College of The Albemarle (COA) is pleased to host a reading of the acclaimed play “Adopt a Sailor” by Charles Evered on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. in the COA Performing Arts Center. The reading is part of a tour benefiting the Evered House, a nonprofit artist residency for those who serve, including veterans, first responders, front-line workers, etc. The Evered House program began in California and moved to Virginia last year. The future house site is located in Port Haywood, Virginia.
The tour was launched in California in the spring of 2018. It covered ten states in total, pausing due to the pandemic. The tour will officially restart with the reading scheduled at College of the Albemarle – Elizabeth City on October 19th. The event will begin at 5:00 p.m., with doors opening at 4:00 p.m. It is free and open to the public – donations for the Evered House will be accepted. College of The Albemarle Student Theatre (COAST) will participate in the reading.
According to information provided by writer/director Charles Evered,
“Adopt a Sailor” was written by the residency’s founder and president, writer/director Charles Evered. The residency program is dedicated to his father, Charles J. Evered, who served in World War II and died in 1979. The playwright himself served in the United States Navy Reserves, reaching the rank of Lieutenant.
“Adopt a Sailor” was first performed as a ten-minute play at Town Hall in New York City in September of 2002 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. It was initially published as a short play by Samuel French. In 2006, Evered was commissioned to write a longer version of the play which premiered off-Broadway in New York City in 2007. It was subsequently published that same year by Broadway Play Publishing of New York City. The rights to the play were sold and it was adapted into a screenplay in 2008 by Evered, who also directed the film. The film stars Emmy winners Peter Coyote and Bebe Neuwirth as well as Ethan Peck. “Adopt a Sailor” made its West Coast premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, going on to screen at more than twenty national and international film festivals and winning several awards. It made its network premiere on Showtime, where it ran for more than a year. It continues to screen on Amazon Prime and several other platforms. Actors who have appeared in the play include Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Irving, Anne Jackson, Eli Wallach, Liev Schreiber, Sam Waterston, Luke Perry and Matthew Modine. Olympia Dukakis, Michael Nouri, Len Cariou, Kirk Geiger, Josh Radnor and Scott Cohen among others.
Playwright Evered will participate in Q&As at each of the tour stops in order to answer any questions about the play, the house, or the man it is named after. Signed copies of the play will be available, with proceeds to benefit the Evered House.
Additional information on the Evered House or Charles Evered is available at www.EveredHouse.org and www.CharlesEvered.com.
For event or COA-related information, please contact Tammy W. Sawyer, COA Director of Communications and Marketing, at [email protected] or 252.335.0821 ext. 2420.