Lost Colony Play Lifts Nation from Depression in 1937

by Harry McKown

July 2006

Conceived in the depth of the Depression, when supporting funds were hard to find, The Lost Colony was made possible ultimately as a cooperative effort by local people and several state and federal agencies. Workers from the Roanoke Island camp of the Civilian Conservation Corps build the open-air Waterside Theatre where the play was performed and later several of them joined the cast. The Rockefeller Foundation gave an organ to provide musical accompaniment. The Playmakers of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provided lighting and other technical assistance and also supplied the director, Samuel Selden. Actors came from the Federal Theatre Project and from among the islanders themselves. The project had the support of North Carolina's U. S. Senator, Josiah William Bailey and Congressman Lindsay Warren. The U. S. Postal Service issued a stamp to publicize the event and the Treasury minted a commemorative half-dollar which the Roanoke Island Historical Society was allowed to sell for $1.50 to raise money.
The drama and the setting were ready.

The question remained, would anybody come? Getting to Roanoke Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks in 1937 was a challenge. From the North it involved a ferry ride, several miles on a "floating road" over a swamp, and the rest of the way on packed sand roads. The "easier" route from the west consisted of miles of graded dirt roads and two ferry trips. Nevertheless, approximately 2,500 people attended the first performance of The Lost Colony, and by the end of the summer attendance stood at about 50,000, including President Franklin Roosevelt. Originally, the play was scheduled to run only for the Summer of 1937. It had been so popular, however, and such a boon to the local economy that it returned in 1938 and by the end of the next year it was being seen by 100,000 people a season. Except for four years during World War II, The Lost Colony has played every Summer, becoming an institution on the North Carolina coast and in the American theater. It is one of the mainstays of the island's economy and has been a training ground for young actors and theater technicians around the country. Alumni of The Lost Colony include Andy Griffith, Chris Elliot, Eileen Fulton, Carl Kasell, William Ivey Long, and Joe Layton. The Lost Colony also set the pattern for dozens of similar productions, usually referred to as outdoor dramas, staged from Florida to Alaska.

Full Article Here:

http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/jul2006/index.html

Lost Colony Outdoor Drama Receives Big Boost From C of C

Chamber of Commerce supports The Lost Colony

The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce members recently donated $27,505 to The Lost Colony.

The funds will assist the drama's rebuilding efforts following the devastating September fire. Margaret Wells, co-chairman of the Chamber's Costume Fund Drive, presented the check to Chris Seawell, Board Chairman of the Roanoke Island Historical Association (RIHA).

Funds from the award will be used to assist The Lost Colony's costuming costs as items must be rebuilt and replaced following the September fire that destroyed three buildings and their contents.

The Chamber and its members are now a part of The Lost Colony's Shining Stars -- businesses, organizations and individuals who have provided extraordinary support to assist the outdoor drama since the tragedy.

Cont. Here:

http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/articles/2008/03/05/business/bus3022.txt

'Mysteries of the Lost Colony' Exhibit Proves to be Huge Hit

Nearly 58,000 Saw Lost Colony Exhibit

Approximately 58,000 people took advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the exhibit “Mysteries of the Lost Colony” and “A New World: England’s First View of America” from the British Museum. The exhibit ran from Oct. 20, 2007, to Jan. 14, 2008, at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh.

“This was the most exciting exhibit the museum has ever presented,” says Ken Howard, director of the N.C. Museum of History. “It had one of the highest attendance records for an exhibit, and visitor response was extremely positive.”

“Mysteries of the Lost Colony” and “A New World” brought many “firsts” to the N.C. Museum of History. For example, it was the first venue in North America to showcase the complete collection of watercolor drawings made by John White on his voyages to Virginia (now North Carolina) in the 1580s. These watercolors appeared in the traveling exhibition “A New World: England’s First View of America,” presented by the British Museum in London.

In “Mysteries of the Lost Colony,” visitors learned about England’s first attempts at a permanent settlement in America and about several theories surrounding the colonists’ disappearance at Roanoke Island. The exhibit also featured the 70-year history of the outdoor drama “The Lost Colony,” based in Manteo. Mysteries of the Lost Colony was presented by the N.C. Museum of History in collaboration with the Roanoke Island Historical Association, producer of “The Lost Colony.”

Visitors Contributed Toward Costume Replacement Fund

Mysteries of the Lost Colony showcased nine costumes, stage props and a number of artifacts saved from the Sept. 11, 2007, fire that struck Waterside Theatre and destroyed three buildings at “The Lost Colony” site. Among the devastating losses were hundreds of the costumes, including historic ones from the drama’s early years, housed in the Irene Smart Rains Costume Shop.

To help with recovery efforts, a donation box was placed in the exhibit for “The Lost Colony” Costume Replacement Fund, and visitors contributed more than $1,300 toward new costumes. Additionally, the Museum Shop carried merchandise from “The Lost Colony” gift shop in Manteo. All proceeds from these items went toward the fund, and the sales raised more than $5,000.

“We are thankful to the N.C. Museum of History for allowing us to partner with this historical project,” says Carl V. Curnutte, executive director and producer of “The Lost Colony.” “The funds collected from exhibit visitors reaffirm our commitment to ‘The Lost Colony’ — America’s story. We are thankful to those who contributed to our replacement fund. Their gift will help us keep telling this story for the next 70 years.”

The museum’s hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 919-807-7900 or visit ncmuseumofhistory.org. The museum is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, http://www.ncculture.com/.

http://news.ncdcr.gov/2008/02/04/lost-colony-exhibit-attracted-nearly-58000/

First of many replacement 'Lost Colony' costumes finished

By KRISTIN DAVIS,
The Virginian-Pilot © October 19, 2007

ROANOKE ISLAND

The Richmond fabric store, the one she'd shopped at all the years she'd lived in the city, had almost everything the costumer needed.

It didn't always turn out that way. There had been times when Joan Brumbach stopped in and couldn't find a thing. But she was lucky that Saturday almost two weeks ago. She needed 125 yards of all-natural fabrics right away.

Brumbach had been charged with making the first five replacement costumes for "The Lost Colony," the 70-year-old play that lost its costume shop and everything inside in a Sept. 11 fire at Roanoke Island's Waterside Theatre.

She had less than two weeks.

The costumes, fit for four Elizabethan ladies and one gentleman, were needed for the opening of a North Carolina Museum of History exhibit in Raleigh today.

Later, they will go into "The Lost Colony" costume stock.
There are no patterns to start from. The fire got those, too. But the costume bibles - big binders full of descriptions and photographs of every look at every angle - survived because they were someplace else.

This is where Brumbach starts.

White petticoat, bum roll, colored petticoat, colonist skirt (pinned up), white colonist blouse, colonist bodice, white cap. Times four. Good colonist breeches, good colonist shirt, good colonist singlet, Plymouth vendor hat.

Full Article Here:

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=134989&ran=124526