Staff Writer
A short play about four female spies during the Civil War, written by a local author, was the result of a class that the playwright taught about the historic “war between the states.”
“A Tea in Heaven,” written by local historian Dr. Philip B. Turner, made its debut earlier this month to a full house at the Gray Memorial United Methodist Church and was performed a few days later at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church in Presque Isle.
While the audience was served tea and sandwiches, four women told their stories around a tea table awaiting entrance into heaven. The characters in the play were actually spies during the Civil War and the stories they told during the play truly happened, according to Turner.
The play was produced and is directed by the Rev. Lynne Josselyn, a retired Methodist minister.
Turner said that the idea for the play came from teaching a SAGE (Seniors Achieving Greater Education) class at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
“They wanted me to do something about the Civil war,” said Turner, a retired chemist and university instructor. “I didn’t want to do battle after battle.”
Turner wondered if there were female spies during the war.
“I got on the Internet and there were a lot of them,” he said.
Each student in the SAGE class brought in information about a spy and shared with the class, Turner recalled, who also collected the student’s information for potentially later use.
Turner said he was in the hospital a winter ago recovering from surgery and “a few heart attacks.” During that time, he kept busy by writing the play “in his head.”
In the written version of the play, Turner acknowledges the SAGE students who contributed material to the play.
As each character tells the story of her spying activities and awaiting their entry into Heaven, St. Peter listens nearby. If a character talks at length, he reminds her that while there is no time in Heaven, the audience “is subject to time.”
For those interested in knowing whether the quartet made it through the Pearly Gates, the play will be presented at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church in Presque isle on Tuesday, May 27.
A time will be announced at a later date, according to Turner.
Turner also is working on a pageant for the city of Caribou’s 150th celebration and is the author of several books, including “Rooster, The Story of Aroostook County,” and “First John: King of the Mountain.”
Photo courtesy of Voscar
THE CIVIL WAR was the theme for a play put on Tuesday, May 27, at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church in Presque Isle. Those involved with the play’s production included, in front, from left: Phyllis Anderson, Roberta Pelletier, Darlene Nelder and Deana Jordan. In back: Robert Jordan; Dr. Philip Turner, the play’s author; Larry Conrad; Leland Frost; and the director of the play, the Reverend Lynne Joselyn.
