Artist Summary:
Performance Type: One Man Historical Show
Performance Style(s): High quality theatre
Fee Range: $6,000
The room is empty but General Lee is not alone, posterity sits in judgment. How did the most trusted soldier in the United States Army become its greatest enemy? Why did this deeply religious man, firmly opposed to slavery and secession, reject Lincoln’s offer to lead the Union Army and agree to fight for The Confederacy?
The Trial of Robert E. Lee is an epic tale that looks beyond the black and white pages of our history into the gray areas of America’s past. Set just moments before his historic surrender to General Grant on April 9th 1865, this meticulously researched one-man drama places the audience in the jury box as Lee shares the extraordinary circumstances of his remarkable life. The son of a disgraced Revolutionary War hero, Robert E. Lee overcame his childhood shame to graduate second in his class at West Point. After raising seven children with his wife Mary, who was the great-grand daughter of George Washington, their home Arlington was confiscated by Federal troops and transformed into a national cemetery. As the country split in two, Lee became a Civil War legend throughout the North and South for his military genius and personal integrity.
The Trial of Robert E. Lee is a spellbinding American journey that transports the audience onto the raging battlefields of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg and then back again to Wilmer McClain’s front parlor and posterity’s verdict “patriot” or “traitor”? As we hear General Grant’s approaching footsteps Lee warns against simplifying our nation’s story into a comforting novel of good verses evil, saying “Fictionalized history teaches later generations to long for the good old days, which never really were, and to despise the little good that is granted us in this present world.”
Reviews:
"Dugan remains an imposing talent" - Backstage
"This is a script for the ages, and so is Tom Dugan's performance!" - San Diego Jewish World
ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT MATERIALS
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Pictures:
The Trial of Robert E. Lee
