"The Life and Times of General George Pickett" will return to the stage in 2012 to help commemorate the Civil War Sesquicentennial.
Mike Vouri (in the title role) and folksinger Michael Cohen, with technical director Chris DeStaffany, have presented the play throughout the Pacific Northwest, plus a trip to Virginia, for more than 14 years before shelving the comedy-drama in 2009.

The play was re-activated at the San Juan Community Theatre in Fall 2011 by Vouri, Cohen and DeStaffany as a fundraiser for and tribute to former park ranger Darlene Wahl.

"We never really said 'never' again,'" Vouri said. "Bringing it back for Darlene was the perfect time and we thank those who came and showed Darlene their support."

The play covers Pickett's life from his boyhood in Richmond, Virginia, to his untimely death in the 1870s. Along the way, Vouri, as Pickett, 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 play follows Pickett's life through the "Pig War," and culminates with the disastrous "Pickett's Charge" that brought ruin to the Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

Brian Smale

Michael Cohen performs the "Rebel Song" during a performance on San Juan Island.

Retired Hollywood director Andrew V. McLaglen ("The Blue & The Gray," "The Undefeated," and Shenandoah") has said of the show: "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 wrotes: "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."

Brian Smale

Mike Vouri performs "Life and Times of General George Pickett" on San Juan Island in 2004.

Vouri is the chief of interpretation and 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 is the author of The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay (1999); Outpost of Empire: The Royal Marines and Joint Occupation of San Juan Island (2004); The Pig War (Arcadia Press, 2008) and Friday Harbor (2009). He has appeared in numerous theatrical productions on San Juan Island including The Laramie Project, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Christmas Carol and Private Lives. 

Mike Cohen has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the catalysts for the 1950's folk revival in New York City where he recorded and played professionally with the Shanty Boys Folk Trio and Oscar Brand. He performs solo for the National Park Service on San Juan Island and with the folk group Sugar On The Floor that he formed to support local service organization functions. His musical family includes his brother, John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers. Mike also is an ecophyschology professor, author and researcher.

For booking information contact the park via e-mail or call (360) 378-2240, ext. 2227.

2011 Performance Schedule

October 26     San Juan Community Theatre

2012 Performance Schedule

March 23      Port Townsend