George Brant's play comes out of the true story of Mary the elephant, hung in Erwin Tennessee on September 13, 1916. Erwin, Tennessee is the actual town where the events occured, included the young man being trampled to death by Mary and her horrific hanging.
The play premiered in Austin, Texas on November 16, 2007 directed by Laura Kepley. It was produced by the University of Texas at Austin in the Oscar Brockett Theatre. It played to positive reviews by the local critics.
The play is about the American spirit of advancement, how the machine is what makes everything possible, every dream can come true because of what we are capable of achieving and, as the Marshal says plainly, what we are capable of killing. Brant reveals the corrupted American Dream and its effects upon humanity.
