NC’s First Lady stars as the nation’s first First Lady in original play about slavery

The play opens with Martha Washington seated in an elegant red robe, chastising her enslaved servant for clumsily combing her hair.

And if that picture isn’t startling enough, consider this:

The nation’s original First Lady is being portrayed on a Raleigh stage, in all her slave-owning ugliness, by Kristin Cooper, First Lady of North Carolina.

And before the night’s performance is done, her character will: 1. confess she learned to love George Washington in time; 2.) liken her enslaved servant to a daughter; and 3.) decide on a whim to give her away as a wedding gift.

“I thought I would curtsy and take a potato,” said Cooper, recalling her cameo role last summer in “The Lost Colony,” in which she greeted Sir Walter Raleigh. “This was like studying for the Bar exam. We did a lot of research.”

Cooper delivers a compelling performance as a haughty and white-gloved First Lady in “Ona,” an original and locally produced play that follows the true story of slave Ona Judge’s escape from bondage in the Presidential House in Philadelphia — right in the middle of George Washington’s second term.

Performed by OdysseyStage, “Ona” is the latest work from Keith Burridge, an award-winning playwright and professor emeritus of cell biology at UNC-Chapel Hill, who got inspired by the courage of a runaway who found freedom.

His story of presidential fugitive runs Thursday to Sunday at Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh, sticking close to Ona Judge’s biography “Never Caught” except for a few romantic embellishments.

Play shows evils of slavery

As a play, it manages to demonstrate the evils of slavery without graphic violence, showing the misery of enslavement even amid the tea sets and dressing gowns of the presidential family. The idea of the founding fathers enslaving people while proclaiming liberty is familiar, but seeing Martha Washington raise her hand to slap a servant can never go down easily.

“When I finished reading the book, I couldn’t stop crying,” said Monica Hoh, the actress who stars as Ona Judge and takes two hours of punishment from Cooper’s First Lady. “I get the honor to embody her for a few moments. I have family members who were enslaved, and I have family members who were not enslaved, so that added some stage tension for me as well.”

Burridge stumbled on the story four years ago and became “enraptured,” first by the story and then by Cooper’s agreeing to play a starring role in his own adaptation. The cast rehearsed at one of the state-owned houses along North Blount Street — an arrangement close enough to the Executive Mansion for a secure escort.

“The fact that it’s the First Lady playing the first First Lady ...” Burridge swooned. “When they suggested Kristin Cooper I said, ‘Who? Is she an actress?’ Yes, she is an actress. But she’s also married to Roy Cooper. She’s very humble.”

Ona Judge’s story survives in such rich detail because — without giving too much away — she survived into old age in New Hampshire, and was interviewed by a pair of abolitionist newspapers. Even as an elderly woman, with the Washingtons long dead, she was careful not to reveal the identity of the ship captain who helped her escape until he had also passed away.

The nation’s first president fervently wished to avoid any unpleasantness or scandal, lest he anger slavery opponents in the North. But Washington had signed the Fugitive Slave Law in 1793, and after a family friend spotted Judge in New Hampshire, he did employ envoys to persuade her to return voluntarily — all unsuccessful.

Technically, though free in spirit, Ona Judge remained the property of Martha Washington’s estate. The president’s enslaved cook Hercules Poesy, played by Evit Emerson, warns his friend Ona before his own escape: “If you cross him, he will sell you.”

Kristin Cooper researched Washingtons

None of this leaves a viewer with a happy impression of the man on the dollar bill, nor of the First Lady that North Carolina’s real First Lady portrays.

“I do think George Washington, throughout his life, did change his attitude on slavery,” Cooper said. “He was the only one of the founding fathers who freed his slaves. Being a lawyer, I decided to read his will.”

Even with the weighty subject matter, “Ona” delivers a series of delicious one-liners, especially from Dolley Madison, played by Katie Milligan. Among them: “Who would ever want the job of running this fractious country?”

Having a real First Lady assume an 18th-century version of the role isn’t too surprising considering Cooper’s stage experience. She noted after Wednesday’s dress rehearsal that it had “been a while” since she appeared in shows such as “Camelot” in Rocky Mount and “The Diary of Anne Frank” in Raleigh — both of them with her daughters.

But with Gov. Roy Cooper’s term coming toward an end, along with her First Lady role, her stage future remains uncertain.

“Next year,” she said, “I might not have the flexibility.”

‘Ona’ on stage

“Ona” will be performed at Burning Coal Theatre at 224 Polk St. in Raleigh Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Matinees are offered on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Purchase tickets for $22 or follow the link at www.odysseystage.org.