BWW Reviews: Gettysburg Community Theatre Offers CHILDREN OF GETTYSBURG and AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL as Part of Gettysburg 150th Offerings

Gettysburg Community Theatre has the advantage, in summer, of reaching to audiences not normally aware of its work, because it is located in one of Central Pennsylvania's three major tourist destinations. The others, Hershey and Lancaster, have large professional theatres available to tourists; Gettysburg has an active volunteer theatre located directly in its historic district downtown. Artistic Director Chad-Alan Carr works heavily with children and teens, and so, at this time of year, he's in a unique position to cry, along with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!"

And "let's put on a show" they have this year, leading up to the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. They've put on two, to be exact - CHILDREN OF GETTYSBURG and AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL. The latter is a short (45 minute) children's revue featuring American music in several genres, especially show music. However, its rock and roll set is worthy of some note; Karli Keller, should you catch her, is an up and coming Tracy Turnblad, capable of bringing her dancing and her stage presence to "Hairspray" in the future. Kevin Foster, if you catch his performance, brings an awkward, gawky charm to "Go Away, Little Girl" that the song usually lacks. But the main set is Broadway tunes, reaching from Cole Porter ("Another Opening, Another Show") to MerEdith Wilson ("Seventy-Six Trombones") and, surprisingly, Andrew Lloyd Webber, not normally the king of American music (he's English, of course, and Eva Peron is from a different American continent) but certainly the king of Broadway.

The only criticism this reviewer can offer other than her curiosity about Webber's presence in the song list is... jazz hands? In "Cabaret"? Let's not, and say we didn't. Otherwise, this is a short, charming show that ends in time for both locals and Gettysburg visitors to have dinner downtown, in one of the number of restaurants within walking distance of the theatre.

CHILDREN OF GETTYSBURG, a longer work, is in the workshop stage and is being presented as storyteller theatre, which works well for it. The author, Katie Pellegrino, is a recent graduate of Gettysburg's public schools, as well as being active with Gettysburg Community Theatre; she has spent two years writing, but more particularly researching, the stories of children living in Gettysburg during the Battle of Gettysburg and finding ways to tell their stories. The bulk of the music is period Civil War song, nicely presented by a cast of widely varying ages, just as the children who made up half of Gettysburg's population in 1863 varied widely in age.

The songs of CHILDREN OF GETTYSBURG are mostly familiar to adults, ranging from "Battle Cry of Freedom" to "Goober Peas," and certainly not omitting the Battle Hymn of the Republic - in, however, all of its verses, which are not all as familiar to audiences as the few customarily sung. The stories are less familiar, but are striking in their telling by the young actors playing the actual children of the town at the time - it is rare that we think of American children as living in a battle zone or having to respond accordingly. There are girls dragooned into helping with nursing, children stumbling over dead bodies, those waiting for word of their own relatives in the war elsewhere in the country. There is the excitement... or not... for children present for President Lincoln's delivery of the Gettysburg Address - some children on The Edge of their seats, some snoring in theirs.

Although it is clearly still in workshop stage, CHILDREN OF GETTYSBURG has some definite potential. It would be nice to see this worked on a bit more heavily on the technical end, and on how to present it in the final version, as Pellegrino has the makings on her hands of what could be a valuable school play for children not only in Central Pennsylvania but across the country. There is no better way to make both history and the effects of war more real to children than to present the stories of other children.

The children and teens involved with CHILDREN OF GETTYSBURG, especially those playing Liberty, Daniel and Annie, and Albertus, take on some heavy work and carry it off. They should be proud of their places in this premiere. Kudos also to the costumers, who clearly worked overtime to handle wardrobe. Special kudos to musical director Mary George, who may be the hardest-working woman at a keyboard anywhere until the Gettysburg festivities die down this year.

This is a show starring children that deserves to be watched by people well outside the friends and family of the cast. Both CHILDREN OF GETTYSBURG and AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL are on the Gettysburg Community Theatre stage through July 5. Call 717-334-2692 or visit www.gettysburgcommunitytheatre.org for tickets.

Photo credit: Gettysburg Community Theatre

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