Southern Alamance High School - Southerner Yearbook (Graham, NC)

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, . h , k , Prisoners of War. Before going on stage, Barry Jones, Gordon Hooker, and Rita Aldridge await their fate and fight the butterflies in their stomach. Old Masters. Hard work and ex- , A . h Father knows best. Charlie Anderson perience shows that Mrs. Dolly Shaw h h Mlias Terry Lamm gives fatherly advice h and Mrs. Nancy Wilkinson have been .. V ' ' ' to his daughter and daughter-in-Iaw, h through all this before. , . ' L .' ' h h . played by Pam Tyler and Beverly lsley. Musical 135 , .

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w Rm , t Roots and the Bicentennial left a T btpand on everyone. Hysteria. and a T hilstorly kKle hit the country. A -,t mysterious riddle and a curiosity :t ., , cketd Americans into researching t? eirpredecessors antherit-agte. 1L9 .. ies andrtstatistics officesreopened thEIr'finES and rEcordsrto the fth'u'ndetrjhg public. Spedal displays T llined'Walls 'andtwindows while citizens Hooked on. The hoped to dig up a t famous, person or a 'kinsman. The tflurries and frenzies intoxicated Southern communities! too. The Sword of Peace and historical sites 0 ened. 30.16 shows and clothes came Eatck tcjreating an era of nostalgia. Following Tthis epoch of extravagance, Mrs. Dolly mugh act-to. follow. They needed a ip'EOj'E'Ct'Whi'Ch had meaning and appeal. F na'lly. a brainstorm blew across the continent - from Hollywood to. New E A r We're all in our places with bright shin- ing faces, as the cast joins for their grand finale. Shaw and Mrs. Nancy Wilkinson had a' . tit Wt? York and to Southern. Since its opening in New York in 1975, hundrede of communit theaters, primarily in the South, ha pla ed a musical. So why shouldn't Sout te'rn follow the trend to become one of bnly twent -six high schools to present Shenan oah? The last week of March 1977, Mrs. Carolyn Lupo delivered a summons over the intercom, All those t interested in the musical Shenandoah . . . Her voicetworked wonders, for eightyaone people turned up for auditions; Aftergthe audition rnany discovered they; had the ability to do more than th'eythad ever dreamed. Having to play d'ual roles, certain actors underwent psydhiatric treatment for schizophrenia. To prove a point, imagine havi'n :to be a marautder, sni er, Confe erate soldier, and Gene Altfridge at thetsame time! Male voices began to mature and mm 99 crack, so everyone thought. Astiti occurred though, Women's Lib pu in another request. The army of1861 knocked down barriers and allovtzed broad phyiiques to take on feminine curves. A 50:50 ratio between male and female appeared on both Confederate and Union sides. h The cast had an iron will to do anythin . They showed up for six weeks, t ree or four nights each Week, and put in two hours or more each night at rehearsals. When props became a necessity, they broughtttt em in without question. They even had the audacity to steal pews from Mt. ;Z on Baptist. Church. t t 1 At one of the last rehearsals we :could have seen more than 19th Century costumes. We could have alsotsee'n a reenactment'of Sherman's marchltc the sea. Although not included in the script, Phillip Mintz decided to eisplay x . , o, erk onfsEhedLiLes; 1h me 6r'k 2X 2 P 39' .7 L, h t - . z t 'o x

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as. Wm Tait $$EETW ii? I; m 9 Doleful. In a state of mental anguish, Charlie Anderson beseeches his wife to share in the family burdens. Well-Wishing. After the wedding in the Anderson farmyard, Robert Anderson tEddie Rossl and l Gabriel tGordon Hookerl give their opinion on married life. Sherman's march during the burning of the train. He entered a marathon race to see how quickly he could burn down the school. Torch in hand, like the Statue of Liberty, he dashed behind the chorus and out the side wing. Screamin ladies cheered him on for fear that e might turn on them. Soon the scenes of the Civil War would come to everyonelsmind tthose tear-filled, blood-shed years of gray against bluel. Students, parents, teachers, and friends would arrive in time to learn something about their heritage and relive those days long past while watching scenEs ofseriousness and comed . Silence fi led the air as the first strands of Shenandoah floated softly by. Although no words passed, one could distinctly hear the instruments sing: Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you . . . signifying the immense love 14 Musical I I and loyalty the people held for this vast valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Two armies formed; one of gray, the other of blue. Each told his own cause and his willin mess to fight for what he believed in. Tlhe flag of Dixie rose, and the Civil War began. Soon the hardships of war affected ever one. In the midst of all this conf ict stood a Shenandoah Valley farmer, Charlie Anderson who had tried to keep the promise he had made to his deceased wife that he would rear the family in a proper Christian manner. l Not only was Shenandoah a war story, but also la comedy, a tragedy, and a tender loverstory. Can you imagine how traumatic it was when a grandfather-to-be discovered his grandson wasia irl? Also the audience could not help eing moved by the tragic situations befalling Charlie Anderson - the loss of his wife, two sons, and a daughter-in-law and he capture of his youngest son. The cast had worked to create a musical for ever one. The perforners t had joined toget er at rehearsals night ' after night and had put their heart and I l l l 1 0. soul into it. Under great stress a strain they performed for two ni hts. Terry Lamb, for instance, put so uch effort into it that after the secon performance he passed out from heat exhaustion. After all of these tria s and tribulations, the cast felt proud cf having gotten through such a nerve- racking experience while the crc wd 1 left with the feeling of having seen a l masterpiece. l 7,7, 7 ,t feel