Fall Play: Ten November - The story of the life and legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Dates and Times: Monday, November 10th at 6:30 (Special Memorial
Performance)
Friday and Saturday, November 14th and 15th at 7:00PM; Sunday, November 16th at 2:00PM
Tickets: $7 for Adults, $6 for Students and Seniors
Contact info: krzisnikd@pasd.org or www.ssedmundfitzgerald.com for further information.
In honor of the 50th anniversary year of the launching of Michigan’s most famous ship, Edmund Fitzgerald, Pinconning Area Schools Drama Department will proudly present Ten November as its fall production. The drama, by playwright Steven Dietz, lyrics by Eric Peltoniemi, is a serious work that explores the legendary freighter from her birth in the shipyards of Detroit, to her death on the seas of Lake Superior, and ultimately, to her place in history as a maritime legend. Performances will take place in the Pinconning Area High School gym on November 10, 14, 15, and 16. Curtain time on Friday and Saturday (11/14 & 11/15) is at 7:00PM. Sunday, 11/16 is a matinee performance at 2:00PM.
On the 33rd anniversary of the tragic sinking, Monday, November 10, 2008, a special memorial performance will be preceded by a panel discussion of noted Edmund Fitzgerald researchers, explorers, historians, former crew members, and family members of those who perished with the Fitzgerald. At this unique presentation, audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions of individuals who have explored the wreck, men who have conducted extensive research into the sinking, as well as men who took part in building the ill-fated vessel some fifty years ago. In addition, through live phone interviews, audience members will hear first hand accounts from a captain who was on Lake Superior that fateful night, as well as commentary from the naval architect who designed the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Audience members attending the memorial performance on November 10th will each receive a memorial postcard and official memorial launch ticket - commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Fitzgerald's launch. At the close of the performance, a bell similar to a ship's bell, will be rung 29 times in remembrance of the men who died when the Edmund Fitzgerald foundered 33 years ago. Honored guests partaking in this special performance, as well as members of the community will be invited to ring the memorial bell as the crew roster from the Edmund Fitzgerald's final journey is read. Plans are underway to have a small party of Edmund Fitzgerald dignitaries place a wreath in nearby Lake Huron earlier in the day.
Many people only know of the legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald through singer Gordon Lightfoot’s haunting ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The play Ten November, through the voices of the actors, as well as eerily evocative folksongs, puts a human face on this infamous tragedy. The reason for the ship’s sinking still remains a mystery and several theories abound.
Roscoe Clark for more information at 810 955-4305
