Thursday evening, one of my friends and I were lucky enough to attend an exclusive season 2 premiere screening of my favorite show, Mercy Street. She hadn’t seen the show, but I was hoping that this event would spark her interest in it. The event consisted of a reception, screening, and Q&A panel with some of the cast and producers.
When I arrived, the reception was just the beginning. I stood in the doorway, a bit intimidated by the sight of men in suits and women dressed just in formal outfits as well, and by the low din of chatter in the room as they mingled and sipped on glasses of wine. I scanned the audience for my friend and panicked a little when I couldn’t find her, then decided to check the bathroom. I found her there and we made our way back to the reception area. We claimed a small round table in the corner of the room and sipped on some drinks.
The room grew more crowded as the minutes passed, and soon a man in a backwards cap walked up to our table.
“Is it alright if I chill here?” he asked.
“Sure,” we answered. I noticed he was a bit under-dressed for the occasion, in his hoodie and jeans.
“Are you guys fans of the show?”
“She is,” my friend gestured to me. “And she brought me along as a guest.”
“Cool,” he responded. “I actually don’t know anything about the show, but they invited me as part of a group of veterans.”
“Oh, wow. I hope you enjoy it,” I said.
“So it’s a show about a war, right? Are there a lot of battlefield scenes? Cause I don’t really like watching things like that. I’ve already seen that stuff in real life. It’s like, what else can you show me?”
“It's about the Civil War,” I answered, “but there haven’t been any battle scenes in the first season. The show is more about what went on at home during the war and how civilians dealt with everything. The two main characters are nurses who tend to wounded soldiers.”
He nodded.
As the small room continued to fill with people– there were well over 50 of them by now– two women who seemed slightly older than my friend and I joined our table. They smiled and talked to us as they ate the appetizers they’d picked up.
“This is such a nice place,” one of them remarked.
“And the food is great,” the other added.
“I feel like there are so many free events like this in New York. You just have to know where to look,” the first one said. “Do you two watch the show?” she asked.
“I do,” I said. “And you?”
“No, our friend works at PBS so she got us tickets,” she replied.
We continued to talk, but I wondered to myself how many people here actually watched the show. I didn’t mean to be a snob about it, but the show meant a lot to me and it felt like a shame that other people didn’t realize how great it was.
After an hour and a half the reception ended, and we were directed to the auditorium for the screening of the first episode of season two. Beth Hoppe, the Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of PBS, said a few words before the screening began. She mentioned that we were the first group of people to see this episode. She also remarked that the show is particularly relevant considering the events that have recently been taking place in the world. Thinking about the show’s themes of tension, division and occasional chaos, I can only infer that she was referring to the US election and its aftereffects.
After her speech, the lights were dimmed and the show began. Almost immediately, the audience and I found ourselves laughing out loud at the witty one-liners and slightly bizarre situations that were before us. This was surprising to me. In season one, humor was not a prominent element on the show. However, it seemed the writers had decided to add this element for season two, and I must say, they did it well. The jokes didn’t detract from the seriousness of the situations the characters faced– if anything, they added to the story by providing valuable commentary on what was going on in a light-hearted way. Furthermore, it seemed to me that the humor was winning the audience over, and therefore winning over those who may not have had an interest in the show.
Besides laughter, the audience also reacted with gasps and groans during the more serious, sobering scenes. The gruesome surgeries and scenes of people in miserable, dire conditions were very powerful, and were, in accordance with Mercy Street precedent, accompanied by beautiful singing. This juxtaposition of suffering and optimistic singing has made for, at least to me, the most captivating and tender moments of the show. It never fails to elevate moments that would otherwise simply be sad or disappointing into moments of bittersweet hope.
I had always assumed that the show aimed to portray how humans used music to help themselves overcome difficult times. This was confirmed immediately after the show, and later on during the panel. After the final scene of the episode ended, an African American woman walked onto the stage. Without saying a word, she began to sing “There is a Balm in Gilead,” one of the songs that was in the episode. Her voice was beautiful-- sad and troubled but full of hope and faith. After her final note the audience erupted into applause, and she smiled as she left the stage.
After the lengthy applause died down, a group of actors, producers, and historians from the show entered the stage for the panel. They introduced themselves one by one: L. Scott Caldwell, who plays Belinda Gibson; Hannah James, who plays Emma Green; Donna Murphy, who plays Jane Green; Tara Summers, who plays Anne Hastings; Audrey Davis, the historical advisor; Lisa Wolfinger an executive producer and co-creator; David Zabel, an executive producer and co-creator; David Zucker, an executive producer; and Beth Hoppe, who was going to moderate.
One of the first questions was for David Zucker, who was asked why he created Mercy Street. In response, Zucker explained that he wanted to make a show about the Civil War from a different perspective than most of us are accustomed to seeing. He wanted to tell the story of the struggles people faced on the home front. Consequently, this largely became a story about women in the time of the Civil War. Most content about wars is written by men for men, and with this show, there was an opportunity to witness the experience of wartime through a more diverse set of eyes.
Another insightful response came from Hannah James, when she was asked whether she learned anything new about the Civil War while filming the show. She answered that she was fascinated to learn about the relationships between people during that time. Particularly eye-opening was the realization that the Green family was completely ignorant in regards to the personal life of their slave, Belinda, before she worked for them. The family was actually surprised at the notion that she’d even had a life before them. Hannah James was taken aback by this, because she felt the family loved and valued Belinda.
I nodded as I listened to her answer. In my opinion, there are tremendous benefits to looking at the Civil War through relationships. In some ways, these stories tell us more about the war than battlefield stories do. On the battlefield, it’s good guy versus bad guy. Through personal stories, we truly get a sense of the emotional state of the country by bearing witness to the complex thoughts and feelings that people from each side express. We realize that no individual is strictly bad or good, despite the fact that there absolutely is a right and wrong stance to be taken after all is said and done.
After about a half hour, the audience was given a chance to ask questions. At one point, the microphone was given to a small, elderly African American woman. She stood up and began to speak in a soft, shaky voice. She shared that as a Southerner from North Carolina, she was pleased with the show’s portrayal of the characters and events. Then she imparted that she felt “There is a Balm in Gilead” fit into the show perfectly, and that when it is sung at her church, people’s reactions are the same as the reactions of today’s audience here in New York City. I smiled when I heard this. It’s amazing that people in such different places and situations can be touched to the core in such similar ways. This was a beautiful example of the power this show has in bringing different people together, partly because of its music.
One of the final questions was from a woman in the back, who asked the producers to look ahead to season 3. Thinking about the trajectory of the future of this country, would they consider tweaking the plot of the show to make a point about government or history? “No,” Producer Lisa Wolfinger said. She explained that there was no need to contrive anything to make the show relatable or relevant. The story already speaks to people on a universal level. It is up to the viewers to identify parallels, draw conclusions, and learn lessons.
Soon after, the moderator announced that the event was over and thanked everyone for coming. Gathering my belongings, I thought of the veteran I’d met earlier in the evening. I hoped he was pleasantly surprised by the refreshing change in perspective about wartime that Mercy Street offered. I hoped the two girls I’d met slowed down and really took in the significance of the show, and perhaps connected with it somehow. I hoped my friend who was next to me understood why I held the show in such high regard. Of course, I hoped that Mercy Street gained some new viewers. But most importantly, I hoped every person in the audience went home having learned something new and having been moved in some way.
