Anthony Gallo

An evening of musical pieces from LIncoln and God, Vandergrift, Peggy, and David

This two act Surrrealisric drama is all about the relationship between America's greatest President and England's greatest playwright. separated only by three centuries and the Atlantic Ocean.

A two-act musical about a town in Western Pennsylvania at the height of the Industrial Age.

This musical about faith and sin is totally based onthe life of David,

second king of Israel, and pivotal to the two Davidic religions,

Christianity and Judaism.David,once a shepherd boy and now

the mighty King ofIsrael, rules the entire region after being crowned King ofIsrael in 1010 BCE.

He has put together a kingdom againstall odds. Even his

enemies admit that he is God’s chosen.But this providentially endowed military and political genius, poet, spiritual, harpist, sportsman, and dancer is beset by tragedy. This husband of eight carefully chosen wives and father of seventeen children has proven to be a less than satisfactory father and husband, and while called upon to be the first to create a kingdom for God on earth, has incurred wrath. His is a life of faith and struggle reflected by conflicts with his God, political and military enemies, family oforigin, King Saul, wife Micah, and children Amnon, Abijah,Tamar, and Absalom.

http://www.aegallo.com/davmu.htm

A two-act musical about the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and God during the Civil War.

This musical is not well suited for people who hate gossip. Alabout morals, adultery, rumors of adultery, women’s roles in Washington Society, the quasi downfall of the Jackson Administration in the 1830s, infidelity, and the most beautiful woman in Washington history. Through 79 years she goes though three husbands raises even more eyebrows when she marries in her late fifties, and spends her last days reminiscing and defending her morality.

A short two act drama. Jonathan was the eldest son of King Saul ,the closest friend of King David. Jonathan is one of the most tragic,well meaning, and loyal leaders in the Judeo-Christian Tradition. This two act drama examines the life of one of the noblest and most tragic characters in the Western literary tradition.

This Surrealistic drama looks at the life of Robert Todd Lincoln, oldest and only surviving son of President Lincoln. We examine Mr, Lincoln's life both as man caught in the mainstream of human tragedy and suffering but who still triumphed to make a contribution to the land he loved so well not as Able Lincoln's son but as Robert Todd Lincoln, statesman and business man.

A two-act drama about the assassination of the editor of LeFigaro newspaper by the wife of France's former prime minister. The trial of the twentieth century. Fact- based

two act drama about two young AmericansS in Rome and an elite set of aristocrats, known both mockingly and respectfully as the Cabala. They all have wealth and a burning desire to turn back the clock; to reinstate Kings in Europe’s republics, with the Kings divine right to rule A full of witty observations and satire on class, etiquette and the ludicrous pretentions of Europe’s old aristocracies, it also carries a thought provoking philosophy on the nature of religion and Gods. Gods of all sorts come and go and with it the power they give and lose to the followers of that God.

​​​​​ANTHONY E. GALLO
agallo2368@verizon.net 202 544 6973

MR. MORRIS! MR. MORRIS!

A Two-Act Historic Drama

By Anthony E. Gallo

Founding Father Robert Morris showed he was an entrepreneur when the newly arrived 13-year-old British immigrant single-handedly purchased flour in Philadelphia and exported it to England at triple the price. He died in poverty at age 74 after speculating on 6 million acres of American land to be sold to French settlers who never did arrived. In the meantime, he became America's Founding Financial Father, the richest man in the new world, signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation. and the U.S. Constitution. As Superintendent of Finance he financed the American Revolution. Morris was, next to General George Washington, the most powerful man in America.

