AUNT HATTIE'S HOUSE: RECONSTRUCTED
A one-woman play exploring what compelled
Harriet Beecher Stowe to pen Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written and Performed by Emma Palzere-Rae (pictured above)
Directed by Albert Cremin
Production Stage Management by Carin Jennie Estey
Costume by Marion T. Brady
Premieres on Thurs. April 22 at 8:00 PM (EST) and is available anytime through
Sunday, April 25 at 11:59 PM (EST) on ELTC's YouTube Channel: https://www.tinyurl.com/ELTCYouTube
Direct Link to Video Click Here.
To Look at and/or Save and Print the Playbill Click Here.
This playbill contains bios for the actor and creative team, and a timeline for Harriet Beecher Stowe.
The performance is free, but donations are always appreciated.
Click Here to Make a Donation
Aunt Hattie's House premiered in 2000 at the Heartland Chautauqua, and in that same year, East Lynne Theater Company brought the show to Cape May, NJ. Now 20 years later, Aunt Hattie's House Reconstructed features a revised script, not only to make the play available virtually, but to reflect some of the progress anti-racism work has taken during this time.
The play explores what compelled Harriet Beecher Stowe to pen Uncle Tom's Cabin, the best-selling novel that is said to have changed the course of United States history. Published ten years before the start of the Civil War, the book's stark portrayal of slavery sparked a heated national conversation on abolition. Meanwhile, Stowe, was raising seven children and, through her writing, she became the primary breadwinner of her household. The play explores Stowe's passion for justice, while giving us a look into the life of the 19th century working mother.
This event is made possible with support from CultureSECT Economic Recovery Fund of the Southeastern CT Cultural Coalition and Community Foundation of Eastern CT and with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Be Well Productions is a grateful recipient of the CultureSECT Economic Recovery Fund of the Southeastern CT Cultural Coalition and Community Foundation of Eastern CT and CT Office of the Arts Artists Fellowship Award grant.
The play explores what compelled Harriet Beecher Stowe to pen Uncle Tom's Cabin, the best-selling novel that is said to have changed the course of United States history. Published ten years before the start of the Civil War, the book's stark portrayal of slavery sparked a heated national conversation on abolition. Meanwhile, Stowe, was raising seven children and, through her writing, she became the primary breadwinner of her household. The play explores Stowe's passion for justice, while giving us a look into the life of the 19th century working mother.
This event is made possible with support from CultureSECT Economic Recovery Fund of the Southeastern CT Cultural Coalition and Community Foundation of Eastern CT and with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Be Well Productions is a grateful recipient of the CultureSECT Economic Recovery Fund of the Southeastern CT Cultural Coalition and Community Foundation of Eastern CT and CT Office of the Arts Artists Fellowship Award grant.
Content Warning: This production contains material that may be distressing to some viewers, including discussions of suicide, rape, slavery, and the death of a child as well as depictions of enslaved peoples, and the use of gunshot sound effects.
Setting: 1864, Oakholm, Harriet Beecher Stowe's new home in Hartford, Connecticut.
Harriet has returned to the land of her childhood an international celebrity, looking for quieter times.
The audience is invited to assume the role of a biographer, just one of the curious who seek her out.
As Harriet insists her life is not worthy of a biography, we learn of her struggles and successes
as she became an internationally-known author, while raising seven children.
Recognizing how her writing has changed the course of our nation’s history, Harriet realizes her true motivation for writing.
Harriet has returned to the land of her childhood an international celebrity, looking for quieter times.
The audience is invited to assume the role of a biographer, just one of the curious who seek her out.
As Harriet insists her life is not worthy of a biography, we learn of her struggles and successes
as she became an internationally-known author, while raising seven children.
Recognizing how her writing has changed the course of our nation’s history, Harriet realizes her true motivation for writing.
BIOS
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) is best known for her influential novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, despite penning over 30 other novels. As the primary breadwinner in her family, she was truly one of the first 'working moms.'
