SPRINGFIELD — It is sometimes easy to forget the role Springfield played in the American Revolutionary War and the city’s ties to Gen. Henry Knox.
But playwright and director Vana Nespor of Springfield Community Theater of MA is not going to let that happen.
Learning of the 250th anniversary of Henry Knox’s daring “Noble Train of Artillery,” a 300-mile winter expedition that began in December 1775, Nespor — along with composer Clifton (Jerry) Noble — penned “For Love! For Liberty,” a musical that explores Knox’s challenges in hauling tons of captured artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston in January 1776. The achievement helped secure one of the Continental Army’s first strategic victories.
Premiering Sunday at 52 Sumner, in conjunction with area America 250 and Knox Trail 250 celebrations, with two showtimes, 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., Nespor pays homage to Knox, his wife Lucy, and the Springfield Armory which he founded, by placing the show at a present-day reenactment presented to a questioning group of students.
Nespor said when writing “For Love! For Liberty!” it was important for her to have Springfield families — both adults and children — be part of the play.
“I came up with the idea of having a bunch of middle school students, who won a contest, visiting the Springfield Armory. While there, they find themselves participating in a special event involving a Revolutionary War reenactor and his wife who bring to life the story of Henry and Lucy Knox. It is serious fun. Today’s youthful energy embracing our area’s critical role in American history,” Nespor said.
The role of Henry Knox is performed by Sean Davis, of Enfield, while Lucy Knox is played by Ashley Duplessis of Chicopee. The 10 school children are played by youngsters from six area school districts, with actors ranging in age from 9 to 16. They remain on stage during the entirety of the play, singing, dancing and reacting to the scenes of Knox’s struggles.
The two-act play, including eight songs, features a variety of scenes beginning at Lake George where Knox awaits the arrival of artillery by 40 boats that have disappeared in the fog. It then follows their hazardous journey across frozen rivers and snowy mountains from the Hudson River through the Berkshire Mountains to Springfield, where the men leading the caravan disband and leave Knox on the banks of the Connecticut River. That is the moment when Springfield’s men step in to repair the carts, bring fresh horses and oxen and speed Knox along on his journey the rest of the way to Cambridge hauling 60 tons of some 59 cannons.
“Springfield is the last scene in our play where Knox utters those now famous words declaring the town ‘one of the most proper spots’ in America for the location of a national arsenal,” Nespor said.
Grayson Davidson dances to one of the musical numbers during a recent rehearsal of “For Love! For Liberty!” at 52 Sumner in Springfield. (Sophie Markham)Sophie MarkhamBefore writing the play, which she began in earnest last June, Nespor did extensive research on the lives of both Henry and Lucy, including reading historic accounts and dozens of their letters.
“It was clear in those letters that Henry was hailed as a hero for accomplishing the nearly impossible task given to him by Gen. George Washington. On the personal side, he was a fascinating character, just 26 years old when given this task, irrepressibly optimistic and charmingly humorous. Quite surprisingly, some of the accounts didn’t feel the same way about Lucy,” Nespor said.
“One author called her an ‘ice queen’ while other accounts told about how much the men loved her because she insisted on bringing food to the camps even though Henry tried to keep her from that suffering,” she said.
Equally intrigued by Lucy, Nespor noted she knew Knox’s wife needed to be a part of the story. She wrote into the play the letters of encouragement Lucy sent to her husband while out in the field, as well as devoting an entire scene to her when her father throws her out of the house because he didn’t approve of her marrying Henry.
“I wanted to take the audience between the lines in those letters to showcase how much the war cost not only the men, but the women of our country. They smuggled, spied, raised food, melted their spoons into cannon balls, tended the dead and wounded, many times while pregnant and nursing,” Nespor said.
Regarding the lyrics to the songs, Nespor noted the lyrics for the children were the most fun to write.
“The young present-day boys are all bravado when they rap about how they would ‘Take Them Out,’ insisting they would have simply kicked out the British, and the girls respond with their own rap song insisting it was a hard long painful war and that we not forget ‘Her Story,’ which talks about the contributions of the women who too often get left out of the history books,” she added.
Other standout songs include “Step into the Story,” when at the beginning of the play the kids invite themselves and the audience into the story of Knox; “I Stand Beside Him,” Lucy’s song of defiance to her father when she is thrown out of their home, and “For Love! For Liberty!” the title song by Henry and his men when they almost give up on top of the Berkshires.
When it came to putting life into her lyrics through song, Nespor turned to Noble for help.
“I was introduced to Jerry through a friend and was blown away by his creativity and music. What a talent,” Nespor said.
Vana Nespor, founder and executive director of the Springfield Community Theater of MA, goes over lines at one of the last rehearsals for “For Love! For Liberty!” at 52 Sumner in Springfield. (Sophie Markham)Sophie MarkhamNoble is a composer, arranger and pianist who, from 1987 until his retirement in 2020, served as a collaborative pianist for Smith College choral ensembles, students, and faculty as the staff accompanist in the Smith Music Department. He has produced original works and arrangements for a broad range of vocal and instrumental ensembles and soloists, and his music has been performed by acclaimed artists throughout the United States and internationally.
Noble said that he and Nespor approached the musical end of the play “the old-fashioned way.”
“She sent me lyrics the way Bernie Taupin used to do with Elton John and I would write the music and send her a recording for her approval or any changes. It was a very fast process and I write fast. We didn’t really plunge into it until Vana was done with directing ‘Annie’ at the end of the summer, then we finished the project in about two months,” Noble said.
“The music is a mixture of a lot of things because of the lyrics Vana sent me. Obviously, it is a Revolutionary War tale, but there is a dual timeline with the kids visiting the Armory and becoming part of the story. So, you will hear a type of Marshall music (brisk marching music suitable for military troops) and for the kids I wrote hip hop beats. Lin-Manuel Miranda set a high bar for writing when using rap in Broadway theater. I felt as if I could never come close to his work, but I was going to certainly try,” he added about the accomplishment.
Tickets to the play, available online at 52sumner.com, are $19 for adults and $10 for children.
52 Sumner, part of Springfield Performing Arts Ventures Inc., offers live music and other entertainment, and serves as the home for Springfield Community Theater of Western MA, at the old church at 52 Sumner Ave. in the city’s Forest Park neighborhood.