THE SPY by James Fenimore Cooper
adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the very first espionage novel
directed by John Miller-Stephany
Neutral Ground…Demilitarized Zone…No Man’s Land
The words, the phrases, the euphemisms are the same today as they were 250 years ago. In THE SPY, we find a territory ruled neither by the British army nor its Colonial rebels. Washington’s army is in a fight to the death with the King’s redcoats to determine control of the wilderness north of New York City.
In the parlance of the day, it is called “neutral ground” –a lawless, free-fire zone, its allegiances constantly shifting among loyalists, revolutionaries, marauders and violent men and women whose murderous talents are offered up to the highest bidder. Like such 20th century settings as “Check Point Charlie” in Berlin, the neutral ground of THE SPY is a territory rife with plots and double-crosses; families torn apart and communities divided along political lines. The bloody scramble of history is written on the landscape and its people, resonating down the ages.
No one in THE SPY -man or woman- is who he or she appears to be. Lies are sometimes told by the best of them. And the truth – even a truth that could save a life or reputation – may never by known.
Romance, adventure, disguises and the ticking clock of a coming battle all conspire to make THE SPY a very modern and vivid entertainment.
A LETTER from a spy
The following letter was written by Benedict Arnold to John Andre in 1780. Benedict Arnold was a general in the Continental Army until late in the campaign when he switched sides and went down in history as a traitor to America. John Andre was a British officer hanged as a spy during the American Revolution. In this letter, Arnold offers to sell West Point to the British for the sum of 20,000 pounds. This was the incident which led to Andre’s hanging. The following letter was written in code and has been decoded for ease of reading.
Inclosed in a cover addressed to M[r.] Anderson / Two days since I received a letter without date or Signature, / informing me that S[ir]. Henry ------ was obliged to me for intelligence / communicated, and that he placed a full confidence in the Sincerity / of my intentions, etc. etc. On the 13th Instant I addressed a letter / to you expressing my Sentiments and expectations, viz, that / the following Preliminaries be settled previous to cooperating. - / First, that S[ir]. Henry secure to me my property, valued at ten thou- / sand pounds Sterling, to be paid to me or my Heirs in case of / Loss; and, as soon as that happens [strike out] shall happen, ---- hundred / pounds per annum to be secured to me for life, in lieu of the / pay and emoluments I give up, for my Services as they shall / deserve - If I point out a plan of cooperation by which S[ir}. H[enry]. / shall possess himself of West Point, the Garrison, etc. etc. etc. twenty / thousand pounds Sterling I think will be a cheap purchase for / an object of so much importance. At the same time I request / thousand pounds to be paid my Agent - I expect a full / and explicit answer - The 20th I set off for West Point. A / personal interview with an officer that you can confide in / is absolutely necessary to plan matters. In the mean time / I shall communicate to our mutual Friend S[tansbur]y all the / intelligence in my power, until I have the pleasure of your answer. / Moore / July 15th [1780] / To the line of my letter of the 13th / I did not add seven.
The Acting Company
honored by the TONY's in 2003, has performed over 100 plays for millions of people across the country and around the world. Its Education Programs, including master classes, student matinées and artistic residencies, have reached tens of thousands of students. Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and current Producing Artistic Director Margot Harley with the first graduating class of the Juilliard School's Drama Division, the Company has developed the careers of some of America's finest actors. Winner of the Obie, Audelco, and Los Angeles Critics Award, The Acting Company received a TONY Honor for Excellence in Theater.
Author of The Sources of the Susquehanna, A Descriptive Tale (1823), The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Prairie: A Tale (1827), The Pathfinder: The Inland Sea (1840), and The Deerslayer: The First War Path (1841), sea-tales like The Pilot (1823) and revolutionary war romances like The Spy (1821), Cooper also wrote many short stories and non-fiction works critiquing American values and morals such as in The American Democrat (1838), Homeward Bound (1838), and its sequel Home as Found (1838). Cooper was a friend of Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is said to have influenced Herman Melville and earned the praise of Wilkie Collins. Many of Cooper's novels are still in print today and have been the source for popular feature film adaptations.
James Cooper was born on 15 September 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey, U.S.A, the eleventh child born to Elizabeth née Fenimore (1752-1817) and Congressman, Judge, and founder of Cooperstown, William Cooper (1754-1809). A year after James was born the family moved to the banks of Otsego Lake in Otsego County, where William built the first home and founded Cooperstown.
Cooper entered Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut in 1803 but was expelled a few years later. He then worked as a sailor on a merchant ship, travelling to such far away places as the Strait of Gibraltar. In 1808 he joined the United States Navy as midshipman and it was on the seas that he started to seriously think of himself as a writer. After the death of his father, he resigned from the Navy and went back to the land to try his hand at farming.
On 1 January 1811, in Mamaroneck, New York, Cooper married Susan Augusta DeLancey (1792-1852) with whom he would have seven children: daughters Elizabeth (1811-1813), Susan (1813-1894), Caroline (1815-1892), Anne (1817-1885), and Maria (1819-1898); and sons Fenimore (1821-1823) and Paul (1824-1895). After living for a time in New Rochelle, New York State, the Coopers moved to Scarsdale, New York where James built a home. Soon after Cooper was spending much time in New York City, where he founded the 'Bread and Cheese Club' in 1822.
In 1826, the same year he legally added Fenimore to his name, James, Susan and the children moved to Europe. Cooper served as United States Consul in Lyons, France, while also travelling to many other countries including Italy, Switzerland, England, and The Netherlands. In 1833 the Coopers returned to the United States, settling in Cooperstown, although Cooper made many trips to New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He continued his prodigious output of fiction and non including History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839), The Lives of Distinguished Naval Officers (1846), and The Towns of Manhattan (1851).
James Fenimore Cooper died on 14 September 1851 in Cooperstown, New York, U.S.A. He lies buried in the family plot in the Christ Episcopal Churchyard in Cooperstown. His wife Susan survived him by just a few months, and now rests with him. -from online-literature.com
2008-2009 National Tour
Are we coming to your town? Keep checking back because we are adding tour stops every day!
Feb. 6-7 - West Lafayette, IN - Perdue University
Feb. 13-14 – St. Louis, MO – Washington University in St. Louis
Feb. 19 – Houghton, NY – Houghton College Chapel Auditorium
Feb. 21-22 – Hampton, VA – American Theatre
Mar. 10-11 – Washington, NC – Turnage Theater
Mar. 22 – Sante Fe, NM – Lensic Performing Arts Center
Apr. 14 – Starkville, MS – Mississippi State University
Apr. 16 – Newberry, SC – Newberry Opera House
Apr. 25-26 – Fairfax, VA – George Mason University
Apr. 30-May 10 – New York, NY – Baruch Performing Arts Center
May 13 – Ogdensburg, NY – Ogdensburg Free Academy
May 15 – South Orange, NJ – South Orange Performing Arts Center
May 16-17 – Purchase, NY – Purchase College
*pending confirmation. Keep checking for updates.
Indicates The Spy
Indicates both shows in repertory
