Beauregard At Manassas

An original play in three acts, now available for licensing

“WHEN I LOOK AT IT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I SEE? I SEE THE GENERATIONS OF LIES THAT DESTROYED MY FATHER,
AND RUINED MY FAMILY...” - CAROLINE, ACT 2

After her estranged father's death, Caroline receives his most prized possession in the mail; an important, and extremely valuable, painting of a Civil War battle called "Beauregard at Manassas."

Soon, a representative of a shady and controversial museum in the American South arrives offering Caroline an enormous amount of money for the painting - and providing shocking details and revelations about Caroline's father, her ancestors, and her family's relationship to the Civil War.

Everything Caroline believed - about her father, her family, her heritage and American history - is thrown into chaos.

HIGH PRAISE

“Bag&Baggage audiences are still reeling over our workshop production of Beauragard at Manassas. Scott has written a piece that strikes a chord with everyone in just the right way and offers an easy on ramp into the extremely difficult discussions we are faced with in today's political climate. This play is masterfully written and leaves the audience with more questions than answers in the most satisfying way.”

  • Nik Whitcomb, Producting Artistic Director, Bag&Baggage Productions

“I was thoroughly engrossed in Scott Palmer’s Beauregard at Manassas from the first scene when the mother-daughter battle we were led to expect took the first of many surprising turns that kept me engaged and surprised throughout the evening. Palmer masterfully lays the groundwork for an ongoing battle between art and politics but never takes his focus off the personal needs and insecurities of those who are often engaged in the battles. A deeply satisfying evening!”

  • Jane Unger, Founding Artistic Director Emerita, Profile Theatre

“A trenchant look at the chasms between wokeness, art, and history. Beauregard at Manassas investigates the intricacies of family legacies across generations and changing cultures through a sharp lens on a mother and daughter with different perceptions of a Southern heritage—and different ways of showing love.”

  • Sherry Lamoreaux, Board Member, PlayWrite

Workshop and Public Rehearsed Readings
The Vault, Hillsboro, Oregon
April 12 - 21, 2024

Beauregard at Manassas received it’s first workshop and series of public rehearsed readings at The Vault in downtown Hillsboro from April 12 - 21, 2024. Part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works.

 CHARACTERS

 CAROLINE DESLONDE (Female presenting, 30s)
A successful editor of self-help books and biographies. Educated, articulate, intellectual and snarky. Originally from New Orleans but has tried extremely hard to erase any hint of her Southern upbringing. She has embraced a bohemian upper middle class Pacific Northwest vibe – a personal style as far from the American South as she can get.

 JAYSON THOMPSON (Male presenting, 30s)
A surprisingly successful young restaurateur with celebrity tv chef charm. Deeply embedded in kitchen culture even though he has left the line behind and spends most of his time managing budgets and staff. Ambitious and kind.

 ABIGAIL “ABBY-MAY” DESLONDE (Female presenting, 60s)
Caroline’s mother. She loves her little house and her little garden; she loves her church group and her neighbors; she loves her daughter and mourns the distance that has grown between them. An enthusiastically charming Southern woman.

 DR. WHITNEY FORREST (Female presenting, 40s)
A collections curator for a relatively young (but extremely well-funded) museum dedicated to preserving art from the American South and, in particular, the Confederacy. Deep roots in a Confederate family with all the challenges, fears, and embarrassment that comes along with that history – including the pride. Takes her job seriously and hopes her commitment to the mission and vision of the Museum will distract from her ethically questionable heritage.