"The Lost Colony" Symphonic Drama

 

The Queen's Chamber scene in 1937

Roanoke Island Historical Association

The Start of a Dream

In January of 1937, North Carolina playwright Paul Green was hired by the Roanoke Island Historical Association (RIHA) to create a show about the story of the Lost Colony. RIHA was planning a three-day celebration for the 350th Anniversary of the Lost Colony. They wanted Green to create a unique performance to serve as the headline for the event. Paul Green had recently started a new genre of plays, the symphonic drama. The symphonic drama combines pageantry, song, dance, acting, and poetry to tell the story of a historic event in the place where it happened. They are usually performed in an outdoor theatre.

With the United States still recovering from the Great Depression, RIHA and the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association (RCMA) reached out to the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, and Federal Theatre Project to help with funding and construction of an outdoor theater for the play. The U.S. Mint released 25,000 commemorative Roanoke Island half-dollars to help fund the project. With funding and help secured, the show was on its way to opening.

On July 4, 1937, The Lost Colony premiered in the newly built Waterside Theatre. Many members of the local community helped with the show, serving as part of the cast, crew, and theatre staff. Members of the CCC crew even stepped in to play the roles of Native American dancers. Well-known stage actors played principal roles, like John White and Eleanor Dare, to help bring in a larger audience. The play ran for a total of 37 shows during its first season. They charged $1.00 for adults and $.25 for anyone under 12. This raised enough money to fund a second season. Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt saw the show on August 18, 1937: the 350th Anniversary of the Lost Colony.

When the play premiered in 1937, an organ performed most of the music, with a choir on the side of the stage providing vocal accompaniment. The Historian sat in a different box off to the left of the stage. They would tell the story at the start of each scene, and then the actors would perform it. Much of the performance was dramatic pantomime, ideal for audiences of the time. Throughout the years since that premiere, the play has gone through ups, downs, and major changes

 

The chapel set piece was significantly damaged during Hurricane Donna in 1960.

Roanoke Island Historical Association

World War II, Natural Disasters and the Waterside Theatre Makeover

On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, forcing the United States into World War II. Off the coast of North Carolina, German U-boats patrolled the waters. To help protect ships traveling past Cape Hatteras, blackouts were put in place. Many Americans were also involved in the war effort, which led to fewer available participants in the show. Rations on rubber and gasoline created a sharp decline in travel, which led to fewer tourists in the Outer Banks. These blackouts meant that an outdoor theatre could not be lit after dark, and rations meant fewer tourists, so from 1942 to 1945, the Waterside Theater sat unused. With the end of World War II in 1945, life on the Outer Banks soon returned to normal.

In 1946, The Lost Colony returned with audiences thrilled to welcome it back. During the 1947 season, a fire destroyed the stage, sets, and nearly 500 props in a matter of hours. The costumes were saved by costumer Irene Rains, who threw costumes into the sound to save them from the flames. Working around the clock, Manteo locals, with the help of the cast and crew, rebuilt everything in six days. The season resumed with only 4 missed shows.

Even with this incredible feat, it was apparent that the Waterside Theatre was going to need a major renovation soon. Tourism had steadily increased since the end of the war, and the theatre was struggling to keep up with the demands. Nature, however, was not done yet. In September of 1960, Hurricane Donna made landfall on the Outer Banks. During the storm, the Waterside Theatre suffered extensive damage. While there was obvious damage onstage, backstage received the worst of the storm. The ship track was torn out in several places, piles of lumber now sat where dressing rooms had been, and buildings that still stood had been shifted drastically. Theatre designer Skipper Bell and his crew repaired and replaced what they could and had the theatre ready for the 1961 season. At the end of the season, the entire theatre was torn down and rebuilt in time for the 1962 season. Other than some minor changes in 1964, the theatre has remained the same. The biggest change was the switch from benches to stadium seating during a refurbishment in the 1990s.

 

The 1964 cast of The Lost Colony performing a dance in costume.

Roanoke Island Historical Association

Joe Layton and the Redesigning of the Show

By 1964, The Lost Colony was not as popular as it had once been. Rogers and Hammerstein had changed the world of theatre with their new show, Oklahoma!, and more shows like it soon followed. The pantomime version that had captivated audiences in 1937 was no longer appealing. If The Lost Colony was to survive, they needed to adapt to more modern tastes.

