Synopsis

The Privy War of Printz Cotton
by
Bob Chubon

     The Privy War... is a satire focused on the lingering cultural divide that periodically rises as a "road bump" on the journey from the "Old" to the "New South." It was derived from the continuing debate surrounding the flying of the Confederate flag.

     The plot begins with the closing of a textile mill in Printz Cotton, South Carolina, a company town in the truest sense. The shutdown serves as the catalyst that reveals the different mindsets of the line workers and the management staff. The economic crisis precipitated by the Printz Cotton Corporation mill closing is quickly overshadowed by an attempt by the workers to get the mill company flag taken down from the town hall, where it has doubled as the town flag. The mayor and town council are plunged into the middle of the dispute. Muley Lovette, an aging African-American activist leads the charge of the line workers, and Rob Roy Sturmand, a contemporary personification of the southern aristocracy, defends the flying of the flag. When a formal debate between the two intended to resolve the issue is turned into a travesty, the war begins. Muley begins her assault by flying the flag over her outhouse as a lesson in sensitivity. The flag supporters, represented by Rob Roy, become enraged over the desecration. The "war" intensifies, taking many twists and turns. Each new turn reveals another nuance of the existing cultural divide. Tempers flare and a shot is fired. The crisis peaks when the Corporation threatens to retaliate against the townspeople because of potentially adverse publicity from the flag flying controversy. The play ends when the "Good Lord" intervenes and provides at least a temporary respite from the battlefield.

     In addition to Muley and Rob Roy, the characters include the town’s relatively even-keeled mayor, Marion Longstreet, Sheriff Bobby Lee, "the law" in the county, and town council members Candy Lane Gervase, the mill office manager, Johnathan Courster, a politician wannabe, and Olee Quid, a well-intentioned but not too educated public servant.

     The reading time of the two-act play is approximately two hours.

.rachubon@sc.rr.com.