He took charge of financing and procurement for the American Revolution by bolstering the value of otherwise valueless currencies of the colonies and the Continental Congress, raising taxes, borrowing from the French and Dutch, privateering (pirating British vessels) In the process, he acquired the gratitude of the new Nation, and the support of George Washington, John Adams and but others including Thomas Jefferson, Arthur Lee, much of the press and Thomas Paine felt the Robert Morris did not fiancé the Revolutionary War. Instead the Revolutionary War financed Robert Morris.
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Anthony E. Gallo 202 544 6973 agallo2368@verizon.net

CAST

Robert Morris

Mary White Morris

Bishop White

Thomas Jefferson

Martha washington

John Adams

Abigail Adams

James Monroe

James Madison

Abigail Madison

Thomas Paine

Benjamin Franklin

Arthur Lee

Silas Dean

Henry Laurens

Governeur Morris

Polly Morris

Thomas Morris

George Washington

Polly Morris

Thomas Willet

Mr. Morris! Mr. Morris examines the life of Founding Father Robert Morris, whom President George Washington called the Nation's Financial Father and Founding Capitalist of the United States, and credited with being a major force in winning the War of Independence. Washington, Franklin, and Hamilton said he financed the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson, Arthur Lee and others argue that the Revolutionary War financed Robert Morris.

This two-act drama examines the life of Germany's leading theologian of all time. One out of every ten Protestants today is a Lutheran , as is one of out of every 20 Christians And the play asks if he had more in common with Osama Bin Laden than with Jesus of Nazareth. This play is about hate, and ignoring Jesus great commndent: Love your neighbor with your whole heart and soul.

eathcliff (yes, that one) has become the world’s richest

and most powerful man and now lives mostly in America. He is a trillionaire.

He loves his 48 bedroom cottage (Thrushmont Grange) in Theme Music

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, one of nearly forty homes he owns

around the world.

The well protected cottage has twenty servants, and of course

his trusted butler, Hindley but he is more than just a servant, and they

both share a dead wife. Mr. Heatcliff’s great joy is wife Cathy,

who although dead many years, is still with him although he has been married

four times. Some pompous music for Heathcliff

Poor Heathcliff faces incessant demands made on his time by

nearly all world political and financial leaders. He even considers

the President of the United States, prime ministers of Great Britain, Germany, Japan, France, and China, and the Pope as pests.

He hires a special assistant, one humble Nellie Smith who is also on a spiritual journey, as a personal assistant. Wait till you find out about her. Oh well.And then the fireworks begin.

A distant biological cousin, Guru Kasun, a complicated and perhaps questionable man admired by the world, visits. Heathcliff’s mother, who is neither biological nor adopted also comes into the picture. They both complicate matters

The play is not well suited for people who hate gossip.
This historically based drama two act drama by Antony E. Gallo is all about morals, adultery, rumors of adultery, women’s roles in Washington Society, the quasi downfall of the Jackson Administration in the 1830s, infidelity, and the most beautiful woman in Washington history. Through 79 years she goes though three husbands raises even more eyebrows when she marries in her late fifties, and spends her last days reminiscing and defending her morality.

Some say she was the most beautiful woman in Washington Power’s history. Others say the most immoral. Others say the most abrasive. All agree on one thing. She and her husband, The US secretary of the army, former Army Major, and then Secretary of Defense for Andrew Jackson, created more controversy than any other power couple in power Washington’s Political history. And no one has yet figured out what was the truth.

The daughter of owners of the Franklin Inn in Washington, Margaret O’Neal Timberlake Eaton Buchignani came to know Washington at birth. A stunningly attractivewoman,she becomes a major influence at the White House following death of President Jackson’s beloved Rachel. She marries Senator John Eaton of Tennessee who is about to become the Secretary of the Army. But the Cabinet wives did not like her, and began the "Petticoat Affair."

The play dispels any notion that Washington was once a kinder, gentler city. CHARACTERS

