Today, you will see a fictional play based on actual historic events that took place in Old Scituate (today’s Scituate and Norwell) on or around April 19, 1775, the day of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. 250 years later, we are celebrating what we now call “Patriot’s Day” with a fictional Town Meeting in one of Scituate’s meetinghouses. On April 19, 1775, the Scituate militia companies were, indeed, performing drills in Pembroke with other local militias when a post rider came directly to them and brought news of the fighting in Lexington and Concord. There was an actual Town Meeting, but it occurred days later—after the news of the battles had spread. Today’s performance will give you a sense of the mindset of Old Scituate residents in the days before the Battles of Lexington & Concord. At this point in time, the colonists were asking for the restoration of their rights as citizens of the British Empire, not necessarily seeking independence from Britain. Their immediate desire was to have King George III repeal the Intolerable Acts of 1774, which greatly angered the majority of the town. The Intolerable Acts did the following: Closed the port of Boston to commercial traffic—halting all exports upon which Scituate residents depended. Replaced the elected local government with one that was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Gen. Thomas Gage, a British loyalist. Eliminated the right to a fair trial by one’s peers. Allowed British soldiers to quarter locally at the colonists’ expense. Were women or Black men allowed to speak at a Town Meeting in 1775? certainly not! But this fictional play strives to represent the viewpoints of the entire population of Old Scituate at the time: men and women, Black and White, Patriot and Tory.