A Mighty Outcry

A Mighty Outcry is the fourth of a set of mystery plays written for young people with words and music by Paul Dedell. It will premier on Saturday, April 28 at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, April 29 at 4:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Brattleboro.

A Mighty Outcry explores the complex young woman known popularly as “Joan of Arc.”  Although Joan is now an icon of French identity, A Mighty Outcry seeks to discover the young woman who not only led armies, but who wept for those who perished on both sides.

Joan was 13 when she began hearing voices urging her to rescue the people of France from the English army, who were waging a “scorched earth” campaign at that time in France.  She managed to persuade the Dauphin of France to allow her to lead troops to the besieged city of Orleans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence when the siege was lifted after only nine days. Several additional swift victories paved the way for the final French victory. At the age of 18, she was captured by a pro-English faction and put on trial. She was burned at the stake one year later.

Composer Paul Dedell wanted to avoid the narrow stereotypes that exist about Joan, and he also wanted to examine some of the topics that remain surprisingly resonant today, particularly gender identity, and the persuasive force of religious fanaticism. But he says, “the central question of the play is how does one discern the rightness of the inner voices that guide our decisions? This is a question which is particularly critical during the teen years of life, and one that is central to the inner story of Joan herself.”

Susan Dedell is music director of the production, which features the talented senior members of The Choir School, a program which she founded to train young singers, and which is now in it’s 4th year. She remarks, “These wonderful young people have a way of bringing the core message of these shows right to the front burner. Their freshness is matched only by their insight.”

Admission is $12 adults/$5 student. For more information, call the church office at 254-6048 or email wingedproductions.vt@gmail.com.