Rob Lauer is not only our beloved editor but a talented, award-winning, nationally-produced playwright who, over the course of a 35-year career, has authored comedies and musicals. His historical musical First Freedom- which entertainingly depicts the events leading up to the passage of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom- was the subject of Virginian Wesleyan University's 2019 Cookson Lecture, delivered in VWU's Blocker Hall Auditorium on March 7, 2019. The crowd laughed and applauded as they enjoyed music videos from the show, a reader's theatre excerpt and Rob's insights on the subject. A local production of "First Freedom" would be a delightful addition to the Hampton Roads theatre scene.