The history of a Sharpsburg daughter with a famous last name will be brought to life during the Prime Stage Theatre\u2019s Cemetery Walk.<\/p>\n
Fox Chapel native Regina Gibson will portray Catherine Heinz Mueller, sister of H.J. Heinz, who worked to promote healthcare and safety regulations for women working in the family\u2019s ketchup and condiment factories.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very excited,\u201d said Gibson, who earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from New York University\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts and is now based in New York City.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is always a treat bringing Pittsburgh history to life as an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n
She attended the show with family last year and found the live historical reenactments fascinating, Gibson said.<\/p>\n
The fourth annual Homewood Cemetery Walk is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 26.<\/p>\n
In addition to Mueller, visitors also will meet David L. Clark, the \u201ccandy king of Pittsburgh\u201d; Charles \u201cTeenie\u201d Harris, an award-winning photojournalist; Lillian Mae Kress, a Gilded Age matron; David Boyd Morris, a Civil War officer; Sara Scott Grayson, an early-1800s Pittsburgher; and Bessie Wadding Wyant of Florence Crittenton Women\u2019s Home.<\/p>\n
They will be portrayed by professional actors in period costumes in a series of one-hour tours.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine married Sebastian Mueller, an immigrant from Bavaria who became the senior vice president and director of Heinz ketchup,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n
The philanthropist couple founded Eden Hall Farm in Richland, now operated by Chatham University.<\/p>\n
Prime Stage, founded in 1996 with the mission of bringing literature to life, has produced more than 110 plays and won national recognition as a leader in educational theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of our main stage plays have history as a central focus,\u201d producing artistic director Wayne Brinda said. \u201cThe Cemetery Walk is a chance for us to present audiences with a personal look at historic Pittsburghers and the impact they had on shaping our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monologues are written by Prime Stage board member and historical playwright Lawrence McCullough, who has written five books of original monologues<\/a> and authored plays and character pieces for Historic Philadelphia\u2019s colonial tours.<\/p>\n McCullough said the idea was spearheaded by board member Sueanne Zoratto, who saw a history-based cemetery walk in the Midwest and suggested Prime Stage could mimic it as a fundraiser.<\/p>\n \u201cThe board thought this was an excellent idea because many Prime Stage Theatre plays over the last 30 years have dramatized history from a firsthand perspective of figures such as Anne Frank, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Roberto Clemente, Josh Gibson and Albert Einstein,\u201d McCullough said.<\/p>\n \u201cSueanne took the idea to the Homewood Cemetery staff, who have in the past organized their own docent-led gravesite tours.\u201d<\/p>\n