The Common Glory

The Common Glory was an outdoor symphonic drama by Paul Green presented along Lake Matoaka on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, from 1947 to 1976, except for two years. The drama covered a span from the Jamestown colony's early days to 1782, when the United States of America was established after the colonies gained independence from Great Britain.

Beginning

The Jamestown Corporation commissioned Paul Green, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, to create this play. Green had experience with historical dramas, having written The Lost Colony a decade earlier about the English colony on Roanoke Island.

On April 26, 1947, the corporation adopted The Common Glory as the title of the production and set July 17, 1947, as its premiere date. That title came from a phrase used by Thomas Jefferson, who is featured as a central figure in the play.

In his review that year, theater critic Brooks Atkinson described The Common Glory as "a Virginia enterprise, designed to remind Virginians of their share in the establishment of freedom in the New World ..."

Characters

In addition to historical figures such as Jefferson, the play introduced fictional characters who were part of the play's development. Charles S. Watson, in his book The History of Southern Drama, commented that the drama "recognizes the indispensable contribution of common people to the American Revolution." For instance "Colonel Hugh Taylor", whose father came to Virginia as an indentured servant, suggests the phrase "pursuit of happiness" to Jefferson, and "Cephus", who had been a chicken thief, "reforms and takes up arms bravely".

Green wrote the play for a large cast, with many extras, so that local people could participate in the production. This was also a way to engage audiences - friends and families of those participating.