Soap stars re-create trial of anti-war 'Catonsville 9'Judith Salkin
The Desert Sun
On May 17, 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war, a dedicated group of Catholic anti-war activists broke into the Selective Service office in Catonsville, Md. Once inside, they gathered up hundreds of files, took them to the parking area and doused them with homemade napalm, destroying the draft information of 378 young men. The band of conscientious objectors included Father Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest; his brother, Father Phillip Berrigan, a Josephite priest; David Darst, a Christian brother; Marjorie Bradford Melville, former Maryknoll nun and her husband, Thomas Melville, a former Maryknoll priest; Mary Moylan, another former nun; artist Tom Lewis; John Hogan and George Mische. In the trial that followed that October, all nine were found guilty of destroying property of the United States and interfering with the Selective Service Act of 1967. The actions of the "Catonsville 9" were seen by some as a call to action to accelerate the end of the war. Heroes to some; anarchists to others. Throughout the trial, Daniel Berrigan took notes and eventually turned their story into a play written in free verse. This weekend, Desert Hot Springs resident and soap star Judith Chapman presents two performances of "The Trial of the Catonsville 9" at the Palm Canyon Theatre in Palm Springs. Calling from the makeup room at CBS studios in Los Angeles, where she plays Gloria Fisher Abbot on "The Young and the Restless," Chapman said she's excited about bringing "Catonsville" to the desert. "When I saw Tim Robbins' production last summer, I knew I wanted to do it in the desert," she says. "We're sold out for Saturday and about a third sold for the Sunday performance." Proceeds from the limited run will benefit Kiva.org, an Internet-based organization that gives micro-loans to people in Third World countries. For Chapman, the play's themes of civil disobedience and conscientious objection to war are as applicable today as during Vietnam. "Daniel Berrigan believed that truth rules the world and the world is exhaustively good," she said. To cast the production, which she is also directing, Chapman reeled in a who's who of daytime television stars that features eight of her "The Young and the Restless" castmates, including Vincent Irizarry, Christian LeBlanc, Emily O'Brien, Eyal Podell, Greg Rikaart, Michelle Stafford and Kristoff St. John. Other stars include Palm Desert resident John Callahan (Edmund Grey on "All My Children") and Ron Hale (Mike Corbin on "General Hospital"). Adding to the production's authenticity are a number of historical figures involved in the real Catonsville incident who will be on hand to talk to the audience before each performance, including Marjorie Melville and Philip Sandhouse, a friend of Daniel Berrigan. For Chapman, the whole reason for bringing the play back to the stage is to express her voice. "I feel so passionate about this," Chapman says. "Everyone needs to see this play; they need to stand up let people know we need to stop jeopardizing innocent lives. We need to say stop."
Link (here)
On May 17, 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war, a dedicated group of Catholic anti-war activists broke into the Selective Service office in Catonsville, Md. Once inside, they gathered up hundreds of files, took them to the parking area and doused them with homemade napalm, destroying the draft information of 378 young men. The band of conscientious objectors included Father Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest; his brother, Father Phillip Berrigan, a Josephite priest; David Darst, a Christian brother; Marjorie Bradford Melville, former Maryknoll nun and her husband, Thomas Melville, a former Maryknoll priest; Mary Moylan, another former nun; artist Tom Lewis; John Hogan and George Mische. In the trial that followed that October, all nine were found guilty of destroying property of the United States and interfering with the Selective Service Act of 1967. The actions of the "Catonsville 9" were seen by some as a call to action to accelerate the end of the war. Heroes to some; anarchists to others. Throughout the trial, Daniel Berrigan took notes and eventually turned their story into a play written in free verse. This weekend, Desert Hot Springs resident and soap star Judith Chapman presents two performances of "The Trial of the Catonsville 9" at the Palm Canyon Theatre in Palm Springs. Calling from the makeup room at CBS studios in Los Angeles, where she plays Gloria Fisher Abbot on "The Young and the Restless," Chapman said she's excited about bringing "Catonsville" to the desert. "When I saw Tim Robbins' production last summer, I knew I wanted to do it in the desert," she says. "We're sold out for Saturday and about a third sold for the Sunday performance." Proceeds from the limited run will benefit Kiva.org, an Internet-based organization that gives micro-loans to people in Third World countries. For Chapman, the play's themes of civil disobedience and conscientious objection to war are as applicable today as during Vietnam. "Daniel Berrigan believed that truth rules the world and the world is exhaustively good," she said. To cast the production, which she is also directing, Chapman reeled in a who's who of daytime television stars that features eight of her "The Young and the Restless" castmates, including Vincent Irizarry, Christian LeBlanc, Emily O'Brien, Eyal Podell, Greg Rikaart, Michelle Stafford and Kristoff St. John. Other stars include Palm Desert resident John Callahan (Edmund Grey on "All My Children") and Ron Hale (Mike Corbin on "General Hospital"). Adding to the production's authenticity are a number of historical figures involved in the real Catonsville incident who will be on hand to talk to the audience before each performance, including Marjorie Melville and Philip Sandhouse, a friend of Daniel Berrigan. For Chapman, the whole reason for bringing the play back to the stage is to express her voice. "I feel so passionate about this," Chapman says. "Everyone needs to see this play; they need to stand up let people know we need to stop jeopardizing innocent lives. We need to say stop."
Link (here)
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