This two act dramedy traces the historically significant relationship between Abraham Lincoln, his very closest friend Joshua Fry Speed and law partner William H.(Billy) Herndon from 1837 to1891, 26 years after the Lincoln assassination. Both Herndon and Speed were to play important roles in the legacy of the 16th President of the United States. Oh yes, the Springfield Girls also have their say. And the boys even help one another on their roads to marriage. But how did the pro-slavery Speed, who shared a bed with Lincolnfor four years, help to preserve the Union? And how did he deal with Mr. Lincoln’s blue periods? And why did Mr. Lincoln choose this man as his only complete friend ever? Interestingly, where is the Bible Mr. Speed’s mother gave to young Mr. Lincoln (during one of his blue periods) located today? No one showed greater political allegiance to Mr. Lincoln than Billy, who wrote one of only two eyewitness biographers of the tragic President. Lincoln assistants John Hay and John Nicolai’s biography is universally dismissed as too hagiographic.
But Billy’s innumerable eye- popping but questionable assertions about Lincoln and his family have influenced thousands of Lincoln biographers from Carl Sandburg and Ida Tarbell to David Donald. But was Mr. Lincoln really a free thinking agnostic? Was he illegitimate? Other claims were even more shocking. Did Mr. Herndon forever malign Mary . Lincoln because of their mutual hatred(He-“She dances like a serpent”/ She-“An uncouth drunkard”) ? r

This two-drama examines the complex life of Christianity's second leading theological

architect, superseded e only by Jesus of Nazareth. The play traces Paul’s

condemnations ofthe new Jewish Cult to his role as chief apostle and deathfor

the the new cult he has joined. Saul of Tarsus is Jerusalem’s most prosperous tentmaker. He is a loved and

cherished citizen of Israel and Rome, a Pharisee, a righteous man, a great athlete

runner a lover ofthe law, and an eligible bachelor. He obeys the law.

He is an outstanding citizen. He is charitable. He is patriotic. And he is zealous

in all of these pursuits. Israel is a trouble country under Roman domination. But Pal is respected wherever he goes. He will fight unto death the honor of his Roman Citizenship and Jewish Heritage. He isgenerous to a fault. He is handsome, rugged. Lately his public service is totally dedicated to stamping out a dangerous element in Jewish society, a cult of Judaism founded by a formerly troubled youth named Jesus of Nazareth. These lunatics are followers of a fraudulent megalomaniac who claimed he was God and executed for treason.

Charlotte Butler, raises thousands of flowers to the hum of classical music, cultivates birds, plays championship bridge, ballroom dances daily, sometimes cleans her own house, and spars with both her parrot Jacob and flighty neighbor Ginny(Gin) Middleton. Gin's latest flame is the distinguished former New Hampshire Senator Mark Smythe, now a Logan Street resident, who appears to have a curious interest in Charlotte. When Gin has to cancel one of their dates because of an emergency in Savannah, Mark slips in and visits Charlotte. We then learn that the visit is more than a mere curiosity, as we find out that these two bizarre people have much in common. She makes him accompany her to St Philips' Cemetery at night where they encounter someone she does not want to see.

Only four bizarre and confused characters appear in this two-act drama about a cruise on a small exclusive cruise ship, The Botticelli, which sails around the east coast of Africa along the warm Indian Ocean. Bernard late forties, is taking his twelfth cruise. Bergthora “Boo” Brodersen, Boo ( , now on her tenth cruise, early forties five times married likes her gin. cognac, scotch, bourbon martinis, but anything will do. And Arthur the accommodating Somali waiter is very obliging toward both. They seem to like him too. Bernard proclaims he’s more than one person. She enjoys being on deck and reading her favorite novelist and philosophic guru, J. B. Roehard. Bernard likes her legs. Arthur seems secretive. They cruise toward dangerous ports facing revolutions, terrorists, and pirates. All rumors of course. And then there is that Captain Botticelli

ighty years ago, Charleston matron Charlotte Butler made a decision that

changed the world. Tonight she faces that decision in her home and under

the stars in St. Philips Cemetery.

This two-act mystery-comedy takes place on Logan Street in the heart of the renowned Charleston Historic district. Charlotte Butler, raises thousands of flowers to the hum of classical music, cultivates birds, plays championship bridge, ballroom dances daily, sometimes cleans her own house, and spars with both her parrot Jacob and flighty neighbor Ginny(Gin) Middleton. Gin's latest flame is the distinguished former New Hampshire Senator Mark Smythe, now a Logan Street resident, who appears to have a curious interest in Charlotte. When Gin has to cancel one of their dates because of an emergency in Savannah, Mark slips in and visits Charlotte. We then learn that the visit is more than a mere curiosity, as we find out that these two bizarre people have much in common. She makes him accompany her to St Philips' Cemetery at night where they encounter someone she does not want to see.

