Dec. 12, 2010
A 1940s Christmas Homecoming
By Sandee Lloyd
Rose Hill Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky is presenting the musical "A 1940s Christmas Homecoming" this weekend. The first performance was Friday, December 10 and the next will be at 6:00 pm Sunday, December 12.
Clips from movies "It's A Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street" and "White
Christmas" were shown to set the mood of life in the 1940s.
The center of the stage features a large choir behind a radio announcer. On either side are areas representing a family at home and soldiers in the war zone.
The play is set in a radio station in World War II Italy, with announcer Rob Prat introducing a soldier, Eddie, (Chris Pennington), who has just been given a special leave to go home to his family for Christmas. Eddie is brought on stage and told his wife, (his real-life wife Sarah Pennington), and children, (also his real-life children Madison, Mikayla, Luke and Chase), have been given a short-wave radio setup and are listening to the announcement in their home.
The family is excited that their husband and father will be home for Christmas. The children made colorful paper chains to decorate their Christmas tree, read and colored, and the girls played with their dolls while they waited.
Eddie and a fellow soldier, (Ryan Curry), discuss how lucky Eddie is to be going home for Christmas when their commanding officer, (Danny Gallion), asks to speak with Eddie alone. He tells Eddie he is needed for a mission that will save many lives and for which only Eddie is qualified, but the mission has to occur on Christmas Eve delaying his trip home. We then learn the officer is Eddie's father and he talks about how hard it is to send his son on such a mission.
Eddie and his friend compare his being sent on the dangerous mission by his father to Jesus being sent on a mission to earth by his father, God. Eddie explains that he is not afraid because he knows God will watch over him and bring him safely home to his family. The other soldier wants to feel that kind of peace too.
On a telephone call to his family, Eddie's wife tells him of a line in the song "Silent Night" that has always meant a lot to her and he promises when he returns safely from his mission he will say the line on the radio so she will know he's safe.
Everyone anxiously waits to see if Eddie will return from his mission. **Spoiler Alert!** If you want to be surprised skip the next paragraph.
His family anxiously waiting by the short-wave radio and his commander, buddy and radio announcer waiting in the studio are worried that he should have been back hours earlier. Suddenly he runs down the aisle and onto the stage, safe, and says the line on the radio. His buddy confides that he found Jesus and has accepted Him as his Savior. The play ends with Eddie arriving home to a joyous reunion with his family.
Throughout the play, the choir beautifully sings Christmas carols as musical interludes on the radio show. Led by Musical Director Jason Johnson, the choir sings carols from slow and somber to brisk and upbeat. They have a marvelous blend of voices and clearly enjoy the music. Joe and Karen Hopkins and John and Pam McGuire performed as the Harmonaires, and there were solo numbers by James Blevins, Rebecca Curry and Rhonda Alley. Young Madison Pennington sang a lovely version of "Silent Night."
The choir obviously loves singing and were incredibly moving with the slower numbers and uplifting with the joyous "Joy to the World."
"A 1940s Christmas Homecoming" is an interesting departure from the more traditional retelling of the Christmas story and is heartwarming, uplifting and joyous, with the wonderful music by the choir and the stellar performances by the actors. If at all possible, see this performance at the Rose Hill Baptist Church, 1001 Winslow Road, Ashland, KY 41102, 6:00 pm Sunday, December 12.
Pictures show the actors, choir and scenes from the play. These and more can be seen at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com.
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By Sandee Lloyd
Rose Hill Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky is presenting the musical "A 1940s Christmas Homecoming" this weekend. The first performance was Friday, December 10 and the next will be at 6:00 pm Sunday, December 12.
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The center of the stage features a large choir behind a radio announcer. On either side are areas representing a family at home and soldiers in the war zone.
The play is set in a radio station in World War II Italy, with announcer Rob Prat introducing a soldier, Eddie, (Chris Pennington), who has just been given a special leave to go home to his family for Christmas. Eddie is brought on stage and told his wife, (his real-life wife Sarah Pennington), and children, (also his real-life children Madison, Mikayla, Luke and Chase), have been given a short-wave radio setup and are listening to the announcement in their home.
The family is excited that their husband and father will be home for Christmas. The children made colorful paper chains to decorate their Christmas tree, read and colored, and the girls played with their dolls while they waited.
Eddie and a fellow soldier, (Ryan Curry), discuss how lucky Eddie is to be going home for Christmas when their commanding officer, (Danny Gallion), asks to speak with Eddie alone. He tells Eddie he is needed for a mission that will save many lives and for which only Eddie is qualified, but the mission has to occur on Christmas Eve delaying his trip home. We then learn the officer is Eddie's father and he talks about how hard it is to send his son on such a mission.
Eddie and his friend compare his being sent on the dangerous mission by his father to Jesus being sent on a mission to earth by his father, God. Eddie explains that he is not afraid because he knows God will watch over him and bring him safely home to his family. The other soldier wants to feel that kind of peace too.
On a telephone call to his family, Eddie's wife tells him of a line in the song "Silent Night" that has always meant a lot to her and he promises when he returns safely from his mission he will say the line on the radio so she will know he's safe.
Everyone anxiously waits to see if Eddie will return from his mission. **Spoiler Alert!** If you want to be surprised skip the next paragraph.
His family anxiously waiting by the short-wave radio and his commander, buddy and radio announcer waiting in the studio are worried that he should have been back hours earlier. Suddenly he runs down the aisle and onto the stage, safe, and says the line on the radio. His buddy confides that he found Jesus and has accepted Him as his Savior. The play ends with Eddie arriving home to a joyous reunion with his family.
Throughout the play, the choir beautifully sings Christmas carols as musical interludes on the radio show. Led by Musical Director Jason Johnson, the choir sings carols from slow and somber to brisk and upbeat. They have a marvelous blend of voices and clearly enjoy the music. Joe and Karen Hopkins and John and Pam McGuire performed as the Harmonaires, and there were solo numbers by James Blevins, Rebecca Curry and Rhonda Alley. Young Madison Pennington sang a lovely version of "Silent Night."
The choir obviously loves singing and were incredibly moving with the slower numbers and uplifting with the joyous "Joy to the World."
"A 1940s Christmas Homecoming" is an interesting departure from the more traditional retelling of the Christmas story and is heartwarming, uplifting and joyous, with the wonderful music by the choir and the stellar performances by the actors. If at all possible, see this performance at the Rose Hill Baptist Church, 1001 Winslow Road, Ashland, KY 41102, 6:00 pm Sunday, December 12.
Pictures show the actors, choir and scenes from the play. These and more can be seen at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com.
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