After Taps

In this three‑act drama the audience is placed in a well‑appointed Baltimore apartment belonging to a Union colonel during the Civil War. The first act opens to the brisk beat of “Yankee Doodle” as a company of Union troops marches past a window, while a lively young woman, Polly Primrose, sings a jaunty tune about camp life. The scene balances domestic comfort with the looming presence of war, setting a tone that is both intimate and patriotic.

Colonel Graham, his wife Ruth, and his sister Dorothy are joined by officers, a standard‑bearer, and a daring Southern gentleman who has slipped into the house as a contraband. Their conversations reveal personal loyalties, hidden fears, and the uneasy truces that form in a house filled with both Union blue and Confederate gray. As the act unfolds, listeners sense the emotional weight of a nation at war, while the characters’ humor and music provide a brief respite before the story moves toward its next, more turbulent moments.