Volume 1, No. 16. September 7, 2001
New Glory
Like
most showmen, Brad Schroeder speaks in code. When he tells his stage designers
and technicians that he wants a "Lion King opening number" for one scene
and "Les Miserables barricade scene lighting" for another set, his crew
knows exactly the feel, flow and effect he wants to attain. Attaining such Broadway-size
feats is usually a beyond-reach goal for Schroeder, now in his 12th year as
director of entertainment and events for Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.
Yesterday, though, Schroeder got the chance to see his Lion King/Les Mis
ambition realized with the premiere of For the Glory, a Broadway-style
musical in Silver Dollar City's Opera House Theater. Though the show runs only
40 minutes and, as part of the park's fall Festival of American Craftsmanship,
will play only until October 27, it is the most elaborately staged show in the
park's 41-year history.
"I hope it's well received, or this may be my swan song," Schroeder joked. Telling
the story of families torn apart by the U.S. Civil War and based on that war's
second battle fought at nearby Wilson's Creek, Missouri, For the Glory
features a stage containing two 13-foot-diameter (4 meters) turntables on which
the action takes place, high-resolution PANI projection for realistic backdrops,
fiberoptic curtains, rain effects and cannons. "It's rather extraordinary for
anybody to mount this kind of production for a two-month run, and even more
extraordinary for the fact that it's in a theme park," Schroeder said.
His 9-year-old son spawned the idea. Two years ago the two were listening to
Civil War music when his son suggested Schroeder write a musical about the war.
"I thought Gettysburg has no bearing on this place, but then I started thinking
about Wilson's Creek." Though the National Battlefield Park is located just
35 miles from Branson, Schroeder had never visited the site. When he did, the
curators opened their research library to him. "The more I got into it, the
more I learned about the people who actually lived in the battlefield where
the Confederate encampment was," he said. "Here's a story that has a lot of
universal implications about what it is to be an American but grounded on what
happened that morning of August 10, 1861."
And the battlefield is so near the park, too, which is themed on 19th century
Americana. Ancillary to the theater playing For The Glory will be an
exhibit of Civil War artifacts and an information kiosk staffed by Wilson's
Creek officials.
The show, though, is not so much about war as about community and romance. It
starts with the battle's opening salvo (it's the Lion King-style opening
extravaganza Schroeder is reaching for) as the armies advance out of the darkness
from behind the audience in surroundsound song. Then, after the cannon fire,
the story recedes 48 hours to portray the participants preparing for the skirmish.
Those portrayals are based on actual diaries and letters from the Civil War.
The musical ends with the title number, a song of hope sung right before the
battle, bringing the action back to the opening sequence. "Either people will
leave totally confused or with a lump in their throat," Schroeder said.
At least they should leave impressed with the multi-sensory effort Schroeder
has put into the production. But with brisk ticket sales and the high investment
Silver Dollar City put into the show, For The Glory will likely get a
repeat run sometime next year, Schroeder said. He would not put a price tag
on the production, though. "It's a lot of money," he said. "Less than Les
Mis, and a lot less than Lion King." But no less ambitious.
[PHOTO of production's publicity picture]
©2001,
Minton Enterprises LLC
All rights reserved