An Evening with George Pickett
...a tragicomedy in two acts
now available for bookings


Collage by Dave Curl

From West Point to Chapultepec,
the "Pig War" to Gettysburg,
 George Pickett was witness
to events that shaped the nation.


Who was the famous “leader of the charge” and why does he matter so much to Bellingham and San Juan Island?  Find out from Pickett himself during An Evening with George Pickett -- a one-man show now in its sixth season with Mike Vouri and Michael Cohen.

The play, in two acts, covers Pickett’s life from his boyhood in Richmond, Virginia, to his untimely death in the 1870s while on a business trip. Along the way, Vouri  offers a brisk interpretation of the 19th Century United States and its territories through Pickett’s life, which touched almost all of the major themes; while Mr. Cohen plays the banjo and sings period songs.

The following are a few examples of what people have said about the play:

Retired Hollywood director Andrew V. McLaglen ("The Blue & The Gray," "The Undefeated," and Shenandoah"):

"George Pickett was reincarnated in front of our eyes. Mike Vouri as General Pickett relived this man's life with a magnificent performance climaxing with the fateful order to charge Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg, which will always be remembered as Pickett's Charge."

Sunset Magazine's Peter Fish writes:

"Tellingly, in his... performance, Vouri portrays Pickett in two acts. In the Pig War, he is cocky and comic. In the second act, after Appomattox, he is a living ghost haunted by the carnage he has witnessed."

The Journal of the San Juan Islands: 

"The trail (Vouri) blazes through 19th century America is enjoyable and believable, and it is an easy one for the audience to follow...it at Gettysburg that Vouri excels. His acting is in top form as he describes the definitive moment in Pickett's life." -- 1998

"Vouri brings a flawed man to life...But it is during the second act that Vouri demonstrates his acting, writing and storytelling brilliance. The famous charge into the Union lines at Gettysburg has never been so vividly portrayed. 'An Evening with George Pickett'  is an event no islander should miss." -- 2000

Each of the players wears uniforms, U.S. Army and Confederate, and Vouri demonstrates replica weapons and equipment throughout the performance.
The play has been presented to enthusiastic audiences throughout Northwest Washington over the last four years.

Vouri is Park Ranger/Historian for San Juan Island National Historical Park, which on more than 1,750 acres of woodlands, beaches, and prairies commemorates the peaceful resolution of the water boundary dispute (or “Pig War”) between the United States and Great Britain.  He curated George Pickett and the Frontier Army Experience, an exhibition that ran at the Whatcom Museum from December 1994 until April 1995. He also is a veteran actor, having appeared in many community theater productions in the 1970s, and most recently, in Noel Coward’s "Private Lives," and Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers,"  San Juan Community Theatre productions directed by former Hollywood film director Andrew V. McLaglen.

Also a San Juan Island resident,  Mike Cohen is a veteran of the New York City folk scene, who has played banjo with nearly everyone there in the 1950s and 1960s, including his own group the Shanty Boys. He is the brother of New Lost City Ramblers founder and musicologist, John  Cohen. Cohen holds a Doctorate in Environmental Psychology and is the founder and director of Project NatureConnect, a nonprofit nature based psychology organization on San Juan Island.
 

2003 Schedule

 

7:00 p.m.
January 22

Brodniak Hall
Anacortes High School
Anacortes, Washington

__________
 
7:00 p.m.
February 20
Lynden Pioneer Museum
Lynden, Washington
__________

March 19
Jefferson County Library
Port Townsend, Washington
(Time and venue to be announced)

__________

March 20
Kitsap County Library
Poulsbo, Washington
(Time and venue to be announced)

___________

July 25, August 22
8:00 p.m.
San Juan Community Theatre
Friday Harbor, Washington

_________

October
Columbia Basin Community College
(Date, time and venue to be announced)

 

mike_vouri@nps.gov
 




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