In 1964, RIHA hired dancer Joe Layton as director to revitalize the show. Having worked as a dancer in Oklahoma!, Layton became a well-known choreographer and director afterwards, winning the Tony Award for Best Choreography in 1962. One of the first major changes he made was rescoring the music. Layton replaced the organ with a keyboard and updated the music for modern tastes. He created drama by choreographing new scenes, including a fight between Manteo and Wanchese, buildings on fire, ringing bells, and chaotic fighting. Layton adjusted the script to create more seamless transitions between scenes. Layton also made changes to the set. The Historian and choir were no longer restricted to a box on stage. Instead, the Historian walked through the scenes while telling the story, becoming part of the choreography. The choir now moved between trees, serving as a "ghost choir."

Joe Layton served as director and choreographer for 21 seasons, with 1984 being his last. His influence kept the show in line with modern theatre trends. While the show continued to grow and modernize after he left, Layton's initial changes in 1964 paved the way for The Lost Colony to survive changing trends in theatre.

 

Cast members in 2008 show off their new costumes following the costume shop fire in 2007.

Roanoke Island Historical Association

Post-Layton and Pre-COVID

In the years following Joe Layton's departure, The Lost Colony continued the push to try and experiment with new technology and theatre techniques. They started using microphones for the cast and redesigned most of the sets and props. In the early 2000s, RIHA hired Terrence Mann, a notable Broadway actor/dancer/director/singer, to once again revitalize the show. Mann, having performed in the show under Layton's direction in the 70s, made the show more of a musical drama by integrating the music, dance, and drama. Some of the lines in the show were put to music to create new songs in the modernized score. The role of the Historian took on many different looks, including an archeologist, Paul Green, a fisherman, and a monk. Members of the local community were heavily involved in the show. Families participated in the show, with children who started as Virginia Dare now holding roles as teens and adults. Some played the same role for many seasons, becoming icons in their own right. No two seasons were exactly the same, and audiences kept coming back.

In 2007, tragedy struck again in the form of another fire. In the early hours of September 11, a Nags Head resident called 911 to report what appeared to be a fire across the sound. By the time engines and crews arrived, most of the costume shop had been destroyed, as well as a maintenance building. About 80% of the costumes for the show were nothing more than ash. The only surviving costumes were either on display at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh or out for dry cleaning. Some of the costumes burned were from as far back as the first season in 1937, making the loss even more profound. With help from local, state, and federal sources, as well as donations, they began work. The costume shop, costumes, and maintenance building were ready in time for the 2008 season.

A few years later, in 2013, The Lost Colony was honored with the Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater. The award was presented in recognition of The Lost Colony having recently celebrated their 75th season. They hold the title of longest-running outdoor symphonic drama in the country. The Lost Colony, one of the few productions originally funded by the Federal Theater Project, had a lot to celebrate.

 

Cameron Bryant as Chief Wingina interacts with a bear puppet.

Roanoke Island Historical Association

The Lost Colony Today

In the summer of 2020, The Lost Colony suspended production for the first time since World War II due to COVID-19. During that summer, a petition called on the show to stop casting white actors to play the roles of Native Americans. While the petition did not gain national attention, it did get the attention of The Lost Colony. Rather than defend their choices or ignore the petition, they took action. Roanoke Island Historical Association reached out to members of the Lumbee Tribe to ask for their help. While they were skeptical, the Lumbee Tribe agreed to watch a recording of the show and provide feedback. Once they had received feedback, Roanoke Island Historical Association put it into action. They hired Kaya Littleturtle to serve as their cultural advisor. When the 2021 season premiered, all of the Native roles in the play were now represented by Native people from tribes across the country.

Casting was not the only place to change. Many of the scenes involving Native actors were inaccurate or violent. To remedy this, The Lost Colony introduced elements of Native storytelling. They changed the role of the Historian to a Native elder called the Storyteller. Puppets representing animals tell the story and make some of the violence towards Natives less graphic. Instead of using the sets from years past, the show added more lighting and projection elements. This created a show experience unlike the shows before 2020. The Lost Colony continues working with Native groups by hosting youth workshops, as well as expanding casting. As the show looks towards the future, the changes to The Lost Colony continue to keep the attention of modern audiences.