Each performance runs about 45 minutes.
Performances are free and open to the public.
Donations are, however, gladly accepted.
Tickets will be distributed on the date of the show on a first-come, first-served basis. The number of tickets distributed will be limited to the legal capacity of the courthouse.
We ask that patrons do not save seats in the courtroom.
All performances are at 10:00 a.m.
13182 Hanover Courthouse Road, Hanover, Virginia 23069.
In Colonial Virginia there was but one established, government-supported religion – The Church of England. But religious dissenters began to test the system. In 1768, Patrick Henry defended three Baptist preachers who faced imprisonment for publicly proclaiming the Gospel at the Upper Spotsylvania Meeting House. His defense helped paved the way for the passage of Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom. Freedom’s Apostles is a reenactment of Henry’s defense of the Baptists.
Prepare for Independence Day by hearing Thomas Jefferson, the Third President and the author of the Declaration of Independence, discusses the Declaration.
Presenter: Bill Barker has been interpreting Jefferson since 1984 and has portrayed him at Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello. Bill has appeared as Mr. Jefferson at the White House and the Palace of Versailles. He has also portrayed Mr. Jefferson on programs on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CNN, The History Channel and C-SPAN.
The performance will be followed by a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
The Marquis de Lafayette, born into a wealthy French family, was commissioned an officer at the age of 13. He became convinced that the American cause in its Revolutionary War was noble, and he traveled to the New World seeking glory. Named a Major General in the Continental Army at the age of 19, he quickly became a confidant of George Washington.
Presenter: Charles Wissinger is a well-known local actor. In addition to performing in Liberty or Death at St. John’s Church, Charles has made many appearances during the summer series of The Parsons’ Cause Foundation, portraying Edgar Allan Poe, James Madison, Audie Murphy, Francis Scott Key and Benjamin Stringfellow.
Meet Edgar Allan Poe's first and last love in this touching program. Young Sarah Elmira Royster fell in love with her handsome neighbor Edgar before he left for university, but her family disapproved and convinced her to marry another. After both of their spouses died, Elmira's and Edgar's romance bloomed again only months before Poe's mysterious death in Baltimore in October of 1849. Hear of Elmira's life and how Poe affected her.
Presenter: Debbie Phillips is a well-known local actor and historical guide. She has portrayed Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, Captain Sally Tompkins and Patsey Henry Fontaine for previous summer sessions of The Parsons’ Cause Foundation.
Listen to Coretta Scott King as she tells her story from a young girl in the cotton fields of Alabama, to becoming the First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement. You will be moved by her memories of her life with Martin and how his assassination devastated her and their children. In this presentation, Coretta reveals the family man side of Martin and how she managed to continue the fight for justice. They killed the dreamer, not dream. The fight continues.
Presenter: Valerie Davis is no stranger to Hanover. A local actress, she has performed during the summer series of The Parsons’ Cause Foundation, portraying Martha Ann Fields, Harriett Tubman, and Anna Douglass.
“Secretary” Thomas Nelson was, for 33 years, perhaps the second most important person in Virginia, after the Royal Governor. General Lord Cornwallis employed Secretary Nelson’s home, with Nelson living there, as his headquarters during the siege of Yorktown. Secretary Nelson, who witnessed the battle from both sides, tells the story of Yorktown and puts it in perspective as the end of British domination of North America. Secretary Nelson’s nephew, another Thomas Nelson, signed the Declaration of Independence, commanded the militia at Yorktown, and was the third elected governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Presenter: Dick Cheatham. Dick is a leadership consultant, educator, professional speaker and historian. He has appeared on BBC, PBS and The Learning Channel. His speakers’ bureau, Living History Associates, has had the contract with the National Park Service at Jamestown to tell America’s founding story for over twenty years.
Nan, the wife of Gabriel, both enslaved by Thomas Prosser, recalls the rebellion of 1800. Nan tells the story of the night before the rebellion was to begin. She will take you on a journey in search of freedom for the enslaved population, as mapped out by Gabriel. Death or Liberty, Gabriel would have one or the other.
Presenter: Valerie Davis is no stranger to Hanover. A local actress, she has performed during the summer series of The Parsons’ Cause Foundation, portraying Martha Ann Fields, Harriett Tubman, and Anna Douglass.
Travis West and Mellen Minton will bring to life the music that was made popular during the Second World War. Join us as Travis and Mellen tell the stories behind the music that encouraged both our boys over there and the families that made sacrifices to supply the War effort.
World War II served as an impetus for women nationwide to leave the domestic sphere in huge numbers and enter “blue-collar” factory jobs traditionally held by men. This program highlights the experiences of women who worked hard to support the U.S. and faced incredible odds to do so.
Presenter: Debbie Phillips is a well-known local actor and historical guide. She has portrayed Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, Captain Sally Tompkins and Patsey Henry Fontaine for previous summer sessions of The Parsons’ Cause Foundation.
On December 1, 1763, a country lawyer from Hanover stepped from obscurity into the forefront of legal and political circles in Virginia. His name was Patrick Henry. The event that shaped his destiny was the trial of The Parsons’ Cause. Henry challenged the two most potent entities of colonial Virginia—the King and the clergy. The case proved to be one of the opening salvos of the revolution, and started Henry on the path of becoming the “Voice of the Revolution.”