Actors' Theatre of South Carolina presents
Mary Chesnut's War for Independence!
Starring & Adapted by Chris Weatherhead*
Based on A Diary From Dixie by Mary Chesnut
Directed by Clarence Felder
Costume design & construction by Jean Robertson Hutchinson
*Ms. Weatherhead appears courtesy of Actor's Equity Association
Passion, pain and laughter were Mary's Chesnut's constant companions. Her genius turned them into a treasure for all time...
Praise for "Miss Mary" & Chris Weatherhead
When the book containing Mary's journals, MARY CHESNUT'S CIVIL WAR, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982, the media began a love affair with the controversial belle...
"...brilliant...Mary Chesnut's wit and shrewdness, her fierce abhorrence to slavery, her feminist ambitions, make her observations peculiarly modern...a remarkable woman." Saturday Review
"A feast...one of the best first hand records of the Confederate experience...electrifying." Newsweek
"Chesnut's insights dazzle. Lively sketches, biting characterizations, entertaining anecdotes..."
The Journal of American History
"... now revealed as the masterpiece that it is; the finest work to come out of the Civil War..."
Washington Post Book World
Critics on Ms. Weatherhead's performance...
"Chris Weatherhead delivers a wonderfully nuanced performance...excellent theatre...right on target."
Dr. Elisabeth Muhlenfeld, author of Mary Boykin Chesnut, A Biography
"...Chris Weatherhead sparkles delightfully...persuasive acting...a worthy project."
Robert Jones, Post & Courier, Charleston
"..an historic hit...brilliantly amalgamated by Chris Weatherhead...through her ample humor and knowing smirk...thoroughly professional."
James Ewing, The Charleston Citypaper
"In a delightful play, Chris Weatherhead does what many notable historians fail to do in a lifetime of writing. She presents a clear overview of the Civil War with both historical integrity and dramatic excellence."
William R. Scaife, author, THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN
INFORMATION ON THE PLAY:
Ken Burns' hit PBS series, CIVIL WAR, was so popular when it first ran, it was recently
re-aired. Mary Chesnut, the controversial brilliant writer, is one of the most quoted in
Burns' six-hour series. She is also the topic of The Actors' Theatre of South Carolina's
hit show, MARY CHESNUT'S WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE! garnering rave reviews throughout
the state and beyond.
The daughter of a South Carolina governor and United States senator, Mary Chesnut was an
ardent abolitionist, a passionate believer in states rights and a feminist who loved her husband.
Mary is known today for her brilliant, shocking and poignant masterpiece; a journal of the rise and
fall of the Confederate States of America. Dr. C. Vann Woodward published his edited version of
Mary Chesnut's book in 1982, titled MARY CHESNUT'S CIVIL WAR, which won the Pulitzer
Prize in history, indirectly giving Mrs. Chesnut the highest literary honor one can receive in this
country. Unfortunately, it was roughly a hundred years after her death. Chris Weatherhead plays the
controversial Southern Belle. Ms. Weatherhead has been portraying her since 1997 and
continues to receive rave reviews. Ms. Weatherhead played Mary Chesnut last year on
C-SPAN's American Writer's Series, has been a leading lady in theatre, film and television for
twenty-five years in New York, Los Angeles and the U.S. She has guest-starred on numerous
TV series including Dallas, Moonlighting, Homefront and Night Court.
MARY CHESNUT'S WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE! is available to be performed in a theatre,
hotel, museum, historic home or any other gathering place.
FOR BOOKINGS, CALL:
Ms.Weatherhead, Producing Director
Actors' Theatre of South Carolina
(843) 588-9636 or email: ccfelder@aol.com
www.actorstheatreofsc.org
"creating great memories"
