You Can't Do That, Dan Moody! re-creates one of the early victories in the war for civil rights in modern America. Presented by the Palace Theater Guild of Georgetown, the two-act play tells the courtroom saga of the first successful charges brought against members of the Ku Klux Klan.
"The convictions showed the vulnerability of the Klan," says Tom Swift. "It was a galvanizing moment in American history." Swift co-wrote and directs the play based on Williamson County records and a book about the trial by Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson. The theatre production takes place in the same courtroom where District Attorney Dan Moody took on local members of the Klan and won in 1923. The story is a real-life courtroom drama that exposed the organization's hatred and prejudices to burning public scrutiny.
After he returned from World War I to his hometown of Taylor, Moody set records for being the youngest elected official in county history. From Williamson County he went on to become the state attorney general and served two terms as governor (1927-1931). But it was the Klan trial early in his career that became a defining moment for his life's work.
The trial shook the secret organization just when it was reaching the peak of its popularity in the state. Many Klan members joined the organization because of the group's law-and-order rhetoric, but it was also espousing a doctrine of intolerance to blacks, immigrants, and non-Christians. In his late 20s at the time, Moody was outraged that Klan members were literally getting away with murder in the streets of downtown Austin and other Texas towns.
Moody's chance to expose the Klan as a bunch of hooligans came from an unlikely event. In late 1922, a group of Klansmen kidnapped and beat hosiery salesman Robert Burleson (played by Les Romo). Burleson was staying at a boarding house in Weir run by a widow (played by Ann Lind) who had spurned the advances of a local Klan member (played by Chris Bratton). The Klansman blamed his heartache on Burleson and ordered him out of town. When the salesman refused, the Georgetown KKK chapter grabbed him, in the middle of the night, pistol-whipped him and left him tarred and feathered and tied to a tree on the Taylor City Hall lawn.
No one expected charges to be brought against the white-robed ruffians, much less a trial. "[The Klan] had never faced a Dan Moody before," Swift says. With the help of a young Williamson County sheriff named Lee Allen, Moody attacked the criminals with the tenacity of a bulldog. Four of the party were convicted for assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to prison. Even though all of the parties involved were white, it was the first real blow to the Klan's invincibility and secrecy.
Moody and Sheriff Allen believed that American law allowed citizens to say almost anything, but they couldn't hurt people. "The second [they] laid a hand on somebody they could go to prison," he says. Other courts had tried to prosecute the Klan, but could never get a conviction because witnesses were too afraid to come forward.
Not only did the trial revive trust in local law enforcement, but it showed that the Georgetown community was not going to stand by and be intimidated. "The community had to answer the age-old question, 'How much of your personal safety are you willing to risk for what is right?'" Swift says.
Not only were officers of the court at risk from retaliation, but so were the 12 members of the jury and witnesses. "[The play] is our way to show it takes courage," Swift says. "Choosing between right and wrong is a very hard question sometimes."
Performed in the same second-floor courtroom where Dan Moody worked as the county attorney and district attorney, the environment is more powerful than any theatre prop department could manufacture. The wooden railing separating the spectators from the court, the old grandfather clock on the wall, and fading pictures on the walls of past judges are all reminders that the original action happened in this very room. Only 150 seats are being sold for the 13 performances.
Ninety-five percent of the original 42-member cast and crew have returned to reprise their roles from the sellout inaugural run last year. Included in the cast is Assistant County Attorney Dan Gattis as the leading character. Many of the other acting parts are being filled by actual Williamson County court officials.
You Can't Do That, Dan Moody! will be performed in the Williamson County Courthouse every Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 16-Oct. 3. Showtimes are at 8pm Thu.-Sat, and at 2pm on Sundays. Tickets are available at the Palace Theater's temporary box office at 824 S. Austin Ave., one block south of the courthouse in Georgetown. For more information call 512/869-7469 or 877/834-1318.
Coming up this weekend ...
Snakes Alive! at the Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway, displays some of Central Texas' more unique residents, 8-9:30am, Sept. 12. Then come back in the evening for a Crescent Moon Stargazing Party, 8-9:30pm. For reservations call 327-7622.
Diez y Seis Celebration in Seguin's Starcke Park honors the Mexican holiday with food and music, Sept. 10-11. 830/379-6382 or http://www.seguintx.org.
Kolache Festival in Caldwell celebrates the community's Czech heritage with food, music, car shows, art shows and lots of the pillow pastries from heaven, Sept. 11. 409/567-3218 or http://www.rtis.com/reg/caldwell.
Coming up ...
Diego Rivera: Art and Revolution at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston traces the Mexican artist's career with a retrospective exhibit of more than 80 works that examines the painter's relationship with various artistic movements. The show runs Sept. 19-Nov. 28. 713/639-7300 or http://www.mfah.org.
Hummer/Bird Celebration in Rockport welcomes the migration of the ruby-throated hummingbirds along the Gulf Coast en route to Mexico and Central America, Sept. 16-19. 800/826-6441.
Texas Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup is seeking volunteers to help scour the beaches from Orange to South Padre Island, Sept. 18. 800/852-3224 or http://www.glo.state.tx.us/adopt-a-beach.