Emma Palzere-Rae (Actress/ Playwright/Producer) has appeared in regional, stock and off-Broadway theater, as well as in film, television and radio. She founded Be Well Productions in 1989, touring several critically acclaimed one-woman plays on characters as diverse as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Victoria Woodhull, Emily Dickinson and Gilda Radner. In 1990, she banded together with other female solo artists to create New York City’s Womenkind Festival. Recent roles include Mrs. Miller in “Ah, Wilderness!”(East Lynne Theater Company); Mother Miriam in “Agnes of God” (Madison Lyric Stage); and Sister Aloysius in “Doubt” (Emerson Theater Collaborative). Currently, she is the Associate Director at Artreach, Inc. (Norwich, CT) which provides arts programs to adults living with mental illnesses. A graduate of Emerson College, she is an active member of Actor’s Equity, the Dramatists Guild (where she serves as the regional representative for New England - West), and serves on the The League of Professional Theatre Women - CT Chapter's Steering Committee and on the New London Arts Council. She is proud to serve on East Lynne's Board of Directors.
Albert Cremin (Director) is an actor’s director. His intention to deliver a solid physical presentation, true to the playwright, is matched by his desire to help actors deliver honest and telling performances with an emphasis on compatible technique. As in the case of his previous work with Emma Palzere Rae on “The Woodhull Project”, the performer is the writer and the work has been to take the actor from the objective to the subjective in the understanding and portrayal of character and situation. His Masters Degree in Theatre Education has allowed Mr. Cremin to work on a variety of levels, from high school (directing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) to his more recent production of Terrence McNally’s "Master Class” with Kathryn Kates for The Bermuda Festival of The Performing Arts. Mr. Cremin brings to this collaboration his own experience as a solo performing artist. He wrote and has been presenting his own creation Introducing Mr. Charles Dickens for the pasts 30 years.
Carin Jennie Estey (Production Stage Manager) previously joined Be Well Productions for the 2019 performance of “The Woodhull Project” at the Hartford Fringe Festival, and its subsequent virtual performance in September 2020. Carin is a theatre artist based out of Southeastern, CT. Carin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies with focuses in both directing and playwriting. Additional stage management credits include the world premiere of Judy Tate's “Fastblood” in collaboration with Civic Ensemble and The American Slavery Project, Minita Gandhi's “Muthaland” at The Clark Theatre Recent directing credits include the virtual workshop of Julia Dreitzer's “End of the Movie”, Audrey Lang's “a/in/the/of” as part of The Act One: One Act play Festival at The Secret Theatre in NYC, and “alex getting better”, also by Audrey Lang. Carin's plays have been performed at various festivals including Ithaca College's New Play Incubator in 2019 and The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center’s Young Playwrights Festival in 2013. Carin works as the Event Coordinator at Artreach, Inc. Carin recently was the recipient of a Peer Project grant from My Friend Abby, through which she was able to produce a one act play followed by a discussion on the relationship between suicide prevention and the arts.
Carin Jennie Estey (Production Stage Manager) previously joined Be Well Productions for the 2019 performance of “The Woodhull Project” at the Hartford Fringe Festival, and its subsequent virtual performance in September 2020. Carin is a theatre artist based out of Southeastern, CT. Carin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies with focuses in both directing and playwriting. Additional stage management credits include the world premiere of Judy Tate's “Fastblood” in collaboration with Civic Ensemble and The American Slavery Project, Minita Gandhi's “Muthaland” at The Clark Theatre Recent directing credits include the virtual workshop of Julia Dreitzer's “End of the Movie”, Audrey Lang's “a/in/the/of” as part of The Act One: One Act play Festival at The Secret Theatre in NYC, and “alex getting better”, also by Audrey Lang. Carin's plays have been performed at various festivals including Ithaca College's New Play Incubator in 2019 and The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center’s Young Playwrights Festival in 2013. Carin works as the Event Coordinator at Artreach, Inc. Carin recently was the recipient of a Peer Project grant from My Friend Abby, through which she was able to produce a one act play followed by a discussion on the relationship between suicide prevention and the arts.
