←Recommendations of SAINT SOMEBODY [Published]

A fascinating history that gives light to unsung heroes including women in the Civil War, a story we haven't heard before. Well done.

Saint Somebody kicks off with a unique introduction to its key characters and does a fantastic job creating scenes and backgrounds in the midst of the Civil War. The staging inside medical tents makes for immediately gripping action, and the pursuit of justice for a marginalized yet heroic soldier is both heartbreaking and satisfying. This drama shines a light on a set of historical figures we haven’t seen before, and we’re better off for it.

That rarity, a Civil War play that centers women, nurses, as full participants. The enlisted men of the "Irish Brigade" at their camp near Gettysburg are "ready to spill our guts for a country that hates the very look of us." So is the wounded African-American who turns up and whom the nurses must keep hidden from their cowardly commanding officer. The play deals with questions of duty, power, religion, and race, and each character's inward and outward conflicts and relationships are well drawn. A nice contemporary play in period dress.

A wonderful play. The story describes a small eddy of sweetness and justice in a maelstrom of war and injustice. The characters are strongly and uniquely drawn. They are the perfect drivers of a story that rivets our attention and surges to an entirely satisfying conclusion. It is the peculiar privilege of a talented playwright to lift a story from history and imagination, place it onstage, and make us fall in love with it. Brava, Rita!

I love historical plays, and Saint Somebody is a fine one, hitting just the right balance between now and then in language. I'd love to design it: those three tents hovering like bloody ghosts 'round a Gettysburg clearing. Bravo, Rita Anderson, for a fine story well told.