Doors open at 6pm to explore the gorgeous galleries of the Nurture Nature Center in Easton, PA, as a quiet overture before the theatrical presentation of...
JETBLACK SUNRISE - which brings to life the soaring, enigmatic work of America’s greatest poet, Walt Whitman. An intimate hour, staged in a very simple way, tells the story of a former soldier struggling to grasp his place in his country, his place among mankind, and ultimately his place in all of time. Creators Michael Fegley and Daniel Amenda have developed a new way to communicate Whitman's poetry to “unscrew the locks” and “embrace your soul” - so that we embark on a brief odyssey of the mind - from the smallest blade of grass to the reaches of the cosmos - along the way finding our shared humanity, and awakening our familiar self in its immortality.
JETBLACK SUNRISE is NOT A POETRY READING of Walt Whitman. Yet each passage - every line and word - is drawn from the 1855 First Edition of the poet’s Leaves of Grass and the 1856 poem Song of the Open Road. The creators have delicately shuffled the lines and passages to create an original active through-line that is brought to life by the actor, while remaining absolutely true to the poet’s grand thoughts. In this way the audience shares in the revelation of his vision as it is brought into the present to live among us. We welcome a broken traveler - who has escaped a raging storm in an abandoned industrial building at the edge of town--where the forest meets the tracks, and the lonely tracks meet the docks of the river. It is here that he shares, conjures, and confesses... Through him we travel, we sail, we remember and dream... With him we question... searching our depths - with our answers contradicting along the way... Our balance is left somewhat shaken... yet our hearts are somehow comforted.
Leaves of Grass was originally published in a severely politically divided time where men were fiercely protective of their self interests, and skeptical of others living outside their small circle of experience. Whitman wrote his verses as a healing gift for his fellow brothers and sisters of America. By probing sciences, arts, and faiths, he whittles down the question “what is man?” and reveals the community that we all share, and the road that we must travel--together, yet alone. As our traveler offers, “Shoulder your duds and I will mine, and if you tire give me both burdens and rest your hand on my hip. And in due time you shall repay the same service to me.”