Running Time: 68 minutes

Margherita Sarfatti and Benito Mussolini, (Il Duce), former lovers, meet after a three-year separation. A masked Il Duce suddenly appears at her door as she attempts to leave the country. Why such a visit now, at such a late hour?

Through a series of mysterious events he plays with her mind. He knows what she wants - to get quietly and safely out of Italy. She is well aware of what he wants- the 1300 intimate letters he sent her during their 25-year affair. Letters which, in the wrong hands, could have changed the shape of history

In the early 1890’s, steel tycoon George McMurtry, tries to produce a unique marriage between architecture and industrialism to build a workingman's paradise in southwestern Pennsylvania. But his goal is also to destroy strikers and keep compliant workers happy. He hires Frederick Law Olmsted, the Nation's preeminent architect, to design the town of Vandergrift, named after his partner, Captain Jacob J. Vandergrift. Ida Tarbell, who will someday expose J. D. Rockefeller, is intrigued by the idea and visits the town. She and McMurtry clash over his flawed idealism and her subconscious biases. She revisits the town many times over the next half a century, each time reexamining her own and McMurtry’s ideals as the Nation goes through wars, depressions, the New Deal, the Union movement, and the final collapse of the steel industry.

​​​​​ANTHONY E. GALLO
agallo2368@verizon.net 202 544 6973
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LINCOLN AND GOD:
THE STAGE PLAY
BY ANTHONY E. GALLO

VIEW ENTIRE PRODUCTION AT GREENBELT ARTS CENTER 2012

Abraham Lincoln is the only American President who did not claim church membership. This two-act

drama examines the complex relationship between the Nation’s sixteenth President and his God during

the Civil War. Lincoln’s three -fold messianic intentions during his entire presidency are to remove

the scar of slavery from the sacred Constitution, preserve the Union, and unite the Nation. “I am an

accidental instrument of God’s will. ” And the American people are “God’s almost chosen people.”

And were the incredible oratorical skills of this self-educated man a sign of the Divine Will?

This Messianic fervor however is tempered by the fact that both North and South thought that they were fulfilling that divine Mission. “God wills this contest,’ he often said, implying that the victor in the battle carried God’s favor. Abraham Lincoln says “With my own ability I can not succeed without the sustenance of both Divine Providence and of this great free happy and intelligent people. Without these, I can not succeed, with them I can not fail.” The man at the center of this drama once said “Political sermons from the pulpit and religious speeches from the soap box don’t work for me. No President should wear his religion on his sleeves. No clergy should wear his political beliefs on his robe. “Yet he rarely withheld biblical quotations in his political oratory.

Lincoln’s primary communication with God does not come from reading the Word, hearing the Word, or even Prayer, but instead through the experience. Do you hear the word of God? According to Lincoln “you must let God speak to you through your experience with every deed, dialogue and action you encounter each day. “So then the Bible is worthless” asks Reverend Phineas Gurley. “It is the most important document in the history of humanity, but only when it is read and acted upon. If I can not serve the nation, I would rather be assassinated on the spot”

The play traces his conflict with God through his defeats, triumphs, and tragedies as he heard God in the dialogue and actions of those closest to him. From his arrival in Washington dancing to the Mary Lincoln Polka to the Emancipation Proclamation and Second Inauguration, we follow the president as he clashes with other characters in the cast. He struggles with his moral decisions with Gurley. He falls upon God with the collapse of his beloved wife Mary and death of son Willie. Faithful chief of staff John “Nico” Hay wants him to do the politically and morally right thing. Lincoln must even confront depression, allegations of homosexuality, and séances. The play ends with the congregation and cast (audience) singing the final sermon in Lincoln’s hono

This play is the third in the dramatist’s Dynastic Trilogy (includes The Agony of David and The Last Daysof King Solomon) of three monarchs whose legacy is still pervasive both in the Abrahamic religions and the modern secular world. As in the other two, Samuel 1, Chronicles and Josephusare the basic sources of historical memorial.

