The dead will rise, drinks will be served and live music will be played Friday at Magnolia Cemetery. The Foundation for Historical Louisiana will host Magnolia’s Memories V, an event featuring professional actors portraying the lives of notable Baton Rouge residents. The performances will take place at the real-life gravesites of the characters, allowing audience members to relive their experiences first-hand and encounter an enchanting night of entertainment and education. Carolyn Bennett, the Foundation’s executive director, said people have to experience Magnolia’s Memories to fully understand its impact. “It is a magical experience that combines sacred landmarks, our heritage and history along with professional actors for a great way to learn the history of Baton Rouge,” Bennett said. “The cemetery is lit with hundreds of luminarias. It’s absolutely spell-binding.” Bennett said this year’s characters are outstanding historical figures. “We have a high standard for our elected actors and professional script writers,” Bennett said. “A great deal of research is done so that everything we have the characters say and tell about themselves is accurate, entertaining and captivating.” Lenor Fenney, a producer of the event, said she and her husband saw a cemetery drama in Mississippi and decided it would be an injustice to the residents of Baton Rouge not to host Magnolia’s Memories. Fenney said they did whatever it took to make Magnolia’s Memories possible. “We decided to really ramp it by hiring a professional director, actors, musicians, script writers and researchers,” Fenney said. “We raised the money through sponsorships and ticket sales to pay for them to produce the events with us.” Fenney said the well-written scripts can be attributed to an exceptional University student. Drew Cothern, theatre junior, writer and actor in Magnolia’s Memories, said it captures a slice of Baton Rouge history. “Even though there’s a state capital, and even though there was a Civil War battle fought here, whenever people think about the state, they tend to focus on New Orleans and places like that, you know, places that are a little more historically renowned,” Cothern said. Cothern said the event gives attendants a feel of what it was like to live in Baton Rouge during the past two centuries. “So many fascinating things have happened here over the years and by bringing these characters that are buried in Magnolia Cemetery to life, you get a look at life during the times that they lived in,” Cothern said. Cothern said it is a surreal experience to act in the event. “I’ve never quite experienced the kind of tingling sensation you get when you’re doing a monologue, playing a character while you’re standing over their grave,” Cothern said. “It’s really a unique feeling. You almost become kind of possessed.” Cothern said University students would enjoy the event. “I think it’s entertaining, for one thing. I tried very hard to stay away from just listing mundane facts and make it more of a show, a little bit more of a dramatic production,” Cothern said. “They use the term ‘edutainment’ to describe what it is. We’re in college looking to get an education and find out more about our world, and so it’s a pretty good way to do it, I’d say.” Fenney said Magnolia’s Memories tells its attendants the history of the city in the most interesting way they will ever hear it. “So many people are shocked by the things they learn when they go on this tour. You’re going to meet the first African-American physician in Baton Rouge and a judge who committed murder downtown who went on to have a stellar political career,” said Feeney. “You might see a paragraph or two about these people in the history books, or you may never know about them.” Outside the cemetery, the Foundation will offer drinks, live music and additional exhibits on Baton Rouge history. Performances will run Friday and Saturday beginning at 6:30 p.m.
—-Cathryn Core at [email protected]