I n 1865, Asa Harmon McCoy made the miscalculation of his life, figuring he could return to his home on the Tug Fork River, where Kentucky and West Virginia meet, after serving on the Union side in the Civil War. A Confederate guerrilla unit led by Jim Vance soon showed up and killed him. Jim being a relative of Devil Anse Hatfield, patriarch of the Hatfield clan, and Asa being a member of the mountain dynasty led by Randolph “Ol’ Ran’l” McCoy, the incident has come to be considered an early tussle in the legendary Hatfield-McCoy feud.
If this narrative of feuding families and hapless lovers reminds you of
something out of Shakespeare, you’re not alone. Most accounts I’ve seen
draw the analogy to Romeo and Juliet-and so does Pfautsch, with
what you might call a vengeance. Structurally, H&M is a kind
of an Appalachian West Side Story.
Through 3/11: Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, 773-769-3832, thehousetheatre.com, $30-$35.
