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Little-known history maker

Little-known history maker

Florida Rep bringing humorous take on a historic story with ‘Ben Butler’


You have probably heard of “Hamilton,” but what about “Ben Butler”? This historic figure is the latest to have a play about him come to town, and director Greg Longenhagen says you don’t have to know anything about his history to enjoy the show.

“It is probably almost funnier if folks don’t know the plot,” Longenhagen stressed. “In the researching of Ben Butler, you will uncover some of the plot. Unless you want a spoiler alert, I would not do that. Just come ready to listen, learn and laugh.”

Playwright Richard Strand took a serious subject about the Civil War, runaway slaves and a demanding general and turned it into something the audience can laugh about.

“I read it a little over a year ago, and it was literally laugh-out-loud funny to me,” Longenhagen began. “I loved the subtle humor in the play. I loved that the author had taken an otherwise serious subject and added a great feel of humor to it. It is like a Monty Python sketch or a Carol Burnett show. A lot of times, it is the characters that are funny, and it is how the characters deal with the situation that is funny.”

The director said people will love the show.

“I think they will enjoy the fact that it is a historically accurate piece of theater told in a very humorous way,” he said.

Michael Sean McGuinness is coming from New York to play the title role. He said the more he researched Ben Butler, the more he enjoyed the character.

“He is so unique,” McGuinness began. “The thing I like the most is it is a story of completely different people from different backgrounds and different personalities finding out their similarities. It is all about how you relate to people and how you make those differences work.”

Although Butler was called the Beast because of his unbending, demanding personality, McGuinness still admires the man.

“I think people will see this character as commanding and funny because of the way he thinks,” McGuinness said. “I like the fact that he is supremely articulate, like me. He is a very verbal person, and he is relentless in his application of logic and rationality. Butler is very unadaptable. You are going to do what he says. All these characters grow closer to each other and change, and you don’t think this would be possible. I think the audience will be surprised. I think the comedy grows out of the differences in these characters and how they find their similarities.”

McGuinness also touts the importance of Butler in U.S. history.

“General Butler developed this mechanism to free the slaves that was used by President Lincoln,” McGuinness explained.

“That is awesome. But the way all these characters affect each other to achieve this objective is hilarious. I don’t know how this writer managed to combine all of that. Ben Butler is unique. He is one of a kind.”

Benjamin Franklin Butler was a major general of the Union Army, a politician, lawyer and businessman from Massachusetts. While he is not found in most school history books, he does have a long resume of accomplishments. Butler had a leadership role in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and he served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The play takes place at the beginning of the Civil War in Virginia. When an escaped slave shows up at Fort Monroe demanding sanctuary, Major General Butler is faced with a moral dilemma: follow the law and return the slave to his owner or make a bold move that could change the course of U.S. history. The show is billed as part historical drama, part comedy and part biography. It’s a battle of wits, sarcasm and wordplay as the characters spar with each other about civil rights, respect and equality.

“When Butler meets the escaped slave, here you have this splendid major general in his uniform and this slave that is dressed in rags that took his shot at escaping and did what he could to get to the fort and they are feeling each other out and learning ways they are different and ways they are the same and they are resisting that,” McGuinness described when asked for an example of how a serious subject was made humorous.

The 90-minute show has only four actors and a simple stage, but Longenhagen said it works.

“Good writers write in a way where there should be no fat in a play in terms of the plot or what the set might require,” he explained. “And Richard Strand is a good writer.”

Florida Rep is a producing organization, which means they choose a script and then hire the actors, build the sets, create the costumes and do their own lighting and sound. Longenhagen has worked on more than 75 productions at Florida Rep as an actor, director, fight choreographer and dialect coach. McGuinness has been on the national tour of “Goosebumps” and had roles in a long list of off-Broadway shows and community theaters. The play also features Brandon Pierce as runaway slave Sheppard Mallory, Brandon Haagenson as Lieutenant Kelly and Larry Tobial as Major Cary.

Deb Jonsson, marketing director for Florida Rep, said the quality is comparable to what you might find on Broadway. She said this play is like being in the room when history is happening.

“It is witty and fast-paced,” Jonsson described. “It is that little nugget from history that most people don’t know about.”

“’Ben Butler’ has all the meat of a great historical play and all the humor of an excellently written comedy,” Longenhagen concluded. ¦

If you GO

“Ben Butler”

· When: Oct. 22- Nov. 10

· Where: Alliance for the Arts Historic Arcade Theater, 2267 First Street, Fort Myers

· Cost: Prices start at $67, student pricing is $15

· Info: floridarep.org/show/ben-butler or 239-332-4488