Sunday, September 08, 2013

A Tale of Blackbeard

Starting in the summer of 1974, until the summer of 1994, Julia Howard's original 3 act musical, A Tale of Blackbeard, was performed nine different seasons on Ocracoke. Originally staged in the old School Recreation Hall (now the "Topless Oyster" restaurant), as well as on the porch of the Community Store and in the School Gymnasium, the play attracted large crowds each evening.

Tomorrow evening (Monday, September 9, 2013) a video of one of the performances will be screened at 7 pm at Deepwater Theater. The showing is free, and the public is invited.

Below is a YouTube video of the "pirates" performing two of their numbers ("Avast" and "Ocracoke Cutie") at Ocracoke's July 4th celebration in 1990.



I have heard rumors that several islanders have been talking about trying to revive the performance some summer. We'll keep you posted.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the recent skirmishes islanders have had with North Carolina legislatures over the issue of ferry tolls...and a 1955 newspaper editorial advocating free, state-operated ferries across Hatteras Inlet. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082113.htm.  

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:06 AM

    Now THAT would be worth seeing. Thanks for sharing--as always. Most interesting to see the state of the Ocracoke "Museum" back then. (Now the Ocracoke Preservation Society, right?) Folks sure did bring that facility a long, long way in terms of restoration and making it a central attraction worth touring during any visit to the island.

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    1. You are correct...that is the OPS museum.

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  2. Anonymous5:09 PM

    I recognize the first song, they perform it at the Ocrafolk opry

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  3. Did pirates wear sunglasses? :)

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    1. Of course pirates wore sunglasses...if they could steal them. Pirates were opportunists.

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