Historic Holiday Presentations

Lots of local historical organizations are offering special online events to make staying healthy at home this season more interesting. Here’s a selection that caught my eye.

Sunday, 6 December, 5:00 P.M.
Virtual Traditions of the Season
Paul Revere House

Join the Paul Revere House and the Paul Revere Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to learn about how families like the Reveres observed winter holidays in the colonial era. Period music by R.P. Hale, video segments filmed in the period rooms of the Revere House, and discussion of eighteenth-century foodways will bring the past to life in the comfort of your home. Registration will include access to recipes you can chose to prepare in advance or later in the season.

Register here for $10 per ticket.

Wednesday, 9 December, 7:00 P.M.
The Making of a Reenactment
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

The annual reenactment of the Boston Tea Party is a long Boston tradition and one of the largest moving theatrical productions and reenactments in the nation. Sadly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this large-scale event will not be produced in 2020. To honor the tradition and to commemorate the 247th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, members of the production team will offer a special behind-the-scenes look at the process of researching, planning, creating, producing, and reenacting one of the most iconic moments in American history.

Register here for $15 per ticket.

Friday, 11 December, 7:30 P.M.
The Massacre Orations of Dr. Joseph Warren
History At Play, L.L.C.

The Chicago-based historian and interpreter Spencer Van Herik will portray that Son of Liberty and marvel of modern medicine, Dr. Joseph Warren, in a new livestream event. Herik transports viewers to 6 March 1775 and reinvigorates the orative prowess of the Whig leader and Continental martyr.

Register here for $10 to $25 per ticket.

Wednesday, 16 December, 7:30 P.M.
Taxes, Tea, Revolt, and Revisionism
Revolutionary Spaces

Tune in for local personality Rob Crean on a new comedy talk show, Tea Party Tonight! Along with some of the leading voices in Boston history and research, Rob will explore the roles of our city and its people in the creation and evolution of the American experiment, with plenty of laughs along the way. Broadcast from the historic Old South Meeting House on the 247th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Rob will be joined by scholars William Fowler, Ben Carp, and Chernoh Sesay to dive into the world surrounding the ”destruction of the tea,” what kind of society it wrought, and why eighteenth-century events still have meaning today.

Register here for this free event.

Thursday, 17 December, 7:00 P.M.
The Petition
Revolutionary Spaces

A special remote performance of Cliff Odle’s play about the fight to end slavery at the founding of the nation. Originally written for the Old State House, this historical drama shines a light on the story of eighteenth-century abolitionist Prince Hall. It explores the debates that still inform and divide us: Who counts as an American? What is the obligation of power to serve the people? Do we fight for what is right or what is attainable? The performance will feature actors Alex Jacobs and Stephen Sampson, and will be followed by a talkback with the playwright and cast.

Register here for this free event.