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30 Days of NYMF on BroadwayWorld Day 26: Orphan Train

By: Sep. 27, 2005
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Orphan Train Author Fuses Family Lore Into Musical Tale

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For Orphan Train book-writer L.E. McCullough, history is a passion and a profession. It's also part of his genetic makeup — literally.

Since 1996, the Speedway, Indiana native has published 153 history-based plays with Smith & Kraus and EduPress, and has earned international renown as an expert and innovator in the field of educational theatre. He's written original plays for historical societies, civic celebrations, museums and the new U.S. Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Orphan Train tells the epic saga of America's first major foster care experiment: nearly 250,000 New York children sent West between 1853-1929 to live with new families. Close to 4 million Americans today trace their genealogical roots to Orphan Train riders.

McCullough's ethnomusicology Ph.D. and skill as a player of traditional American and British Isles music have also come in handy when setting history to the stage. His distinctive tinwhistle, flute, harmonica and bones stylings have been heard on a score of TV and film soundtracks including Ken Burns' The West, Lewis and Clark, Ourselves Alone and Neil Jordan's Michael Collins starring Liam Neeson and Julia Roberts.

Bringing the Orphan Train story to life had a personal resonance. "My great-grandfather in Wisconsin and grandfather in Iowa were both orphaned as young children," says McCullough. "They and their siblings were dispersed to other families — some to relatives, some to neighbors."

The Midwestern frontier in 1850 and 1895 didn't have much of a social service network, he notes. "They survived against tough odds, or I wouldn't be here today. Telling the Orphan Train story has been a tribute to them."

And to the hundreds of thousands of similar stories from American children echoing across the years and miles to the present.

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Orphan Train (book-L.E. McCullough, lyrics-Michael Barry Greer, music-Doug Katsaros) opens Sept. 22 at the Theatre at St. Clement's, 423 W. 46th St., NYC, for six performances as part of the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Call 212-352-3101 or check nymf.org for tickets. The show is directed by 2-time Emmy Award-winner Patricia Birch and produced by Jonathan Stuart Cerullo. For more information see www.orphantrainthemusical.com.




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