Cross and Sword was a 1965 play by American playwright Paul Green created to honor the 400th anniversary of the settlement of St. Augustine. It was Florida's official state play, having received the designation by the Florida Senate in 1973.[1] It was performed for ten weeks every summer in St. Augustine for more than 30 years, closing in 1996.[2][3][4]
The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green created a play in 1937 about Walter Raleigh's Roanoke Colony entitled Lost Colony. It was written as a "symphonic drama" blending music, dance, pantomime, and poetic dialogue into a larger-than-life historical play. In 1965 Green was commissioned to write a play commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine.[2][3][5] The play was to be performed at the newly constructed, 2,000 seat St. Augustine Amphitheatre. The result was Cross and Sword: A Symphonic Drama of the Spanish Settlement of Florida.[6] The play is a musical reenactment depicting Florida's early history at St. Augustine, especially its colonization by Spaniard Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his settlers' bloody conflicts with French Huguenots at Fort Caroline in present-day Jacksonville.
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Production for Cross and Sword, with its large cast and elaborate costumes and props, was expensive.[7] For many years, costs were partially subsidized by the state. However, changes to state rules led to a decrease in funding. Faced with a decreased budget and an aging theater in need of renovation, Cross and Sword lobbied for $27,000 from the state Division of Cultural Affairs in 1997, but the proposal was rejected. After the 1996 season, the production closed.[7] In 2002, St. Johns County acquired and renovated the amphitheater, turning it into a concert venue.[2]
Referencesedit
^Florida State Symbols - The State Play: Cross and Sword June 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ abcde Yampert, Rick (2008-08-21). "Amped at the amphitheatre". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2008-09-07. [dead link]
^ abFlorida's Lost Tourist Attractions: Cross and Sword
April 14, 2024
cross, sword, 1965, play, american, playwright, paul, green, created, honor, 400th, anniversary, settlement, augustine, florida, official, state, play, having, received, designation, florida, senate, 1973, performed, weeks, every, summer, augustine, more, than. Cross and Sword was a 1965 play by American playwright Paul Green created to honor the 400th anniversary of the settlement of St Augustine It was Florida s official state play having received the designation by the Florida Senate in 1973 1 It was performed for ten weeks every summer in St Augustine for more than 30 years closing in 1996 2 3 4 Cross and SwordWritten byPaul GreenCharactersPedro Menendez Philip II Jean RibaultDate premieredJune 27 1965 1965 06 27 Place premieredSt Augustine Amphitheatre St Augustine FloridaOriginal languageEnglishOriginal run1965 1996SubjectReenactment of the founding of St AugustineGenreHistoricalSettingSt Augustine FloridaBeginning editThe Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paul Green created a play in 1937 about Walter Raleigh s Roanoke Colony entitled Lost Colony It was written as a symphonic drama blending music dance pantomime and poetic dialogue into a larger than life historical play In 1965 Green was commissioned to write a play commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of St Augustine 2 3 5 The play was to be performed at the newly constructed 2 000 seat St Augustine Amphitheatre The result was Cross and Sword A Symphonic Drama of the Spanish Settlement of Florida 6 The play is a musical reenactment depicting Florida s early history at St Augustine especially its colonization by Spaniard Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his settlers bloody conflicts with French Huguenots at Fort Caroline in present day Jacksonville End editProduction for Cross and Sword with its large cast and elaborate costumes and props was expensive 7 For many years costs were partially subsidized by the state However changes to state rules led to a decrease in funding Faced with a decreased budget and an aging theater in need of renovation Cross and Sword lobbied for 27 000 from the state Division of Cultural Affairs in 1997 but the proposal was rejected After the 1996 season the production closed 7 In 2002 St Johns County acquired and renovated the amphitheater turning it into a concert venue 2 References edit Florida State Symbols The State Play Cross and Sword Archived June 7 2008 at the Wayback Machine a b c de Yampert Rick 2008 08 21 Amped at the amphitheatre Daytona Beach News Journal Online Retrieved 2008 09 07 dead link a b Reinink Amy 2008 08 22 St Augustine gets amped Ocala Star Banner Retrieved 2008 09 07 Rajtar Steve Kelly Goodman 2008 A Guide to Historic St Augustine Florida The History Press pp 52 53 ISBN 978 1 59629 336 6 permanent dead link St Augustine Amphitheatre Venue Specs Archived 2008 12 19 at the Wayback Machine Paul Green Bibliography a b Florida s Lost Tourist Attractions Cross and Sword Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cross and Sword amp oldid 1214477721, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
