Gen. Grant comes to life at Anna Arts Center during Civil War Weekend
Dan Haughey of Moline plans to present his one-person portrayal of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on Saturday morning, Feb. 9, at the Shawnee Hills Arts Council’s Anna Arts Center in Anna.
Haughey’s portrayal of Grant will be one of the programs featured during a Civil War Weekend which is planned at the arts center.
Haughey’s presentation, “Mr. U.S. Grant: A Man and a Patriot,” is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the arts center. The arts center is located at 125 W. Davie St.
Admission is free. A short question-and-answer session is planned following the performance.
Haughey is one of five guest speakers who are scheduled to speak at the Civil War Weekend.
Haughey is a speech-theatre professor emeritus at Black Hawk College in Moline and Galva, as well as a professional actor.
“Mr. U.S. Grant: A Man and a Patriot” focuses on Grant’s early life, his time as a citizen in Illinois, and his rise to Civil War fame.
Haughey’s appearance is cosponsored by the Anna Arts Center and the Illinois Humanities’ Road Scholars program.
Haughey is a teaching artist. He earned a master of fine arts degree in playwrighting and play production at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
He studied acting at the Florida State University Asolo Conservatory for Professional Actor Training.
At SIUC, Haughey studied Civil War history with the late Dr. John Y. Simon, the former executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association. He also studied historical drama and playwrighting with Dr. Christian Moe.
Haughey has presented “Mr. U.S. Grant” at schools, museums and Civil War venues throughout the United States, including the National Park Service, the War Memorial Museum of Virginia, the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, the University Museum at SIUC, the Market House in Galena. Grant’s Civil War era home is in Galena.
Haughey recently performed as U. S. Grant for the National Park Service in celebration of its 100-year anniversary at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis.
Charles Bracelen Flood, the author of the book “Grant and Sherman” and the award-winning “Lee: The Last Years,” says of Haughey’s performance: “...I felt that it was an original and exceedingly worthwhile portrayal of a much misunderstood, underestimated man. This is fine theatre: this is Grant as he really was.”
The Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Illinois General Assembly, through the Illinois Arts Council, as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations.