GETTYSBURG THEATER FIELD GUIDE
Blood on the Bread Board: A mother's grief and courage staged in Gettysburg’s Keeping Room Theater
An intimate, indoor historical-theater presentation at the Historic Farnsworth House that reanimates the Jennie Wade story through Mary Anne Filby Wade’s first‑person performance.
Blood on the Bread Board: A mother's grief and courage staged in Gettysburg’s Keeping Room Theater.
In a dim, hearthside room at the Historic Farnsworth House, an hourlong living‑history performance places you inside a wartime kitchen as Mary Anne Filby Wade recounts the July 1863 terror that stole her daughter Jennie. The production trades broad narration for an up‑close, emotional portrait: a woman steadying an infant, a family trapped between armies, and the wrenching moment a mother buries her child in the back garden while gunfire still echoes.
Highlights
Outing Highlights
A single‑voice, hearthside theater piece
Blood on the Bread Board is presented live in the Keeping Room Theater as an intimate, seated historical theater presentation, centering on Mary Anne Filby Wade’s first‑person account of loss and endurance during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Jennie Wade’s last moments and a mother’s reckoning
Through a visceral, unflinching narrative you witness scenes described in the performance: a daughter in labor, a newborn placed into a grandmother’s arms, a woman kneading dough when a fatal rifle crack ends her life, and the rushed burial in the back garden as the house shakes with gunfire.
Hearthside history at the Historic Farnsworth House
The drama unfolds in the Keeping Room Theater at the Historic Farnsworth House in Gettysburg, grounding the performance in the domestic spaces that the narrative evokes.
What the day feels like
What it feels like to attend
The hourlong presentation is immediate and close: you sit in a theater fashioned as a wartime kitchen while a single actor inhabits Mary Anne Filby Wade, delivering a condensed, emotionally intense account of family life overturned by battle. It is staged as a personal reckoning rather than a detached lecture, meant to evoke the sights, sounds, and smells of July 1863 through voice and presence.
Suitability
Who it's for
Who this presentation suits — and who should take caution.
Practical planner
Details to review before reserving
The program runs approximately 1 hour. Check the Historic Farnsworth House schedule for specific performance dates and times.
This is an indoor, seated historical‑theater presentation; dress for an indoor venue and arrive ready for an emotionally intense, close‑quarters performance. The listed price is $20.00 plus tax.
The performance takes place in the Keeping Room Theater at the Historic Farnsworth House in Gettysburg. Confirm arrival time and ticketing details with the operator.
Review cancellation policies before reserving.
Frequently asked questions
Planning Your Outing
How long is the performance?
The presentation lasts approximately 1 hour.
Where is the show staged?
The performance is presented in the Keeping Room Theater at the Historic Farnsworth House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
What is the ticket cost?
The headline information lists a cost of $20.00 plus tax for the indoor seated historical theater presentation.
Is this a factual history lecture?
The production is an intimate, first‑person theatrical reckoning rather than a conventional history lecture; it centers on Mary Anne Filby Wade’s personal account.
Will the performance be emotionally intense?
Yes. The presentation is described as raw and heart‑rending, and attendees are advised to expect an emotionally powerful experience.