23630: (announce) Behrens: "Ghosts of Haiti" to play in Peoria

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Eric Behrens <behrens01@insightbb.com>

                                  'Ghosts of Haiti'



LOCAL JOURNALIST'S PLAY EXAMINES GRIM HISTORY OF A WAR-TORN ISLAND NATION

Peoria (IL) Journal Star

Sunday, October 24, 2004
http://www.pjstar.com/stories/102404/PLA_B4FTHRUL.027.shtml

  By CLARE HOWARD

of the Journal Star
The history, tragedy and poverty of Haiti possess Garry Moore. He can't
shake
the human despair that grips the Caribbean island nation, but Moore also
hears
the poetry of pathos.

"Haiti tugs at you," said the Peoria television journalist, who has
traveled to
the island a number of times.

"Way up in the mountains of Haiti, there are still areas without
electricity.
That endears the people to you simply because of their need. I was
familiar
with Haiti before traveling there. Travel motivated me to learn more."

And now Moore is sharing what he has learned through a play he has written
about the history of Haiti. He spent more than two years working on "The
Ghosts
of Haiti: The Untold Story of Toussaint L'Ouverture," which will be
performed
Friday and Saturday at the Apollo Fine Arts and Entertainment Centre.

"I had the first draft done by 2002. As a journalist and history buff, I
got
the history in there. Subsequent work was paring it down to get at the
poetry
of it," Moore said.


"The Ghosts of Haiti" is set inside a French dungeon where Toussaint
L'Ouverture, one of the founders of Haiti, was incarcerated by Emperor
Napoleon
Bonaparte.

Toussaint died in the dungeon in 1803.

"There is a spiritual connection here. One of Toussaint's lieutenants said
Toussaint was in pursuit of the phantom of liberty," Moore said. "'Ghosts'
(in
the play's title) is a reference to that elusive freedom."

Moore said Haiti and the United States are linked in history. Napoleon had
spent so much money fighting the Haitians for domination of the island
that he
was virtually forced to sell Thomas Jefferson the Louisiana Territory for
the
income.

"Go to history for answers. Why can't this country right itself? How can
democracy be sustained with such political instability in Haiti? Go back
to the
beginning to find out. The root of instability comes with the conception
of the
country," Moore said.

Haiti was surrounded by other European slave colonies, and Haitians under
Toussaint dared to fight for freedom, Moore said, noting that at the time
even
the United States was a slave-holding nation.

Haiti defied world norms.


"A lot of Haitians still believe their country is being penalized because
they
sought freedom," Moore said.

"Toussaint was a classic figure, a moderate who tried to play by the
rules. He
expected Haiti to remain a colony of France. He wanted slavery to be
abolished.
When France sent 20,000 troops to take back the island, Toussaint said,
'Take
back from what? Haiti is already French.'

"But Napoleon didn't want a black freedom movement. That was an affront to
all
the world."

Moore said the play includes music, dance and some traditional Haitian
songs.

He said the play is a love story and a war tragedy as well as an
examination of
Haitian history and the country's quest for freedom.

Haiti is the only nation in modern history to arise from a successful
slave
rebellion, he said.

The play will feature Peoria actors Neil Devlin, Michael Hurt and Ahavaha
Pyrtel and Champaign dancer Keonte Vernon. Other cast members include
Margie
White, Lynnda White, Chicagoan Joe Bennett, drummers Myra and Jeremy
Johnson
and dancers Ayesha Jaco and Jamilla Hunt.

Moore hopes a good reception in Peoria will help the performance travel to
Chicago and Champaign.

"I hope people come away from this play with a deeper sense of what
freedom
means," Moore said. "Answers are not simple. To solve problems, you have
to
know the history of conflict. I used to think that armed with truth,
solutions
are found. As I get older, I see that's idealism. Myths have worn a
comfortable
groove in our fabric. For some people, it's too much trouble to change."