Celebrating a milestone: 5000 performances for The Lost Colony

Published 4:03 pm Saturday, July 27, 2024

By Summer Stevens

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Scene five features lively singing and dancing in Plymouth Harbor, England. Summer Stevens photo

The ocean passage scene is a highlight of the play. Summer Stevens photo

Kat Littleturtle returns as The Storyteller in the 2024 season of The Lost Colony. Summer Stevens photo

The 87th season of The Lost Colony runs through August 24. Summer Stevens photo

Sir Walter Raleigh (Joey Casella) makes plans for his colony in the New World. Summer Stevens photo

The 87th season of The Lost Colony runs through August 24. Summer Stevens photo

The 5000th performance of The Lost Colony is July 27. Tickets available online. Summer Stevens photo

Kat Littleturtle returns as The Storyteller in the 2024 season of The Lost Colony. Summer Stevens photo

Scene five features lively singing and dancing in Plymouth Harbor, England. Summer Stevens photo

Ralph Lane (Jasper Lane Pippin) bows to Queen Elizabeth I (Libby Otos), pleading for a ship to return to the colonists. Summer Stevens photo

In Act Two, Eleanor Dare (McKenzie Cale Troyer) marries John Borden (Luke Sage). Summer Stevens photo

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On Saturday, July 27, 2024, The Lost Colony will celebrate its 5000^th performance at the Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island.

A special presentation, created by projection designer Christopher Ash and sound designer Ashton Corey, will highlight the 87 memorable seasons of America’s longest running outdoor symphonic drama. Keepers of the Dream medallions will be presented to alumni.

“Five thousand performances of a single production don’t happen very often and this one is a testament to a town, a county, and a people as well as thousands of actors, technicians, and crew who made this theatre the place to be for 87 years of Outer Banks evenings,” said executive director Chuck Still.

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The original script was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green in 1937. The drama was so popular it continued to be produced year after year, pausing only for World War II and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Over 4 million people have attended The Lost Colony, located within Fort Raleigh National Park.

Attendees will notice both major and minor changes in the 2024 season from prior years. The sound system has been upgraded to deliver even sound throughout the theater. One of Sir Walter Raleigh’s scenes was reclaimed.

“The beginning of the show was altered significantly,” said Still. And, as is true every year, new actors bring new interpretations to their roles.

For Cathy Waite from Kentucky, who has attended several shows during her vacation, The Lost Colony is “by far the best production” she’s seen, from the costumes to the acting.

Other showgoers noted the depth of story revealed in the 2024 season – less “Disney” and more heartfelt.

The play tells the story of the first English child born in the New World, Virginia Dare, and both the anticipation and struggle of the early colonists to survive in unknown lands with unknown people. The play delves into the social and political world of England in the 1580s with its grand court and opulent clothing, yet teetering on the brink of war with Spain.

The costumes and dance choreography are a delight to the senses. The attention to detail in the clothing – both men’s and women’s – immerse the viewer in the 16^th century world.

After a scouting expedition to Roanoke, the Queen gives permission to Sir Walter Raleigh to send a group of settlers, including women and children, under the leadership of Ralph Lane and John White to set up a colony for England in this wild and wonderful new land.

One of the highlights of the show is the colonists’ ocean crossing scene. Lights, projections, music and creativity blend together to create a breath-taking sensory experience.

The colonists are met originally with friendship and support from the Native Americans, but strained communication, the death of King Wingina, and hunger across both parties leave the relationships splintered. Meanwhile, John White returns to England seeking aid for the colony, only to be denied by the Queen, who cannot spare any ships during the conflict with Spain.

The colony struggles with starvation and sickness, their supplies low and their clothing ragged. Yet, in Paul Green’s imagination, they sing Christmas carols on a cold snowy evening and hope for the return of White. On the edge of extinction, the colonists depart with Manteo from the Croatoan tribe to another region where there is game, carving the famous “CRO” symbol onto a tree, for White to find three years later upon his eventual return to the island.

The popularity for The Lost Colony has endured for generations. Still believes there are two reasons for this.

“First, it is an unsolved mystery,” he said. “The mystery gives the story an air of romance and intrigue that keeps it interesting year after year. If the Colony had survived and left on John White’s ship when he returned, it would have been just another failed colony. The mystery makes it a special failed colony that piques our interest.

“Second, it’s a pretty heroic American conclusion to the tale. Everything after John White sails for England is just conjecture, but Paul Green took this opportunity to make some statements about democracy (they vote where to go) and the manifest destiny kind of optimism (they march off into the wilderness sure that they can find a better home.) None of it may have happened that way, but in the middle of a Depression, Paul Green filled the stage with optimism and a testament to the human spirit.”

The 2024 season runs through August 24. Tickets for the 5000^th performance or any other performance can be purchased at thelostcolony.org.

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