Brown, Waterston bring 19th-century lovers to life in readings of vivid letters

CORNWALL — There is always something heady about the portrayal of a true story, for the actors and the audience. Even more so when the drama is being retold in the place where it first unfolded.

Actors Blair Brown and Sam Waterston will take on the roles of Harriet Gold and Elias Boudinot, and the family members who attempted to break up the interracial couple.

Gold was a member of one of Cornwall’s founding families. She married a Cherokee man, to the shock and outrage of the community. In 1825, such a union was so scandalous, it led to the abrupt closing of one of Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School, where Boudinot had been a student.

The actors will read letters that describe the events surrounding the romance on Sept. 21 on the Cornwall Consolidated School stage. The reading is called “Our Sister Loves an Indian!,�the actual opening line of one of the letters.

The event is a fundraiser for the Cornwall Historical Society’s capital campaign.

“This is the real, no-holds-barred story,� Brown told The Journal. “These were not famous people, but ordinary people trying to live ordinary lives. Can you imagine people being burned in effigy on the town Green?

“These are intimate family letters we will be reading. They show in a very real way the prejudice and hypocrisy that existed then, and still exists everywhere in varying degrees today. It’s so relevant. I think we can still learn from it.�

Brown, who recently moved into the area, is not suggesting that Cornwall residents remain intolerant.

“I love this area,� she said. “But there is a lack of diversity that makes differences stand out. The same story happens all around the world. The greatest thing about this story is that it shows how people had a change of heart. They were open-minded enough to come around in the end, especially the clergymen who spoke out so strongly against it at first. The town got to a place where the situation was accepted. People got to the better part of themselves.�

Brown sat down with the society’s Dinny Greene, to put together the reading. Waterston, also an area resident, was “excused,� Brown said, since he was busy over the summer performing Polonius in “Hamlet� at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater.

He spoke to The Journal this week, saying he was excited about the event, but was happy to let Brown expand on the program.

“We could have done it totally plot-driven,� Brown said. “But the letters divided nicely between male and female, and we decided to read them word for word because there is so much wonderful detail. Harriet’s family was writing back and forth trying to stop the marriage, and they’d add little domestic details, like ‘Don’t forget to send enough material for my shirt collars.’ They are also a look at what life was like back then.�

Waterston, of course, can always be seen on “Law and Order.� Brown is probably best known for her Tony Award-winning role on Broadway in “Copenhagen,� and the television series, “The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,� which ran from 1987 to 1991.

Earlier this week, she returned to television as a regular cast member on the new FOX series “Fringe,� playing a corporate executive. “I’m still not sure if she’s good or bad,� Brown said of her character.

She is also not sure why director J.J. Abrams (“Lost�) approached her for the role, but it may have something to do with the 1980 film “Altered States.� It was Brown’s first major role.

“He told me ‘Fringe’ is based on the movie. It has the same sort of big concepts, such as the nature of reality and the meaning of life.�

Tickets are $25 in advance at the Cornwall Library, The Wandering Moose Café or by calling 860-672-6191. Tickets will also be available at the door for $30.