On stage at Red Mountain Theatre Company’s Cabaret
Since its premiere in April 2013, “A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart,” the true story of a young girl living in Florence during the Civil War, has been performed countless times across the state. This month, it’s coming to the Red Mountain Theatre Cabaret.
Storyteller Dolores Hydock and musician Bobby Horton of Three on a String fame chronicle 26 years in the life of Sallie Independence Foster, beginning with her at age 12, when the Civil War began.
With the help of librarians, historians and even a couple of Foster’s descendants, Hydock had access to Foster’s diary, as well as letters and other writings that helped her create a comprehensive look into Foster’s life in Florence during that time.
“I was privileged to meet Jim McDonald and Flora Speed, brother and sister who are Sallie’s great-grandson and great-granddaughter,” Hydock said. “They [donated the papers to the University of North Alabama archives], and I was able to meet with them several times to hear about them finding the papers, the process of their deciding to donate them to the university and what it felt like for them to hear and see their own great grandmother’s story brought to life in this performance.”
Horton provides the music for the show.
“Bobby’s period music, camp songs and original compositions do provide a kind of ’score’ for the story, but they are more than that,” Hydock said. “While I read letters from Sallie’s brothers off at war, for example, in between each letter, Bobby sings one of the Civil War camp songs that would have been sung by the soldiers of the time.
“Bobby’s original instrumental compositions underneath the story also adds a dramatic and emotional component to the words,” she said.
The story will be performed at the Red Mountain Theatre Company on Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and on Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $15 and are available on their website.
Editor’s note: This article was produced in partnership with artsBHAM. To learn more about them, visit artsbham.com.