Civil! A New Musical

Civil! Is a loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet that it draws on themes of love and hate, and what happens when families and nations are divided. Civil! includes many local and national historic characters, and seeks to tell the story of the Civil War through diverse voices. Blending comedy, romance, and tragedy in a modern musical style, Civil! explores family, friendship, and agency in a nation at war—asking how young people endure when history gives them no good options, and whether love and family can survive when the world is tearing itself apart. Civil! asks us to reflect on how history is told, and what it means to write our own story. This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts.