Write Out Loud Will Bring THE VALLEY OF SHADOWS to The Villa Montezuma Museum

WRITE OUT LOUD has announced “The Valley of Shadows” by Francis Grierson at the Villa Montezuma Museum in Sherman Heights. This historic Queen Anne Victorian was named “The Palace of the Arts," by Jesse Shepard (pen name Francis Grierson), the musician, spiritualist and author who designed it in 1887. Performers include: Paul Maley, Rhianna Basore, Veronica Murphy, Walter Ritter, Todd Blakesley, and Steve Smith. Rachael VanWormer directs. Performances will take place on March 29th and 30th at 1pm and 3pm. Tickets are $30 and seating is limited to 30 per performance. 

Write Out Loud Artistic Director, Veronica Murphy shared “We are honored to celebrate this overlooked author's recollections of the splendor of the 19th Century prairie and the colorful characters he encountered there. The beauty of Grierson's language is as vivid as his own resplendent Palace of the Arts.”

Before pianist, spiritualist, and author, Jesse Shepard, became a world traveler and performer, he was an immigrant boy growing up on the Illinois prairie in the time of Lincoln, comets, religious revivalism, and anti-slavery conflicts.

Enjoy stories and songs from his youth, while the young United States of America reckons with its own sense of Self and Union. In a unique and lyrical series of vignettes, Jesse Shepard, writing under his pen name "Francis Grierson," paints an optimistic and enchanting picture of a people and place shimmering on the brink of change. Performed in the gorgeous Music Room of Jesse Shepard's own Palace of the Arts - the 1887 masterpiece - Villa Montezuma.

There is non-metered street parking in the residential neighborhood and a large parking lot on the corner of Imperial and 21st Streets.

Please note that the Villa Montezuma Museum, located at 1925 K St., San Diego 92102, is a historic structure with no elevator. No internal recording or photography allowed.

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