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The Elma Timberland Library will present "Lewis and Clark and the End of the World," a new one-act play by Washington playwright, Bryan Willis, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 at the library, located at 118 N First Street, Elma. The play stars professional Olympia Harlequin Productions actors Peter Kappler as Meriwether Lewis and Andrew Gordon as William Clark. This performance is sponsored by the Friends of the Elma Timberland Library and is free of charge to the public.

Just three years after the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 35-year-old Meriwether Lewis died in ignominy. His final hour is one of the more controversial events in early U.S. history, his death commonly assumed to be by suicide. Willis’ drama raises other possibilities.

The play is set at the site of Lewis’ death, a remote inn located along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee. Lewis was en route to Washington, D.C. to defend himself against charges of embezzlement and incompetence as the governor of Louisiana Territory. His health was precarious; his personal finances were in shambles. Even Lewis’ patriotism was questioned and Jefferson, his great mentor and protector, was no longer president.

"The play tries to get inside the mind and spirit of a complex figure. The core of the play is the friendship between Lewis and Clark. It’s the greatest buddy story of all time," Willis said. Willis wrote the script with Kappler and Gordon in mind: "Their natural repartee is very well suited for the work. They're both superb actors."

Willis’ plays are produced both regionally and internationally. Willis likes crafting plays for small audiences in intimate venues such as the Elma library. Several years ago his "Poe: The Poet’s Journey" premiered at the historic McCleary Hotel and played at many Timberland libraries.