Packet Review of Cyrano

Out & About

Hometown tribute to namesake

By:Bryan S. Clark, Theater Critic

08/11/2004

The Man Who Bought a Country performed by Actor's NET in Morrisville, PA

Independence Day has come and gone this year and with it the celebration of 228 years of freedom from tyranny. Though July 4th marks the birthday of the United States, there are many towns and cities that have risen in this country before and after this date. These places that citizens call home have many different names, many of them named after other famous cities, like Bristol, or after famous people, like Levittown. A startling number take their name from not only famous people, but also founding fathers of our country, like George Town, and more locally Morrisville.

In celebration of Morrisville's 200th birthday, the Morrisville 200 Committee and the Actors' NET of Bucks County are performing The Man Who Bought A Country, a musical that details the life of Robert Morris. The musical is the original creation of Joe Doyle, one of the founding fathers of the Actors' NET, who not only wrote the book on the subject, but also the music and lyrics as well. Jim Barto completed the musical arrangements, co-founder and significant other Cheryl Doyle directs the production.
Before this musical, the common American may not have ever heard of Morris, other than a street name in South Philadelphia or the namesake of Morrisville. By productions end, audiences can be proud to learn that Morris practically financed the entire Revolutionary War, signed the Articles of the Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution, and merely co-founded the United States Navy.

In The Man Who Bought a Country, Joe Doyle takes us on a musical journey that spins the tale of Robert Morris from his impoverished days as a young man to the height of his financial greatness to his collapse into debt and near erasure from history. Through dance, song, and dialogue the audience is exposed to the crucial contributions that one man gave performed by the very citizens that respect him most.

The show hosts a number of Actors' NET regulars and local professionals, including Joe and Cheryl Doyle, Steve Lobis, Jenn Bryant Torres, Tom Orr, and Dean Bennett. This is now the third performance that I have witnessed Steve Lobis and as for playing the feature role in this production, he does not disappoint. The only equity actor among this Actors' Non Equity Theatre production is Dean Bennett, famously known for his portrayal of Dr. Benjamin Franklin and indeed it was a pleasure to witness a master at work. Joe Doyle also gives us a convincing and annoying John Adams, who increasingly seems to be the only whining father of the bunch. Delaware Valley veteran Tom Orr gives us a very stalwart George Washington, whose heart can be found behind a tightly buttoned uniform.

This production serves multiple purposes, for my own, I was able to spend a nice, albeit chilly night outdoors witnessing the birth of our nation and taking home some important lessons to which I had been previously oblivious. For many others, this can be a great opportunity to support the local community of Morrisville, to learn about our country's rocky beginnings, and witness the contributions of a man who not only named a town, but bought a country of our own.