Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise at The Coterie Winter 2019

History is complex and choices carry consequences... we are reminded of this as an audience when we participate fully in  Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise at The Coterie. A co-production with UMKC, the show tells the complex tale of women who served secretly as soldiers during the Civil War. And, the story asks the audience to decide the fate of the lead heroine in a complex situation... would it be better that she is logged in the medical record at a Civil War hospital under her alias as a male soldier so that she may continue to serve in her regiment if she recovers and receive her pension money to help finance the family farm, or should she logged truthfully with her female name, losing her pension and likely being sent to jail, but possibly helping pave the way for the right of women to serve in the military? The decision is complex.

Secret Soldiers is a tale of historical fiction, portraying many real people (including Sarah Wakeman, Harriet Tubman, Loreta Janeta, Velazquez, Joseph Cassell, and others) and weaving their stories together to tell a larger story. 

Emilie Karas (as Sarah Wakeman a.k.a. Private Lyon Wakeman) in The Coterie and UMKC Theatre’s Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise, written by Wendy Lement, co-directed by Jeff Church & Bree Elrod, and produced in community partnership with Girls on the Run. On stage at The Coterie January 22-February 10, 2019. Photo by J. Robert Schraeder and courtesy of The Coterie Theatre.

We meet Sarah Wakeman, played by Emilie Karas, a woman masquerading as a man in order to serve as a soldier in the war. She had left home at a young age to work as a man in coal mines, and there met a soldier who recruited her to the Union army where she could earn an even greater income to aid her family. She winds up sick and in one of the war hospitals where two nurses dispute the pros and cons of logging her as either male or female in the log books.

She then tells her story to the lead physician at the hospital and the audience (having been sworn in as medical officers who will decide Sarah's fate). The 65-minute production tells the trials of the Civil War, how women came to fight and their various motives for doing so (some were financial, some followed a relative or love interest, others sought adventure, others were fleeing a harder way of life), a glimpse of the Underground Railroad, and decisions faced along the way.

Khalif J. Gillett (as Joseph O. Cassell) and Yetunde Felix-Ukwu (as Harriet Tubman) in The Coterie and UMKC Theatre’s Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise, written by Wendy Lement, co-directed by Jeff Church & Bree Elrod, and produced in community partnership with Girls on the Run. On stage at The Coterie January 22-February 10, 2019. Photo by J. Robert Schraeder and courtesy of The Coterie Theatre.

After learning of Sarah's many experiences that shaped her life and her service in the war, the audience is then given the opportunity to question Sarah and the two nurses as to their viewpoints as to what was best: logging Sarah as a woman or using her male alias. Then, the audience debated their viewpoints having considered the various aspects of the story, and a vote is held. During our showing, the vote was 46 to 32. This was not a simple decision. 

The cast has done a magnificent job with the material, showing men who suspect the true identity of the female soldiers and how they respond, the lengths the women go to in order to maintain their disguises, the various motives for joining the ranks of the soldiers, and decisions they face. This is a compelling educational performance ideal for middle school and high school students. 

Emilie Karas (as Sarah Wakeman a.k.a. Private Lyon Wakeman) and Khalif J. Gillett (as Joseph O. Cassell) in The Coterie and UMKC Theatre’s Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise, written by Wendy Lement, co-directed by Jeff Church & Bree Elrod, and produced in community partnership with Girls on the Run. On stage at The Coterie January 22-February 10, 2019. Photo by J. Robert Schraeder and courtesy of The Coterie Theatre.

SHOW DATES, TIMES & TICKETS

Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise January 22 – February 10, 2019, in The Coterie Theatre, located on level one of the Crown Center shops in Kansas City, MO.

Individual Tickets: Tickets are $12.00 for youth under 18, students, and seniors age 60 and older; and $15.00 for adults. Subscriptions: In lieu of season subscriptions, The Coterie offers the Spotlight Pass, which works like a season ticket without committing to a set schedule. Spotlight Pass holders pay $110.00 for a flexible pass that includes 10 tickets that can be used for any show or combination of the shows remaining in the 2018/2019 Season. Group Pricing: The Coterie offers groups of 20 or more a special preview rate of $5.00 per person the first week of each production. After preview week, groups pay only $5.00 - $8.00 per person depending on performance date. All tickets and Spotlight Passes are on sale now and may be purchased by calling The Coterie’s box office at (816) 474-6552, drop by the box office on level one of the Crown Center Shops, or by visiting www.thecoterie.org.

IN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

The Coterie is producing Secret Soldiers in community partnership with Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization and positive youth development program for girls 3rd through 8th grade. More than 4,000 girls in the greater Kansas City area will participate with Girls on the Run in 2019. The 10-week program is led by more than 800 trained volunteer coaches and takes the girls through lessons such as banning negative self-talk, the dangers of gossip, healthy eating habits, and a community service project, to name a few. Each spring and fall season concludes with the Girls on the Run 5K, a non-competitive celebration of the girls’ achievements. Why it matters: Girls’ self-confidence begins to drop by age nine, 50% of girls ages 10-13 experience bullying, and Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise at The Coterie, page 4 physical activity levels decline at age 10 and continue to decrease throughout adolescence. Girls on the Run combat these and many other challenges young girls face by teaching them to be joyful, healthy, and confident. Find out how to bring Girls on the Run to your school.