It's Huzzah! not Hooray.

Heading back to Colonial Williamsburg for one more post, I thought I would share with you something that everyone who has been to Williamsburg in the last couple of years has encountered on DOG Street. Its not the pretty houses or the nice gardens, but something a bit more in your face. 

As runners and bikers all make their way up DOG street in the afternoons, those familiar with the area are conscious of the time, knowing that the street will be closed off to anyone without a ticket around 3:30pm. The street is closed to prepare for the events of Colonial Williamsburg's Revolutionary City. 

Revolutionary City is the street theater programing that occurs throughout the day in the historic area, but the main scenes take place at 3:30pm just outside of the Raleigh Tavern. 

Colonial Williamsburg has founded its own theater department within the Foundation, with a cast and crew of profession actors and technicians. And it is the events of these performances that tend to leave long term impressions on visitors, because of the contents and emotions of the scenes. 

I went on a Saturday, so the scenes scheduled were not in the order that I was use to. This turned out to be great, because I got to see a scene that I had not seen before: the General Lafayette regaling the crowd with his recap of Yorktown!

First up was a visit from Mrs. Martha Washington herself. And she was kind enough not only to thank the people of Williamsburg for sticking by her husband, but to fix a oversight and help improve the life of one veteran and get him back on his feet. 

Then was time for some happy news from General Lafayette himself. The British had surrender to Washington at Yorktown! He was such an energetic character, excited to tell everyone within ear shot about the details of the surrender. 

One of his anecdotes is who surrenders to whom after the siege and how he loved that General Washington refused to accept the surrender from Cornwallis' second in command. Lafayette is almost giddy when he recounts how Washington ordered his second in command to accept the surrender. 

What an entertaining historic figure!

Then its was time for two of my favorite actors, who play Sister Grace and Gowan Pamplet. 

This program, entitled "Thy Rod and Thy Staff," provides guests with an interesting aspect of the life of enslaved Virginian: the blending of traditional African religious practices and the Christianity of the Great Awakening. The man who plays Gowan is one of the most beloved actors in Revolutionary City and you can certainly see why in this performance. He's just so charismatic, he almost always has the entire crowd "Amen"-ing along with him. 

The actress who plays Sister Grace is also fabulous. So the two of them together make for one amazing scene. 

And finally, was time for the most anticipated moment of the evening for the majority of the audience: President Washington's speech. Now, I have seen this many times now, and although it is very good, I don't like it nearly as much as the other Revolutionary City scenes. This is probably because it is a speech to the audience and not a scene that invites the audience in. But it is always nice to see George :)

The afternoon Revolutionary City events typically run from 3:30pm until 5pm, but always consult the current copy of "This Week" (the program of events in CW) for current information.