From Brent To Barton
Mary Ann Jung portrays Maryland Colonist, Margaret Brent at the 2021 Victorian Chautauqua
Sponsored by Mary Helen & Bob Spear
Jung Returns To The Victorian Chautauqua Stage
During Miss Clara Barton’s lifetime, proper ladies were expected to be demure, wedded, birth children, and be dutiful homemakers. By not following these social standards, women could face harsh criticism. Barton not only defied society’s conventions, but she also risked her own life in order to help others, earning her the reputation as one of America's true heroines. Her legacy continues to inspire both women and men through Mary Ann Jung, who has brilliantly recreated her story for the stage.
Mary Ann Jung, an award-winning actress and Smithsonian scholar, will return to Mountain Lake Park for her third time to portray who she describes as "her favorite character." Jung portrayed Maryland Colonist Margaret Brent in 2021 with her extraordinary talent for bringing noteworthy women from the past to life. Her performances are always interactive and lively, which quickly draws in her audiences and imparts a deeper understanding of the life and times of her theatrical subjects.
In Jung’s performance of Barton, audience members portray Yankees and Rebels, "nay-sayers" and believers, in order to discover what led to Americans fighting against each other in the Civil War. Audiences learn the motivations and mindsets behind taking sides that deeply divided Americans and placed their beloved country in peril. You’ll be catapulted back to the Civil War, the dangers of nursing on the Antietam battlefields, and Barton's struggles to get America to sign the Geneva Convention.
In 2002, Jung's portrayal of Clara Barton won top honors for Solo Theatrical Performance from the Maryland State Arts Council. Since 2005, many teachers' conferences, special events, and museum sleepovers have presented Jung's historical women. The Victorian Chautauqua is honored to be added to this respectable list of performance venues.
Clara Barton [1821-1912]
Barton was known as a passionate and moving public speaker who became the first woman to work for the Federal Government, was its first female department head, America’s first woman ambassador, and at age 59 founded the American Red Cross in 1881, the same founding year as Mountain Lake Park.
In 2002, the Ambassador of France granted Jung the highest praise for her one-of-a-kind portrayal of Queen Catherine de Medici for his guests. In 2009, Jung, portraying Queen Anne of England (1665-1714), met British diplomat Dominick Chilcott while celebrating the queen's 300th birthday.
Jung has a unique talent for combining her passion for history, strong women, and her chameleon-like prowess for capturing entire personalities on the stage. Her complete and accurate costuming, dialects, and accents leave audiences feeling connected to personalities who are generally trapped inside dry and dusty history books.
Two performances on Sunday, July 10th, will allow everyone to enjoy Jung's depiction of Clara Barton. She will also meet and greet attendees in and out of character between shows. Her brilliance with off-the-cuff comments always makes for joyful interpersonal exchanges. Her performances are family-friendly so even young children will be engaged and entertained by Jung's exuberance on and off the stage.
