Rodgers–DE, War is War

One of the things that you will note as we move through the musical numbers of the show is the fact that women play a prominent role in the action of the show. One has to wonder whether Herb’s sister, Dorothy, influenced this result or not; however, in a world where women were used to playing secondary roles to their male co-stars, this was certainly a bold departure from form.

Betsy Burke, Mrs. Murray’s Irish niece, performed by Annalene Beechey, is a fire-brand Irish freedom fighter of the first order. She strands for the proposition that women have as much interest in the war for independence as men do and are willing to take equal risks in order to ensure the war’s success.

Many may question the introduction of an Irish heroine; however history shows that Irish and Scot-Irish immigrants played a decisive role in the war. The battles of King’s Mountain and Cowpens was led by the Scot-Irish who migrated from Pennsylvania down to the Carolinas. The victories in those two battles destroyed the forces under Col. Tarleton and sent Gen. Cornwallis back to the coastal areas. He was surrounded at Yorktown, and his surrender marked the unofficial end of the Revolutionary War.

In our first song, “Heigh-Ho, Lackaday!” the ladies sing about the approaching British army and are thrilled about the possibility of entertaining some of the officers. In this second song, “War Is War,” Mrs. Murray warns the young ladies that a British soldier has been known to be a “frightful brute” in times of war. The young ladies do not respond as Mrs. Murray had hoped and chanted: “Hooray, we’re going to be compromised!”

Here is Kim Criswell as Mrs. Murray, along with Aine Mulvey, Christina Whyte and Sarah Busfield as the women’s chorus.