FOLIO
Invasion of Privacy Preview Party & Fundraiser
Friday, June 12, 2015
6:00-8:00 pm
$35 per person
Meet the director and cast of the award-winning play Invasion of Privacy on Friday, June 12, 2015 from 6-8 pm at the Matheson History Museum. After winning a Pulitzer Prize for The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was at the height of her career when she was sued in 1946 by her friend, Zelma Cason. This was the first time that a right of privacy case in Florida had been brought against an author, and featured one of Florida’s first female lawyers. The lawsuit pitted a person’s right of privacy against an author’s constitutional guarantee of free speech. The preview party will be held in conjunction with the new Florida’s Global Kitchen exhibit, which features original artifacts from the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased by mailing a check to Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm or by paying at the door. Proceeds will benefit Friends of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm, a nonprofit organization that sponsors projects and events at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park.
Invasion of Privacy, is a Southern soap opera based on the 1946 trial held in the Alachua County Courthouse. The play will be performed at Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall on June, 18, 19 and 20. This is the first time the play has been performed in the city of the trial where the trial took place. Tickets are $35 per person. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Cash and check will be accepted, however, credit cards cannot be accepted. Tickets can also be purchased by mailing a check to:
Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Inc.
P.O. 337 Micanopy, FL 32667V
About Invasion of Privacy
In 1939, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings brought the rural life of Florida into the hearts of people around the world with her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Yearling. For her second book she drew inspiration from the fishermen, moonshiners and other backwoods inhabitants of rural Alachua County for Cross Creek. One character, Zelma Cason, took offense to her depiction in the novel and sued for $100,000 for libel and invasion of privacy. This case became the first time a Florida author was sued for depicting a character. Crowds of people flocked to the Alachua County Courthouse to view the region’s most notable attorneys sparring for justice. Zelma Cason was represented by Kate Walton, who navigated the untested waters of personal privacy. Walton was one of the first women who was admitted to the Florida Bar. Rawlings was represented by Sigsbee Scruggs, who many considered the last of the old-Southern lawyers. Cason’s lawsuit pitted a citizen’s right of privacy against an author’s constitutional guarantee of free speech and became an international spectacle. The legal battle culminated in one of the most colorful trials in Florida history. Sarasota writer Larry Parr unearthed the play using transcripts of the trial. For more information call 352-378-2280 or email info@mathesonmuseum.org.
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