LETTER: Take Piece of Eden on the Road!

November 20, 2012

Dear Carolyn Copeland, Paul Kist, Virginia Savage, and Cape Charles Wave

I met each of you at the play, Piece of Eden, Sunday afternoon. My friend and I were thrilled with the performance.

We have become interested in the history of this area that merits more regional and national attention. We are now aware of two plays that are an avenue for sharing this important history.

Piece of Eden remarkably shows our move toward and achievement of independence. It begins with the Eastern Shore’s Native Americans’ amazing culture, spirituality, and peaceful acceptance of the European settlers.

This beginning and subsequent events throughout the play show us the path to development of the values that are basic to our nation’s founding of a democratic and representative form of government.

The play concludes that these values are an ongoing requirement for our present and future, if we are to survive as a democratic nation.

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to see this remarkable play. It was educational, entertaining, and with the added attraction of original music!

The Play in August is a play about the Bare and the Cubbe, enhancing awareness of the significance of one of the segments in Piece of Eden.

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The Bear and the Cub was performed in 1665 in Pungoteague. Joel Eis, playwright, authored a book, A Full investigation of the Historic Performance of the First Play in English in the New World The Case of Ye Bare & Ye Cubbe 1665, published in 2004 by Mellen Press.

Eis’ research was extensive, building on the work done by Dr. Suzie Ames and others.

This play was performed at Salisbury University in February. The sellout crowd for this initial performance was enthusiastic.

If we find enough support, our promoting committee, sponsored by Salisbury University’s Nabb Center, plans to advocate for the production of this play in other theaters in our Delmarva region.

Our projection calls for performances in 2015 to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Bare and the Cubbe at Fowkes Tavern in Pungoteague.

Could the promoters of Piece of Eden take their show on the road? What a wonderful opportunity this would be for us all — good entertainment and an educational enhancement of the important history of our independence.

Thomas Jefferson, also a Virginian, must have known this history as he wrote the Declaration of Independence; his mind and spirit had obviously absorbed the values of Virginia’s colonial history.

May I keep in touch with you as (or if) things develop here? Can you keep in touch with me, if more possibilities are considered for Piece of Eden?

BONNIE BURTON BARNIDGE
Salisbury, Maryland (with many ancestors from the Eastern Shore of Virginia)

Letters to the Editor are welcome on any subject relevant to Cape Charles, and a diversity of opinions is encouraged.  Letters should be original and never submitted elsewhere. Email submissions to [email protected].