Join us for a free event previewing the the new PBS series "Mercy Street". We'll screen a preview reel of the first episode plus series extras. Then UM History Professor Anya Jabour, who is an advisor to the show, will share her experiences of being on the set during production and more.
When: Saturday, January 16
Where: University Center Theater, UM-Missoula Campus
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Free admission. Coffee, tea and cookies provided
"Mercy Street" follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposing sides of the Civil War — New England abolitionist Mary Phinney and Confederate supporter Emma Green. The Green family’s luxury hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, has been transformed into Mansion House, a Union Army hospital tending to the war’s wounded. Inspired by memoirs and letters from real doctors and nurse volunteers at Mansion House Hospital, this new drama reveals the stories of those struggling to save lives while managing their own hardships.
To ensure historical accuracy, the producers engaged an all-star team of advisors including leading experts on Civil War medicine, military history, African-American history, women in the Civil War era and more. Professor Jabour's expertise is on young women of the civil war era south. She is author of "Scarlett's Sisters, Young Women in the Old South." She was part of the team that vetted scripts and was on set during the show’s filming in Virginia.
“'Mercy Street' is a story about love, war and medicine. Thematically, it’s about how the experience of war brings out the very best and worst in our characters. It’s also about the consequences of social upheaval: the war creates unique opportunities unthinkable just a few years before. Doctors are pushing the boundaries of medical science, women are leaving the confines of the home and volunteering as nurses, and thousands of escaped slaves are getting their first taste of freedom. All of these elements come together in Alexandria’s Mansion House Hospital. It’s a dysfunctional and unpredictable world filled with conflict and passion,” said series creator Lisa Q Wolfinger.
Learn more at: pbs.org/mercystreet or follow on twitter #MercyStreetPBS
