A new look at ‘the face'

The ironies lay so thick you could build a brick courthouse on 'em.

Henry Wells, accused — and very likely guilty of — burning down the Pickens County Courthouse in 1876, saved the structure built to replace it more than a century after his death. Residents who didn't wish to wash Wells' face from the garret stopped a threatened demolition in 2001.

Another irony: Some of those citizens very likely are descended from the folks who threatened Wells, forcing his incarceration in the attic of the courthouse, leading to the incident some say emblazoned his frightened face in that upper window forever.

Starting Thursday, Wells and his story live again, in Barry Bradford's play “The Face in the Courthouse Window,” whose world premiere will be, fittingly, inside the courthouse. The work was commissioned and is being produced by First National Bank of Central Alabama, which hopes to use proceeds to restore the historic building, and thus keep Wells' face intact.

It's a familiar story if you grew up in Alabama, where thrilling to Kathryn Tucker Windham's “13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey” is as much a rite of childhood as choosing your stance on the Alabama vs. Auburn question. “The Face in the Courthouse Window,” as written by Windham and fellow folklorist Margaret Gillis Figh, remains one of the best-remembered and most poignant of the collection, partly for that visual of a face etched by lightning, partly for the tale's ripe racial and historical resonances, and in large part because, unlike most of other ghosts, whose appearances are unpredictable and precarious, you can see Wells' face any time you like.

From Tuscaloosa, you take U.S. Highway 82 West to state road 86 — the turnoff comes before you reach Gordo — and ride that straight into the center of Carrollton. At the center of Carrollton is the famous courthouse. You can't miss the face. Not only is there an arrow sign stuck on the brick wall adjacent, across the street there's a binocular viewer to get a close-up. It's three stories up there, and from the ground, without the viewer, you might see only wavy lines and colors, such as you might see on any older, imperfect pane of glass.

Through the viewer, you see something resembling Edvard Munch's famous “The Scream,” minus the background.

You should arrive a little early if you want to view the face, because the play will be indoors. The project was structured after Monroeville's theatrical productions of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Monroeville, where Harper Lee grew up, is the clear antecedent for the novel's fictional Maycomb; the “Mockingbird” performances are held both inside and outside the courthouse there.

For “Face in the Courthouse Window,” though, they decided to keep it simple and controllable by working inside the courtroom. The play begins with Wells' confession, then goes back to set up the events: Wells' financial desperation, his friends leading him further into a life of crime, his wife trying to bring him back to God, the crime and capture, and Sheriff Gates standing up to the crowd to protect his prisoner, all rolling to the climactic climatological chimera.

Throughout, Bradford, who drew on folklore but also historical records and newspapers, tried to tell the story of the community, not just of Wells, occasionally fictionalizing scenes for dramatic impact, but sticking to the history.

“(Bradford) wrote it where you could do it anywhere,” said Leon Manning, senior vice president of the bank, who's been driving the process as de facto producer. “He kept things simple, knowing we're not going to have lavish sets. It's about the characters, about the story, not so much about the spectacle. The lights are going to be limited as well. He left it so that things aren't set in stone; there's a lot of room to play with.”

University of Alabama graduate Sarah Norris directs a cast including local actors Willie Williams as Henry Wells and George Thagard as Sheriff Gates, although the show features a wide range of characters from throughout the community, some near-heroic, some comic, all based on real people of the time.

On Thursday night there will be spirituals of the period sung by the University of West Alabama Choir, about an hour before show time. The April 16 show will feature pre-show entertainment by Bobby Horton, formerly of Three on a String, whose period music has been featured in Ken Burns' “Civil War” and “Baseball” documentaries. The April 17 pre-show will be by the Fifth Alabama Infantry Regiment Band, which performs music of the 19th century. Windham will attend Sunday's closing matinee.

“We're just trying to make that era's music, to fit the tone and the mood, prepare everyone for the show,” Manning said. “I think a lot of people are coming just for the musical entertainment, and I'm afraid they think they're going to be able to just walk up and buy tickets.”

At press time, there were only about 30 seats each left for the April 17-18 shows, and Thursday and April 16 were sold out. The courthouse seats about 160.

If the show is a success, as it seems it will be, Carrollton's courthouse will continue to be haunted by the face of Henry Wells, and graced by Bradford's play, for years to come.

“We're already making plans for next year,” he said. “We're probably going to have a debriefing meeting afterward, what can we do to make it better — Do we add more performances? Is there a better time in the spring to do it when we're not up against so many other shows?”

“Leon has a heart of gold,” Norris said. “He cares about this project, he cares about the courthouse, he wants this to be a success. He's working as hard as he can work to make this show happen.” n