'Civil War Voices' Kicks Off Prism Series

“Civil War Voices,” a musical based on the diary of a Civil War soldier, will be the first offering in the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Prism series.

The university’s premier arts series will open the season with the return of The Barter Theatre in its performance of the period musical at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall.

Ticket prices for the public are $28 and $24; costs for faculty, staff and alumni are $24 and $20; students pay $12 and $10.

James R. Harris based his musical on the diaries and other writings of his great-great-uncle, a young couple separated by the war, a young professor who became a lieutenant, and a freed slave working as Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker. The music arrangements by Mark Hayes include period songs such as “Dixie,” “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

Assistant Director Katy Brown explains, “The really beautiful thing is, by the end of the play, we see that even though it was North vs. the South, we all were so much the same, with such similar human hopes and fears.”

The Barter Theatre of Abington is presenting and touring the play as part of observances surrounding this year’s 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

A Kaleidoscope student matinee will be presented in the morning of Oct. 26 for children from area schools.

For more information, visit www.civilwarvoices.com.

For tickets and more information, contact the Bromeley Family Theater Box Office at (814)362-5113, Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and one hour before show time or visit www.upb.pitt.edu/TheArts.aspx.

For disability-related needs, contact the Office of Disability Resources at (814)362-7609 or clh71@pitt.edu.