Come “Home Again” at the George Daily Auditorium“ June 16-17
Home Again Rehearsal
By Hailey Brown
(Oskaloosa, Iowa) – What makes Mahaska a great place to call home? What made the “good old days” so good? Find out as “Home Again” takes the stage at George Daily Auditorium on Saturday, June 16 at 7 P.M. and Sunday, June 17 at 3 P.M. The result of stories and photos contributed during the Mahaska Memories Roadshow event back in March, this production is sure to entertain anyone with an interest in Mahaska County history. Conversations with locals were also used to create many of the scenes depicted, adding a personal touch to the production.
The performance features photographs of 150 years of Mahaska history, live music with performances by Jeff Van Devender, Beth Crookham, and local musicians, theatrical sketches, and video and audio stories. “Home Again” was written by the George Daily Auditorium out of the stories, memories, and photos collected during the Mahaska Memories Roadshow and interviews with community members.
Covering almost 175 years of history is too much for a 90-minute show, so “Home Again” hits the highlights. It uses familiar genres, like Westerns and ghost hunting TV shows, to tell familiar Mahaska stories. In one sketch, a group of ghost-hunting kids investigate a ghost that reportedly haunted the Buxton coal mine. In another, storytellers reminisce about how it used to be in the style of Prairie Home Companion. The Home Place, a sketch in the second act of the show, tells the story of four generations of a family farm using the stories of Mahaska County farming families. The Oskaloosa Community Theatre filmed a segment called “Art on the Square” where goofy reporter Art details happenings around the county, while the Fremont Community Theatre will perform a jingle about Stinkfest.
“We’ll tell some stories and sing together until the streetlight comes on, and it’s time to go home again,” reads the online description of the show.
Rehearsals started at the beginning of May and at least 45 locals have been cast to help tell the many stories that will be featured during the show. However, the concept for the show actually spans back a few years, with some of the first ideas surfacing in 2015.
“This show has been a labor of love over the past few years,” said Andy McGuire, Youth Director at the George Daily, as his wife Allison went through the full rehearsal with the rest of the cast on Wednesday night.
According to McGuire, the dream has become a reality thanks to the hard work of those involved as well as support from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets are available at www.georgedaily.org, by calling 641-672-0799, or by stopping by the box office. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Support for this project is provided by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Additional info from George Daily Auditorium
