From This Day Forward
BY COREY CARROLL
news@morganton.com

VALDESE — During the long evenings of summer, ripe with the flurry of mosquitos and quenching showers of a passing storm, when most people are returning from the pool or heading to the ballfield for a dose of America’s pastime, the Old Colony Players prepare for battle. Not only do they prepare for battle but also for heartbreak, treachery and sacrifice on a very real scale. It is up to them to bring to life the tragic but gripping tale of the Waldenses of Valdese.

“The play is community, it brings people together. It allows people of Waldensian heritage to know that people are interested in their culture,” says Seth King, who doubles in the play as John Rostan, a physician and eventual leader of the Waldensian community in Act I, and Mr. Snipes, a lovable country bumpkin in Act II.

The first act takes place in the Cottian Alps of northwest Italy where the Waldenses begin their tumultuous struggle for freedom of worship against King Louis XIV of France and his sadistic soldiers led by Captain Gabriel. King Louis is determined not to let Protestant beliefs seep into Catholic-driven France. As a result he orders the Duke of Savoy to end the matter. By any means necessary.

Along with playing a love struck John Long in Act II, Dalton Dale also portrays a violent second soldier in Act I.

“The struggle the Waldenses face really relates to people in a way that invokes sympathy,” Dale says. “Whether it is high gas prices or whatever it is that seems to bog people down as far as the feeling of being dominated or ruled by something out of your control.”

Act II follows the story of the Waldenses’ journey to this hilly and rocky land 200 years later. Led by Dr. Charles Albert Tron, the Waldenses face many difficulties as they adjust to life in the new world. Complete with mental breakdowns, budding love stories and humble new neighbors the Waldensians learn to persevere and establish a bustling settlement.

Director John Hogan explains the significance of the act. “Act II shows how the town was founded, it shows hope when there was no hope.”

The play opened on July 7 and will run every Friday and Saturday evening until Aug. 12.

People of all heritages and cultures will experience the faith shown by an upright people. Cries of mercy will fill the air and the flames of hate will lick the starry sky. But when the smoke clears, what is left will tug at your heart and send chills down your arms. A small southern town built on the foundation of hope everlasting.