Saul was Israel’s first king, following two hundred years of being ruled by judges or seers. God, speaking through Samuel, warned against a kingship, but eventually allowed the people to have their way. This play deals with Saul’s tragic kinship. A mighty warrior who succeeded in the battlefield, Saul aroused the enmity of an already jealous Samuel because he (Saul) had disobeyed God’s Will by not killing all the Amalakites rather than just some of them. . Saul eventually looses both human and divine favor because of his character flaws. He comes into conflict with his biological son Jonathan, adopted son David (eventually king), daughter Michal and all others around him as he deals with his own melancholy and eventual destruction while creating and defending the nation of Israel.

Samuel secretly anoints a remarkable young shepherd boy, David, to be the next king. Following this downfall, life for Saul get’s worse. Samuel never speaks to him again. Saul wins battle after battle, but David outshines him in battle, even killing the ferocious giant Goliath. Saul‘s children submit tothis new warrior-fighter, poet, harpist, lover, and warrior, to Saul’s chagrin. Saul becomes depressed, and becomes melancholic. He even visits the Witches of Endor who lead him to the dead soul of Samuel, who gives Saul no comfort. Saul finally dies in battle, falling on his own sword—essentially a suicide. His sons died with him, and David becomes king.

The ingredients in this play make for intense drama more in line with the ancient Greek tragedies: murder, betrayal, power, depression, fighting, military battles, insecurity, and jealousy. All based on Samuel 1 and Josephus. Even the occult has a role in the play.

Not exactly a nice Sunday school story.

This two-act “black comedy with a little slapstick” is about doubt and faith during the latter days of King Solomon,
long-time ruler of militarily and economically powerful Israel.The legendary monarch, who
holds together a diverse Nation by shrewd domestic and foreign marriages, has lost God’s favor.
He is the laughing stock of the nation because he supposedly can not even see the temple he built
. Foreign countries wait to attack the borders, and the twelve tribes of Israel
are at odds. Division and conflict everywhere! What will become of this world?
Lust, greed, pomposity, seduction, perversion, revenge, betrayal, insanity, deception,
horses, lies, murder,drink, theft, cannabis, idolatry, political instability, and excess
wives play a role. One character thinks all this might be troublesome. Many suggest
that The Last Days of King Solomon makes for a good Midrash.

This two-act tragedy of faith and sin is totally based onthe life of David, second king of Israel, and pivotal to the two Davidic religions, Christianity and Judaism.David, once a shepherd boy and now the mighty King of Israel, rules the entire region after being crowned King of Israel in 1010 BCE. He has put together a kingdom against all odds. Even his enemies admit that he is God’s chosen.
​
But this providentially endowed military and political genius, poet, spiritual, harpist, sportsman, and dancer isbeset by tragedy. This husband of eight carefully chosen wives and father of seventeen children has proven to be a less than satisfactory father and husband, and while called upon to be the first to create a kingdom for God on earth, has incurred wrath. His is a life of faith and struggle reflected by conflicts with his God, political and military enemies, family oforigin, King Saul, wife Micah, and children Amnon, Abijah,Tamar, and Absalom. THE AGONY OF DAVID attempts to show how ultimately David must face the tragic consequences of his decisions but in the end is sustained by a remarkable faith and strength of inner character. This inner struggle is reflected in the enduring fifty psalms, which he wrote three thousand years ago.

943: This two-act drama examines forgiveness amidst three conversions. Rome's aloof and scholarly Chief Rabbi Zolli loses faith following the apparent slaughter of his Polish family during the Holocaust. He receives asylum in the Vatican, where he comes to appreciate Jesus as God suffering for humanity. The Rabbi re-finds faith and converts to Roman Catholicism. This is seen as a betrayal of his spiritual duty and a defection to the age-old enemy. Was his conversion one of conviction or merely gratitude? What does he demand at his baptism that eventually removes a major symbol of discrimination? Like Jonah, in choosing a Christian path to God, the Rabbi is faced with forgiving the slaughtering enemy. How will he meet the challenge? Then the next two conversions are as shocking as the first.