Prominent abolitionist Albro Lyons and Mary Joseph Lyons were residents of Seneca Village. (NY Public Library)
Michael Maph
Kristina Sarro
Will Allan Jr.
More Music From “Seneca Village”: “Mix Tape” On SoundCloud
Time:
Summer and Fall - 1855
Place:
Seneca Village, New York City (now Central Park)
Cast:
· Andrew Williams – Original settler. Shoe-shine.
· Ezibell Williams – Andrew’s daughter. Teacher.
· Clare O’Connell – Irish immigrant. Midwife.
· Peter O’Connell - Clare’s son. Carpenter.
· Epiphany Davis –Son of a slave. Reverend.
· Albro Lyons – Activist. Boarding House Owner.
· Mayor, Wealthy, Police: Soundscapes and Silhouettes.
Themes:
Andrew Williams built a home, raised a family and buried a wife in Seneca Village. An original settler, now he lives with his youngest daughter, Ezibell, in the one-story house he built in 1825. By 1855, Seneca Village had grown to roughly 300 residents; two hundred free blacks and one hundred immigrants. Mostly Irish…mostly harmonious.
In Seneca Village, neighbors lend a hand to friends and strangers. Albro Lyons owns the Boarding House for African American Sailors. It is actually a stop for run-away slaves on the Underground Railroad. Everyone in the Village knows. Everybody keeps it a secret.
Clare O’Connell is Andrew’s neighbor. She’s an Irish immigrant and the village mid-wife. Her son, Peter, a carpenter, has fallen for Ezibell, who is teaching in the schoolhouse Peter built. Romance blossoms but Peter has a rival; the new preacher of the AME Zion Church, a handsome son of a slave, Boston educated, Reverend Epiphany Davis.
Andrew Williams labors daily as a shoeshine at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, on West Broadway. Since 1845, the best spit shine in Manhattan! Some patrons even give him a tip. One day, Andrew comes home to find a note on his door; an eviction notice signed by the Mayor of New York City. Everyone in the Village knew a battle was about to begin.
Background:
In 1825, downtown Manhattan was a seething stew of humanity; crowded, dirty and dangerous. Andrew Williams, a 25-year-old free black man, tired of taunts and racism decided to escape the tenements and build his own home… uptown. He bought three parcels of land, in an area that is now Central Park. After slavery was outlawed in New York in 1827 Andrew was joined by others who shared his dream. Thus, Seneca Village the first free black community in America was born.
In the 1840’s, Irish immigrants escaping famine at home found refuge in Seneca Village. Eventually, 300 people: roughly 200 African Americans and 100 Irish immigrants lived together, loved together, were baptized and buried together.
By 1850, as Manhattan expanded, the wealthy elite, politicians and the New York Herald, supported plans to build a grand city park… like London and Paris. Seneca Village was in the way. Politicians demonized it as a shanty town. The Herald cast its residents as “vagabonds, scoundrels and squatters”.
In July 1853, The Central Park Act became law. Seneca Village homes were confiscated by eminent domain. In October 1855, the clearing began, “many a brilliant and steering fight was had during the campaign. The law was applied by the policeman’s bludgeons”. Andrew Williams and his Seneca Village neighbors were forced to leave their homes, often violently, to make way for Central Park.
Seneca Village ran along the west side of what would become Central Park between 82nd and 89th streets. (NY Historical Society)
A sign commemorating the site of Seneca Village was dedicated in 2001.
About The Composers:
Frank Cuthbert, a composer and singer-songwriter has performed in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville with a diverse group of artists ranging from the Talking Heads to Tanya Tucker. During the punk scene in NewYork his band Dakota was signed to CBS records. From 1996-1998, he was musical director for Shakespeare on the Hudson. His most recent musical project was as writer and vocalist on the soon to be released Americana album: “Cole Daly and the Wild Edibles” (co-produced by Michael Moroney).
Since 2000, Mr. Cuthbert has written five musicals. Four were produced regionally: “Sea of Nod” based on the Rip Van Winkle legend; "River of Dreams," based on the book by Hudson Talbott, commissioned as part of the New York State Hudson River Quadra Centennial celebration; "O'Sullivan Stew" and "The Last Pine Tree on Eagle Mountain" commissioned by Urban Stages for Earth Day 2012 and performed at the New York Public Library. Mr. Cuthbert's current musical project “Coney Island” has had readings at the New School and at the Bridge Street Theater in Catskill, NY.
Michael Moroney is a writer, producer and multi- instrumentalist.
While studying music at Bennington college, Michael began working as a session bass player, performing with artists such as John Cale, Shawn Colvin and others.
Michael was an early explorer of new technology in music production - thus allowing him additional opportunities to collaborate with innovators such as Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno and helping to co-found and launch new music services including ArtistOne and AWAL (Artists Without A Label).
Michael has produced and performed on 100s of recordings and his music can be heard in TV and film such as Miami Vice, CSI and on the CW. He has written and produced 3 albums of his own music as well as releasing an album in 2020 of solo piano music by Erik Satie.
All Rights Reserved Cuthbert/Moroney © 2021