fox renovation project.

As a result of the success of Civil war Voices, Jim Harris was selected to receive an Artistic Achievement Award for the Performing Arts. The award was presented June 7 at the Lied Center in Lincoln.