Prairie View's tribute to veterans set for Friday evening, Saturday afternoon

Cast members of A Musical Tribute to the American Soldier practice a dance routine. The musical will be presented on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, Nov. 13-14 at the Prairie View Performing Arts Center. (Submitted photo)

By Roger Sims, Journal staff

linncountyjournal@icloud.com

Prairie View schools will be foregoing the usual Veterans Day remembrance and instead are encouraging area residents and especially veterans to attend the USO-style musical revue, A Musical Tribute to the American Soldier, that will be presented on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, Nov. 13-14, at the Prairie View Performing Arts Center.

Admittance to the show is free for veterans and tickets for the show are $5 at the door. Those who reserved seats and dessert theater tickets by the Nov. 5 deadline can pick up their tickets when they arrive.

There will be two opportunities to see the production:

The Nov. 13 show begins at 7 p.m. with seating beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Nov. 14 show is a matinee with seating beginning at 2:30 p.m. and the curtains opening at 3 p.m.

“As we are celebrating 250 years of the United States of America, the soldiers who have protected her and the music that tells their story, all veterans will be able to enjoy the show and dessert buffet at no charge,” said Raquel Beltz, who wrote the script and is one of the directors of the musical. “Our small way of saying thank you for all you have done.”

The script began with the idea of staging a USO-style show, but it quickly turned into a trip through history, touching on the various battles, conflicts and wars that have shaped this nation.

“What the final draft became is a tribute to the men and women in my family and throughout America and American history that have so selflessly sacrificed to win and protect the freedoms each of us enjoys today,” she said. “As a child I never fully understood what it meant to serve, but I was taught to honor and respect the country I live in and those who protect it.

“Each year I looked forward to the Memorial Day Service in Prescott, Kansas. My grandparents were the event coordinators. My grandpa was a veteran and my grandma was a “Rosie," but they called her "Tilly the Toiler" because she refused to quit working.  As an adult, I now carry on their legacy by coordinating the event.

With singers, dancers, band members and speakers from across the district, there will be more than 60 students and community members involved in the production.

The program with the list of participants is below.