Franklin Stage Company presents Toliver and Wakeman

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The Franklin Stage Company (FSC) will present two staged readings of a new play by Kyle Bass entitled Toliver and Wakeman. 

Set at the start of the American Civil War, Toliver and Wakemen theatricalizes the Civil War experiences of two actual historical characters from two backgrounds who both lived in Delaware County. 

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, a young white woman born in Bainbridge, disguised herself as a man and mustered into the Union Army - the 153rd New York State Volunteers - using the alias Lyons Wakeman. 

Toliver Holmes was a young black man born into slavery in Virginia who escaped to New York, changed his name to avoid capture, and mustered into the Union Army’s 26th Regiment of Colored Troops, later settling in Delhi. 

The play is an exploration of what two very different characters have in common, as each has escaped something they find untenable and each has cloaked their true identity before joining the Union Army; and each is looking to define freedom on their own terms. 

The readings will take place Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. Both presentations will include an audience talkback following the reading. For more information or to reserve seats, visit www.franklinstagecompany.org or call 607-829-3700.