As the 2022 season opens for The Lost Colony a play that brings back memories of the original Paul Green classic comes to the stage. What is at the Waterside Theater is a real upgrade over last year’s presentation.
This year things are focused with a plot and timeline that can be followed. That hearkens back to the original script that Paul Green wrote for the 1937 production. Of course things have changed a lot since then, so the play had to be updated. Some of the ways the Native Americans were depicted originally, we recognize in 2022 was pretty racist. There has also been a push to modernize the staging and move the pace along—both of which were accomplished this year.
Old Tom is back, thank goodness. He was there last year, but his role was significantly diminished—and that was part of the problem.
The story of Old Tom as he transforms from the village drunk to a man of moral courage and sound judgment is to a large degree the glue that holds the story together.
Also Sir Walther Raleigh is back. Last year he was barely on stage, a puzzling creative decision on the part of the director, since he was the driving force behind what became the Lost Colony.
Also King Wingina, the leader of the local tribes, has a well developed personality this year. That really helps to understand how the tribes of the area viewed the English.
Moving things into the 21st century, 3D imaging is being used to supplement the scenery. It was really effective in the ocean crossing of the colonists. At other times it was a little hard to see what was being depicted, although that may just have been an opening night glitch that will improve as the season goes on.
The Lost Colony is performed at Waterside Theater on Roanoke Island Monday through Saturday until August 20.
The Lost Colony is one of many highlights to time spent on the Outer Baks. See for yourself what life on a sandbar is like when you stay in a Brindley Beach Vacations home.