Colonial Williamsburg Actors Portray Historical Characters Both on Stage and Off

Colonial Williamsburg is showcasing its past with live theater on the streets, The Washington Post reports.

The town features actors portraying iconic figures in history, including Emily James as Edith Cumbo, a free woman of color who once walked the streets of Williamsburg. She chats with tourists, teaching them about Cumbo's past. She has been playing the role for a decade.

"We've shifted in how we think of things," said Beth Kelly, Colonial Williamsburg's vice president of education, research and historical interpretation. "Our research was always done with an Anglican-European point of view. Everything is grounded now in the 18th century - and the truth."

In addition to James, several other actors roam the streets in costume and character, including Katharine Pittman as Martha Washington, Kurt Smith as Thomas Jefferson, and Robert Weathers in several roles, from Jefferson's father to philosopher John Locke. They perform in plays throughout the area.

In addition, on the Play House Stage, members of the resident Jug Broke Theater Company perform 'Ladies of Llangollen,' Claire Wittman's drama, which includes new lyrics to 18th-century songs.

The area has employed a gender and sexual diversity committee, which has brought stories like this one to the stage.

"There was a realization that if we're going to commit to telling the whole story, we're going to tell the whole story," said historian Kelly Arehart, a member of the diversity committee.

Many of the interpreters, who work year-round, come from formal acting or music backgrounds. Fourteen interpreters have earned the special designation of "Nationbuilders," who are paid to portray a single historic personage.

Read more on The Washington Post.

Learn more at https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/.

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