ABOUT ADOPT A SAILOR

(Text by Kathleen Masur)

Adopt a Sailor begin life as a short play.
In the summer of 2002, director Erica Gould called Charles Evered and asked him---along with several other New York area playwrights, whether he would be interested in writing a play for an event she was organizing. The event was called "Brave New World"---an evening of short plays meant to commemorate the first anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. At first, Evered was reluctant to write anything having to do with the attacks. Evered was then, and still remains, a reserve officer (Now IRR) in the Naval Office of Information.

In 2001, Evered's unit was based in Manhattan. A few days after the attacks, Evered traveled from the West Coast to join his unit, which was still holding a scheduled drill that weekend. Evered, along with another member of his unit, made their way down to Ground Zero. Though it was already several days after the buildings had collapsed, the "pile" was still on fire, the perimeter was still unstable, and tragically, there was already very little hope of rescuing anyone. Evered and his shipmate documented the site, subsequently publishing pictures and an article based on their experience there.

After seriously considering Erica Gould's proposal, Evered finally decided to himself that he had nothing else to add. He would not bother to write a play. "After all," he thought to himself; "How could I possibly dramatize something of that scope, that magnitude?"

That night, after a sleepless few hours, Evered got out of bed and wrote the original version of "Adopt" in the form of a ten minute play. The next morning, he showed it to his wife Wendy Rolfe Evered, who is an actress. Evered still maintained that though he had written the play, he still had no intention of sending it to New York. His wife Wendy read the rough draft and told him that if he didn't make the play public, she would.

Evered submitted the play to Erica Gould, who immediately began casting. Other playwrights represented during the Brave New World event included John Guare, Lynne Nottage, Warren Leight and Christopher Durang. As it turned out, "Adopt a Sailor" was the only play to be produced every night of the event. And each and every actor that read it, wanted to be a part of it. The play was first produced at Town Hall in New York City on the nights of September 9th, 10th and 11th, 2002, with a rotating cast that included: Bebe Neuwirth, Amy Irving, Sam Waterston, Neil Patrick Harris, Liev Schreiber, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson and Michael Nouri. The response was unanimous. People were incredibly moved by the play. Something about it spoke to everyone, from die hard Republicans to die hard liberals. The play seemed to have the ability to crossover and go beyond mere constituencies. After the initial series of performances, Evered had the short play published in a small academic journal.

During the next few years, Evered was repeatedly asked whether he would consider expanding the short play into a full length. Each time, he responded by saying he had written the play he meant to write, and wanted to move on. Finally, writer and producer Andy Breckman, who had seen the play in New York and was very moved by it, inspired him to write a longer version. Evered revised the play considerably, understanding that the focus of the play needed to shift from the event of the attacks of 9/11 to larger questions having to do with the nature of service, how our society views people in the military and how conflicted we've become politically and culturally in the United States. The initial reading of the longer version took place at The Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City on July 11, 2005. That reading starred Bebe Neuwirth, Matthew Modine and Brian Slaten and was directed by Morgan Murphy.

Since then, the play has been read publicly from coast to coast. One reading was specifically organized to help raise money for The Fisher House Foundation, a charity to benefit military families in need.
Adopt a Sailor will be published in the fall of 2007 by Broadway Play Publishing, Inc. Currently, Evered is attached to direct the film version, which will star Bebe Neuwirth and be produced by Kim Waltrip and WonderStar Productions. Film is set to start shooting summer of 2007.

LIST OF PERFORMERS that have graciously donated their services by appearing in public readings or performances of "Adopt a Sailor," by Charles Evered: Len Cariou, Scott Cohen, Tom Costello, Wendy Rolfe Evered, Josh Fardon, Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Irving, Anne Jackson, Matthew Modine, Bebe Neuwirth, Michael Nouri, Luke Perry, Amy Povich, Josh Radnor, Liev Schreiber, Brian Slaten, Greg Spradlin, Eli Wallach and Sam Waterston.

FOR MORE INFO about The Fisher House Foundation and how to make a donation, go to: www.fisherhouse.org or call 1-888-294-8560.