News

Army Soldier Show takes ‘Operation America Cares’ on the road
Date Posted: 5/2/2005

By Tim Hipps
USACFSC Public Affairs

FORT BELVOIR, Va. – Opening May 6 at Wallace Theater, the 2005 U.S. Army Soldier Show will unveil “Operation America Cares,” a 90-minute song and dance production that expresses the importance of giving deployed Soldiers a touch of home.

After three shows at Fort Belvoir, the 19-Soldier troupe is scheduled for 102 performances across America, Korea and at Camp Zama, Japan. The six-and-a-half-month tour will end Nov. 13 back at Fort Belvoir, home of the Army Entertainment Division, one of more than 50 programs provided to Soldiers and their families by the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center in Alexandria, Va.

Along the way, the Soldier Show is scheduled to deliver “entertainment for the Soldier, by the Soldier” at the Armed Forces Retirement Home, Warner Theatre and the 230th U.S. Army Birthday Ball in Washington, D.C.; the 45,000-seat Tacoma Dome near Fort Lewis, Wash.; and the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

“The message of the show is that it doesn’t matter how tough we are and it doesn’t matter how fit to fight we are, Soldiers are still human and longing for the familiar and America’s affection,” Soldier Show director Victor Hurtado said.

The cast and crew will attempt to bring his vision to life with musical genres rhythm and blues, new rock, country, gospel, eclectic new wave/new age, patriotic and newly arranged movie themes. Calling the show “our gift to the American Soldier,” Hurtado stresses his desire to leave audiences with a sense of newfound knowledge.

“It’s not just about singing and dancing; it’s about each audience member getting something out of it – being entertained, being moved, being inspired,” he said. “We want to give them something to think about until next year – lift their spirits and grow their minds.”

The show will focus on how Soldiers deal with the stresses of war and long deployments, Hurtado said. In one scene, a crate stuffed with recreation kits arrives from the Army’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation headquarters.

“The show is really going to focus on how we take ‘home’ to the deployed Soldiers,” said Hurtado, who performed in the Soldier Show from 1986 through ’89 while on active duty.

While DVDs and CDs can help Soldiers combat stress, nothing boosts morale quite like personal contact from home, Hurtado said. The reinforcing feeling that everything is OK often makes a world of difference.

“I would say the popularity of the show has grown exponentially and it has a different face now,” said Hurtado, who has built upon the “Heart of a Soldier” theme of last year’s show by sticking with a military storyline. “We’re going to continue with our efforts to not just humanize the Soldier to the American public but to show the different facets of a Soldier.”

“We want to recognize that they’re over there protecting us,” said executive producer Joey Beebe, a former Soldier Show performer in his fourth season on the production team. “To immortalize them in our show is our way of showing that we understand and recognize what they’re doing for this country.”

More than 400 Soldiers submitted applications to perform in the Soldier Show. Twenty-five were invited for live auditions, and 16 made the show. Three audio and lighting technicians will accompany them on tour.

Staff Sgt. Joanne Makay, a member of the 2003 cast, is the lone returning Soldier Show performer. During her last tour, she sang “Heat Wave, “Something Worth Leaving Behind,” and a medley of Irvin Berlin’s tunes.

“She has quite a presence in the show,” Hurtado said of Makay, who sang with Wynonna Judd at the 2003 U.S. Army Birthday Ball.

From one of AED’s sister programs, the Army’s Margaret “Skippy” Lynn Stars of Tomorrow Talent Contest, Hurtado discovered Spc. Allison Carpenter, Spc. Chris Ekstrom, 1st Lt. Christina Fanitzi, Spc. Rondi Edward, Staff Sgt. Kent Kramer and Spc. David Linson II.

Berlin, a Russian immigrant named Israel Beilin who is best known for “White Christmas” and “God Bless America”, wrote the first U.S. Army Soldier Show while on active duty at Camp Upton in Long Island, N.Y. Named “Yip Yip Yaphank,” the show appeared on Broadway in 1918. During World War II, Berlin created another Soldier show for Broadway: "This is the Army," which became a 1943 film featuring a military cast with stars Ronald Reagan and Joe Louis. At the request of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the show toured for three years, performing for troops stationed in Europe and the Pacific.

The Army National Guard is the lead sponsor and partner of the 2005 U.S. Army Soldier show. AT&T is the corporate sponsor.

Contact Person: Tim.Hipps@cfsc.army.mil