a drama of the Civil War in two acts
3m, 6w
Interior
Miss Merleen benefited from a workshop and reading May 11-15, 2005 at the Visual and Performing Arts Center in Bennington, Vermont. It was directed by Ryan C. Tittle, with lighting design by Griff Maloney and graphic design by Elizabeth Kessler. The Assistant Director was Penn Genthner. The Stage Manager was Caleb Rupp. The cast was as follows:
| Kat Yeary as | Merleen Grace |
| Gladden Schrock as | James Muldoon |
| Tom Shoemaker as | Thomas "Tracky" Anteel |
| Jennifer Rohn as | Sandy Bride |
| Lara Hoffman as | Melinda Ewell |
| Catherine Hessing as | Cassie Stewart |
| Vanessa Grasso as | Madaleine Wiltshire |
| Tara Mackey as | Claudette Pennington |
| Penn Genthner as | Reverend Elias Peters |
1863, Walstone County, Alabama. A month after the Battle of Fredericksburg. The young widow Merleen is just beginning to move on from the death of her husband, who fell at the Confederate victory. The ravaged community—just having survived a Union raid—has given their meager amounts of food and supplies to the widow. The Postmaster Muldoon, secretly in love with her, tries to take care of her. But, then the body of her husband is returned to Walstone, carrying with it secrets that threaten to destroy the small inner circle of the town, including the late Pastor's daughter Madaleine Wiltshire and a returned Confederate soldier who begins stalking Merleen, with whom he shared an affair. Merleen's past infidelities—committed as revenge for her husband's similar infidelities—bring Merleen to a state of self-shame as the idea of her husband continues to change. In preparation for the burial, the secrets continue to unravel, but Merleen's instincts for survival and hope for the future—in Muldoon—soften the blows of the internal Wars and the larger War looming just outside.