Fodor's Expert Review The Lost Colony

Pulitzer Prize--winner Paul Green's drama was written in 1937 to mark the 350th birthday of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World; in 2013 the show won a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. Except from 1942 to 1945 (when enemy German U-boats prowled the nearby Atlantic Ocean during World War II), it has played every summer since then in Fort Raleigh National Historic Site's Waterside Theatre, on the same grounds where the doomed English settlers tried to establish their new home. On a huge stage—larger than any on Broadway—and with a cast and crew of more than 130, the story of the first colonists, who settled here in 1587 and mysteriously vanished, is reenacted. Cast alumni include Andy Griffith and Lynn Redgrave.

Try to buy tickets at least a week in advance. Preshow, hour-long backstage tours, dinner packages, and afternoon shows for children are available.