Was there ever message sweeter
Than that one from Malvern Hill,
From a grim old fellow,-you remember?
Dying in the dark at Malvern Hill.
With his rough face turned a little,
On, a heap of scarlet sand,
They found him, just within the thicket,
With a picture in his hand…
- Game Description – Virginia, 1861. The war came, of course, and so there was dying. But before that was the house, the grand old manor, the dogwoods and the dreams and the hot southern nights. Built by the Allertons, fresh off the boat from England, standing for over 200 years. Malvern House. And a party. The last on Malvern Hill. So wear your finest, and take the old Willis Church Road, just up past the Mellert farm, and the Carter farm. See for yourself the glorious manor, the bluff overlooking the James. And find out for yourself why death came to Malvern Hill long before the war ever did. Costumes encouraged but not required. Game sold out? Hit us up online anyway, or just show up!
- Have a ticket? Scroll down to contact us about character requests.
- Friday, August 18th, 9pm-1am, Lincoln Room, Union Station
Setting
Henrico County – a small community lying a half-day’s travel from Richmond. Something of an oddity in the South, Henrico County banned the practice of slavery in the early 1800s. Needless to say, opinions vary greatly about this place and the people who choose to make it their home.
Cast List
- Elijah Allerton – Master of the House. His family was instrumental in establishing Henrico Country during the founding of the nation.
- Dahlia Allerton – Lady of the House. She brought with her into the marriage a significant amount of the old Dale fortune.
- Violet Allerton – Dahlia Allerton’s twin sister. She moved in four years ago when her husband died. Still wears the black of mourning.
- Elizabeth Ward † – Young niece of Violet Allerton’s late husband, visiting from Georgia. Single and educated.
- James Garnett † – A wealthy farmer from across the county. Relations between the Garnetts and the Allertons have been better.
- Chacrow ‡ – A Powhatan living as a servant (Valet) to James Garnett.
- Gideon Carter – Adopted black son of the elderly and wealthy Samuel and Clara Carter, farmers from the center of the county. Gideon runs the whole operation now. He is unable to leave Henrico County, given that he would be re-enslaved as soon as he did.
- Hetty Stuart – To the surprise of many, she hung up her shingle as a lawyer a little more than a year ago. Escaped slaves cannot enter the Bar, but she can certainly arm her clients for successful legal fights. James Garnett credits Hetty for saving a hundred acres of his farm from annexation by neighboring Hanover County.
- Cora Coleman †- A local physician and veterinarian, many wonder why she remains single.
- Sheriff Thomas Dale ‡ – His ancestor of the same name founded the city of Henricus, the first European settlement in Henrico County in 1611. Henricus was destroyed by the Powhatan Indians in 1622, but Dale’s family has lived in this same area throughout.
- Cordelia Goulding – She and her brother Levi returned from overseas to run the family farm after their parents’ deaths five years ago. They are all of 25 years old.
- Levi Goulding – Cordelia’s brother. It is a poorly-kept secret that their paid farm hands are all escaped slaves from farther south.
- Enos Freeman – The Goulding’s Plantation Manager. He has risen to high station from his start in slavery and has a keen head for business, but all seem to agree that this seemingly perfect gentleman is no one to cross.
- Benjamin Farthing ‡ † – Local blacksmith and mason. Has been busy working on large orders of horseshoes from North Carolina–is in need of an apprentice.
- Ada Bartlett † – A journalist from the North, she came to Virginia seeking work in Richmond. Plans there apparently did not work out.
- Hiram Taylor – A hired black man working for the Allertons.
- August MacEleny – A very well to do farmer, he plants peanuts and other crops, not just tobacco.
- Lydia MacEleny † – Wife of August.
- Senator Robert Hunter – Senator representing Virginia, a mover and shaker in Washington D.C.
- Winfield Sutton † – Manages the local bank. He’s always been sympathetic to the plantation owners when times have been tough.
- Colonel Joseph Hooker – Hard-drinking, womanizing. Currently a Colonel in California, formerly a Lt. Col. in the Federal Army. Is back on the East Coast looking for an officer’s commission.
- Alexander Gardner – Scottish photographer recently appointed chief photographer for the U.S. Topographical Engineers. He is a specilaist in the newest technology, wet-plate photography, a process in which an image is captured on chemically coated pieces of plate glass. He is a disciple of Mathew Brady and has had moderate success in photographic portraits.
- Dr. John Pott ‡ – A Physician seeking to establish an office in the area.
- Elizabeth Pott ‡ – Sickly wife of Dr. John Pott.
- Opechancanough – One of the last remnants of the once-powerful Powhatan
Nation. Tribal Chieftain. - Kekata – One of the last remnants of the once-powerful Powhatan Nation. Well respected Medicine man and elder.
- Askuwheteau – A tribal leader, he will likely be the chief in the future.
- Angelo – A black Powhatan woman.
- Achachak ‡ – A young Powhatan hunter.
- Captain Thomas Grantham ‡ – English merchant and former Royal Navy officer (retired).
- Jack ‡ – Indentured servant to Captain Thomas Grantham
† This character may be challenging to play.
‡ This character may be an NPC if we are short of players.