GRANDVIEW, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – Theatre West Virginia is returning to its roots this season. The performance art theatre is switching genres and will celebrate the 60th anniversary of “Honey in the Rock” Thursday evening.
Theatre West Virginia kicked off its 2021 season with “Alice at Wonderland,” a modern retelling of Lewis Carroll’s literary classic performed by the local Kids Academy.
The stage will take a more serious turn for the next several days with the return of “Honey in the Rock”- the oldest American Civil War drama that continues to be performed, and the first performance that was held on the Theatre West Virginia stage in 1961.
“Honey in the Rock” has not been performed at the Cliffside Amphitheatre since 2015.
“This is our historical drama,” said Theatre West Virginia General Manager Scott Hill. “We are returning to our roots. It’s always fun to go back to where this all got started.”
Director of this year’s “Honey in the Rock” performances, Nick Yurick said he wanted to reflect the current state of the country in his telling of the story.
“The division of the Civil War and that development is relevant today. We still have this message that transcends those issues.”
Yurick noted that the story begins on the first day of the Civil War and, as the story progresses, the characters flow through feelings of optimism and brightness to worry and darkness and back again. Brother turns against brother, neighbor against neighbor and friend against friend.
“In the end, it’s a journey of hope and fear, and it really puts those conflicts on a personal level.”
Because it is set in Raleigh County, Yurick believes this performance is one that southern West Virginia can be proud of.
“It starts to question whether or not to go with the Confederacy like the rest of Virginia or to break away and join the Union,” he said. “It shows us what a different choice that was for people in the area. It portrays our people as folks that are willing to go against the rest of their state for the good of their nation and to stand up for what they believe in.
Throughout the directing process, Yurick says he tried to emphasize the hospitality and overall goodness of the people of Appalachia.
“I think it reminds us of the best in ourselves and the best ideals in this area. I think it really highlights the determination and ruggedness of individuals living in West Virginia at the time. I just hope people will come with an open mind and leave the show seeing the best in themselves in the best in other people even if they don’t always agree with them.”
Theatre West Virginia will perform “Honey in the Rock” at 7:30 p.m. every night from Thursday, July 8, until Saturday, July 17.