Subtitled “A Live Docu-Drama,” Leif E. Gantvoort’s Mark On Society dramatizes the events of August 1, 1966, when Charles Joseph Whitman ensconced himself in the clock tower of the University of Texas at Austin and proceeded to shoot 45 people, killing 16. Meticulously researched, the narrative presents the victims as people with lives, agendas and families of their own, rather than as mere statistics. The perspectives of others, including members of the media, law enforcement and medical personnel, a rescuer, and the sniper’s father are also weighed in.
Inevitably, the play touches on the most obvious questions: Why? What motivated the sniper to commit such heinous acts? And who’s to blame? The reportage suggests some possible answers, while discounting others. Ultimately, Mark on Society turns into an adventure story, as two fearless cops directly confront Whitman with the objective of taking him down. Peter Haskell directs.
The cast includes: Stuart G. Bennett, Brian Byrnes, Carrie C. Ceryes, Robert Factor, Les Feltmate, Stephen Marshall, Ryan McGivern, Jeffrey S. Miles, Alan Naggar, Martin Rascon, Martha Ellen Senseney, Chad Williams and Anora Wolff.