Bea[u]tiful in the Extreme
A World Premiere
By
Leon Martell

(Left to Rright) Kenneth Martines, Patrick Huey, Jonathan Palmer,
Tony Maggio, Andrew David James, Tom Dugan, Kevin Symons, Blaise Messinger

TIME & PLACE
The play takes place primarily in the mind of Meriwether Lewis.

ACT I - A flatboat on the Mississippi River, 1809.
ACT II - A cabin at Grinder's Mill on the Natchez Trace, a few days later.

Bea[u]tiful in the Extreme was originally commissioned and developed
by
A.S.K. Theatre Projects.
 

The Title is From Meriwether Lewis's descriptions of the Great Plains. There were no standerdized spellings at the time. The editor of his journals added the "u" to beautiful.
 
 

HISTORICAL NOTES Of Courage undaunted, possessing a firmness and perseverance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from it's direction, careful as a father of those committed to his charge, yet steady in the maintenance of order and discipline, intimate with the Indian character, customs and principles, habituated to the hunting life, guarded by exact observation of the vegetables and animals of his own country, honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound understanding and a fidelity to truth so scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves, with all these qualifications as if selected and implanted by nature in one body, for this express purpose, I could have no hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him.    -- Thomas Jefferson     AUTHOR'S THANKS This play was commissioned by A.S.K. Theater Projects, for which the playwright is very grateful. He is also grateful to the staff of A.S. K. Theater Projects for their continual support of the work.  He also wishes to thank the many theater groups who organized readings while the play was in process including Plymouth, where members gave voice to the play in it's earliest stages; The Road Theater; Echo Theater; Theater of NOTE; Circle X; and The Oasis Theater Company, who produced the workshop of Act One in the A.S.K. Common Ground Festival, dircted by Allison Narver. Megan Monaghan, director Wendy Knox, dramaturge Gavin Witt, and everyone at the Minneapolis Playwrights Center summer of 2001. My wife, Elizabeth Ruscio, who has put up with even more than the usual playwright's partner - driving the route from Fort Clatsop to Fort Mandan and back. Kathy and Mike Wilson who have been patrons of my work. David Rose and Barbara Beckley for considerable dramatugical help, and Wayne Liebman for championing this play. It's been an epic process with an army of talented actors, directors, and crew people lending their energy, and  I am grateful to them all.

This production was made possible by the kindness and generosity of:

Frans Klinkenberg, Angstrom Stage Lighting, Bardwell's on the Boulevard, Center Trust, Doug Haverty, Art + Soul, Designs, Dave Peace, Litewerks, Jan McElwee, The McElwee Group, Salvador Palacios, California Lighting & Power, Mi Piace, Melinda Scott, Wadler Data Systems, and special thanks to SEARS, Media City Center