Programs to remember war years through songs

Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 10:15 a.m.

In a two-day salute to veterans, local performers and members from Nevada Theatre Arts Company will pay tribute to the songs that during wartime eras pulled U.S. citizens together and reflected the spirit of the nation.

On Saturday the Lorna J. Kesterson Valley Recreation Center in Henderson will be transformed into a World War II USO stage show, as soloists and instrumentalists -- including local trombone player Walter Boening -- perform the music of Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, the Andrews Sisters and Judy Garland. The lobby of the center will be decorated to resemble an old-fashioned canteen and staffers in patriotic costume will serve coffee and doughnuts.

On Sunday a narrative of music and prose, called "Songs of the War Years," will take audience members through the history and origin of U.S. wartime music, from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, stopping at the eras of the Civil War, two world wars and the Korean War.

Information: 565-2367.

Broadway veterans Gary Oakes and Lou Garcia will lead the cast through both shows. The Sunday show is part of the city of Henderson's Coffee Shop Sundays fall concert series.

"This is dedicated to our veterans, the people who have put so much on the line, making sure we have the availability to do things like this," Sally Ahlstedt, assistant recreation coordinator for the city, said. "It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and had the talent from the Nevada Theatre Arts Company to do."

Wartime music is part of what helped motivate people, pull people together, she said. "(It) helped us get through darker times in our history and reflected things that were going on at the time."