Local legend: ‘Ballad of Old Manatee’ returns with interactive history play

A year ago, the Hat Theatre Collective introduced itself to local audiences by giving a theatrical and interactive twist to the legend of the lonesome grave in “The Ballad of Old Manatee.”

The show returns for a second year at the Manatee Village Historical Park in Bradenton, where Artistic Director and co-founder Danae DeShazer said it will tell the same story of a troubled love affair but bigger and with more impact.

“I wanted to expand and amplify the folk music landscape to the piece and we have a much larger ensemble this year,” she said. “Last year we had a very small, tight-knit ensemble of nine and I knew that to achieve the real immersive experience we envisioned, we needed more people. We’re walking into a village where people lived and I wanted to make it feel more vibrant. That required more people and additional musicians. I hope it will make it more magical.”

She and Derek Brookens conceived the story, and he wrote the book, music and lyrics to tell the story of the romance and marriage between James Vanderipe and Sarah Lee. Their relationship triggered some apparent family drama between Vanderipe and her Sarah’s parents, the prominent Rev. Edmund Lee and his wife, Electa Lee, who was Manatee County’s first school teacher.

The parents were not fond of their daughter’s choice of a mate. A plaque placed by the Manatee County Historic Commission near the Lee family grave states that Rev. Lee refused to bury Vanderipe in the family pilot “due to an argument between the two men.” James was buried some distance away by himself, hence the description of the “lonesome grave.”

Brookens said Sarah and James died about six years after they were married in 1871 and “Rev. Lee outlived them and decided where both of them should be buried. We know from Lee’s will that James was buried separately from the family because he had bad debts.”

The production brings to life a small snapshot of life in the 1870s. During a pre-show program, a folk trio made up of Preston Boyd, Dan Cole and Lee Whitener will capture through music a sense of the times. Visitors also get to wander through some of the historic buildings and see residents going about their daily activities. The show takes the audience from one building to the next, including an old church.

The cast mixes some returning actors with newcomers. Ryan Deschenes takes over the role of James Vanderipe, playing opposite the returning Ashley Figlow as Sarah, and Lee Gundersheimer and Donna DeFant as her parents. Laura Grieme joins the cast as Eliza Burts (Sarah’s sister-in-law) and Whitener also plays Bo, the singing narrator who guides patrons through the village from scene to scene.

The ensemble includes Evangelina De La O, Miriam Flowerree, Brandy Harlan, Isabella Henry, Isabella Liberti, Dean Nettles and Lindsey Nickel.

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DeShazer said she was initially approached about doing something to raise money for the Friends of the Manatee Village in a theatrical format to replace the former Spirit Voices show that was presented for several years. She and Brookens were “looking for that hook, something that was ripe for drama,” when they came across the Lonesome Grave story.

The production donates a portion of its receipts to the Friends of the Manatee Village, which helps to support the park. Last year, the Hat Theater Collected donated $4,400 to the non-profit.

‘The Ballad of Old Manatee’

By Derek Brookens, directed by Danae DeShazer. Runs April 4-20, Manatee Village Historical Park, 1404 Manatee Ave., East, Bradenton. Tickets are $27. atthehat.org/tickets

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Musical play ‘Ballad of Old Manatee’ tells story of a local legend