Loyalty or Liberty: Tales from Revolutionary Newport
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Dates: June 30 – September 1, 2026 – (Tuesdays and Saturdays at 6:00 p.m.; no show on Fourth of July)
Site: Outdoors on the beautiful grounds of Hunter House, Newport RI, overlooking the Bay
By Patrick Gabridge, Ken Green, and Lily Mathews
Directed by Rachel Walshe**
Produced by Jessica Chace*
Partner: The Preservation Society of Newport County
This project is supported in part by a grant from the Rhode Island Semiquincentennial Commission (RI250) and the Edwin S. Webster Foundation.
Developed through archival research, three original plays unearth the layered histories of Hunter House during the Revolutionary War (1778-1781). Seven characters whose lives interacted with the home navigate slavery and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, love and honor. Personal secrets complicate political upheaval.
Their overlapping footsteps reveal how history never really leaves a place.
Costume Design by David T. Howard
Stage Management by Samantha Hudgins
Assistant Stage Management by Parker Frenze
Dinah by Ken Green
Featuring: David Santana, Ashlynn Majewski*, Mia Victorino
In May 1778, Dinah, an enslaved woman serving in the Loyalist household of Sarah Wanton, has a clandestine conversation with her husband, James, an enslaved man living in a different household. When he announces his plan to enlist in the First Rhode Island Regiment in exchange for his freedom—and hopefully that of Dinah and their son —Dinah wonders whether the Patriots can be trusted or offer lasting change. Dinah examines the profound impact of the war through the eyes of those who, quite possibly, have the most to gain. Or lose.
For Love and Glory by Patrick Gabridge
Featuring: Steven Liebhauser*, Jackie Scholl, Jon Vellante*
In the summer of 1781, Hunter House has become the headquarters for the French Navy. In Newburgh, New York, Generals Rochambeau and Washington have committed to march to Yorktown in Virginia, but to shift the balance towards victory, they need the French warships in Newport. Unfortunately, Admiral de Barras has other plans. Axel von Fersen, a Swedish aide-de-camp to Rochambeau is sent to persuade the admiral—the entire outcome of the war might hinge on this one conversation on the Hunter House lawn. For Love and Glory traces the intricate barriers created by the desire for honor and the wounds of the heart.
Where We Once by Lily Mathews
Featuring: John Cormier, Ashlynn Majewski*, Mia Victorino
In November 1781, weeks after the British surrender at Yorktown, Sarah Wanton meets her brother-in-law at the shuttered Hunter House to press for financial support. As a new nation takes shape around her, Sarah faces hard truths about what remains of her former life, navigating shifting loyalties, mounting debts, and the quiet question of what she owes the people closest to her. Where We Once is a portrait of a woman clinging to a house, a name, and a world that has moved on without her.
Understudies:
Yates Akinrolabu (u/s Dinah Wanton)
Ben Pereira (u/s Admiral de Barras/Count von Fersen/Thomas Wickham)
Steph Rodger (u/s Sarah Wanton/Peggy Champlin)
Jeremy Rodriguez (u/s James)
*Denotes a member of the Actors’ Equity Association
**Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
Weather Policy: Shows take place rain or shine. In the event of inclement weather, the production will move indoors to the Guild Hall at St. John’s Church.