The Civil War is a moving song-cycle which weaves an emotional tapestry from our nation's history. The show draws on letters and speeches, and uses projections including actual photographs from the war. It is staged as a musical oratorio, leaving a traditional book behind and using toned-down sets and costumes. All of this brings the music and the subject material into sharp focus.

The powerful music in this show covers a wide range of emotions. The Union and Confederate armies sing of their excitement as they prepare to go into war and defend their respective causes. The enslaved sing of their pain and misery as they are sold as property. A soldier and his wife try to ease their separation by writing frequent letters. An abolitionist (in certain scenes identified as Frederick Douglas) lobbies his cause, and expresses his frustration with both the injustice that his people suffer and the reluctance of President Lincoln and the Union to address it. A nurse reflects on the work that she is trying to do. Captains from the two armies grapple with the decisions that they must make, not only for themselves but for the soldiers who follow them. The enslaved join in rousing gospel numbers, keeping their hopes and their spirits alive despite everything that they endure. The soldiers of both armies, gradually realizing the horrors of war, face despair, death and defeat.

This intense work delves into one of our nation's most defining times, and is packed with feeling and messages, expressed directly through the wide variety of musical numbers performed. The war may be past, but the struggle continues today...