"Wave Me Goodbye" at North Canton Playhouse

Today's review and information was graciously provided by Charlene, a member of our group from Medina. On Tuesday, members of our group went to see the play "Wave Me Goodbye" at the North Canton Playhouse. Charlene took her 2 teenage sons with her to view the performance and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, Charlene!
Here is her review of the play:

The play was good and gave us information we never knew. Their were adults, teens, middle school and elementary school age children in it. It took place from 1940-1945 when Herbert Hoover brought over children from Britain to live with host families from the Hoover company during WWII so they could live without the bombs and horror of war.

The parents of the children portrayed their fears and uncertainty of allowing their children to go across the ocean to the U.S. They sent them not knowing if they would ever see them again or whether the ship they would be sailing on could be torpedoed by the Germans. The play shows the children coming to the U.S. (which took three weeks by ship and then by train to Canton, and at one point the ship was two days late and it was feared that it had been attacked), living with the families for five years and growing up and becoming "Americanized".

When the war ended the children returned home to their families uncertain of what awaited them there other than their families. Some returned to families who had had new children born to them that these children had never met. After returning to Britain, the children wrote to their American families and told them the differences between the U.S. and the Britain they had returned to and what they will miss about America.

At the end of the play, the gentleman who portrayed Herbert Hoover made a small speech and told the audience that before he was asked to play Herbert Hoover he also had never heard this story of the children coming to Canton even though he grew up in Canton. We were told how many of the children later returned to the U.S. to live.

Then we were introduced to a lady from the crowd who was one of the children brought to the U.S. and eight years later returned to the U.S. to live. I apologize I cannot remember her name but we were thrilled to listen to her. She came over the first time to live in Canton when she was small and came with 4 siblings, leaving one sibling at home who was only
four and too young to come. She said that her parents never really told them why they were leaving Britain, and she was very confused as to where they were going,and why her parents weren't coming with them. She answered many questions from the audience.

My boys and I really enjoyed it and I told them that now they know a historical fact that most adults have no knowledge of. Their grandmother was surprised by the story also and she was a young adult during WWII and she knows many historical facts.

University of Akron Steel Drum Band

On Wednesday, October 19, we were treated to a wonderful concert by the University of Akron's Steel Drum Band with guest performer Liam Teague. Liam is known as the "Paganini of steel drums." He truly was talented, playing beautifully along with the band and performing one of his own pieces called "Raindrops." I never knew a steel drum, or pan, could sound like that.

The Steel Band was also amazing themselves. These are college students who I'm sure haven't been playing quite as long as Mr. Teague, but still held our attention and awe at the beautiful music they played. They were incredibly talented and their enjoyment of the music was evidenced by their dancing along while they played. Their music was interspersed with lessons about the history of the pan in Trinidad, including some video. Musical selections ranged from typical calypso styles to a portion of Mozart's "Requiem," which you haven't heard until you've heard it played by a steel drum orchestra. I was thrilled, and the girls enjoyed it as well.

The concert was hosted by the Children's Concert Society of Akron, who also sponsor other activities during the school year. Although they recommend the concert for 4th to 6th graders, they had no problem with the different ages involved in a home schooling group. They were very kind and welcoming to us. I would recommend any event they host as very professional and worthwhile. Also, if you can make it to any of the Steel Band's upcoming performances, don't miss it!

US Army's Spirit of America

On Friday, September 23, we went to Cleveland to see the US Army Military District of Washington perform "Spirit of America," a wonderful show that incorporated the Army's best musical talents as well as those of military talent. Just one performance of the Army Drill Team will explain what I mean by "military talent." We sat in awe watching their precise, uniform movements. When they finished a bit by circling the drill team captain and thrusting their bayonettes toward his cap, missing him by a fraction of an inch, we were all amazed. It's no wonder we send this team around the world as ambassadors.

Another favorite of the day included the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the only unit of its kind in the armed forces. This corps keeps alive the memory of our first troops from the Revolutionary War. I absolutely loved the music they played and their formations were almost as intricate as the drill team.

My daughter especially enjoyed the Backstage Army Broom Team, who had fun spoofing the Drill Team by using brooms instead of guns. They provided a fun, light-hearted way to end the show.

Other stand-outs of the performance included:
* A musical and dramatic re-enactment of American history, complete with real guns and real horses in the battle scenes. Everyone jumped when the first troops actually shot their guns. We weren't expecting it, but it was very cool!
* The US Army Marching Band, which included 4 vocalists. They played quite a bit of music, including a medley of war time melodies.
* A laser light show illustrating the Army's future in combat. A number of people left before this display, but it was worth waiting for. They had soldiers coming down from the ceiling, a simulated helicopter, and lasers all over the place.

For a free show, I couldn't have asked for more. If there had been a charge, it still would have been worth it. We almost didn't attend, due to weather and colds, but I am so glad I decided to go.
If they come around again, be sure to be there!