MOUNT VERNON – MTVarts, a nonprofit, all-volunteer theater company in Mount Vernon, is honoring Vietnam veterans this Veterans Day with a special production of “Welcome Home: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans” on Nov. 11-12 at Knox Memorial Theater.
According to a press release from MTVarts, the play is based on Lt. Col. Steven Jacklin’s book “The Journey: A Veteran Service Memoir.” Steven Jacklin’s brother, Bruce Jacklin, will direct the play’s performance.
“My main exposure to the Vietnam experience was through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy watching his older brother putting away his high school football and seeing him board a plane en route to Vietnam,” Bruce Jacklin said in the release. “There were no emails, texts or Facetime to keep in touch. Only the evening news offering any peace of mind that your son was not a part of a deadly conflict.”
Steven Jacklin, along with Susan Rudd Hamilton, adapted the story into a stage musical. Steve joined the Marines in 1969 and did two tours of duty in Vietnam as a basic infantryman. After earning his pilot wings in 1979, Steven served in the Ohio Army National Guard, worked in the Pentagon after 9/11 and retired from military service in 2004.
He retired in 2010 from the Veterans Administration to pursue a writing career. His published writings include the music albums “A Storyteller’s Journey,” “The Writers’ Series” and “Where the Hell is My Parade"; a book of memoirs, “The Journey”; and the musical “Welcome Home.”
Susan Rudd Hamilton, a longtime theatre troupe member, writes and directs whodunit and comedy plays and writes romance, mystery and teen books. This is her first musical collaboration, with more to come, she said in the release.
Mason Mickley, a cast member portraying “Gung Ho” Tucker, said the play provides an opportunity to set the record straight about the horror of the Vietnam War.
“I’m excited to be part of something so raw, so true and so genuinely authentic that will tell just a few of those thousands of stories that deserve to be heard,” Mickley said in the release.
Play director Bruce Jacklin recounted the war’s statistics: 58,000 American service members died and more than 150,000 were wounded. Jacklin said many survivors were denied a proper homecoming.
“As a military force, Vietnam veterans were met with none of the fanfare and received none of the benefits bestowed upon World War II’s ‘greatest generation.’ This show is dedicated to them,” he said.
WHEN: Thursday and Friday, Nov. 11 and 12, at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Knox Memorial Theater.
TICKETS: $20, free for all veterans. Please note the show is rated R for mature language and subject matter.
SPONSORS: White Castle, VFW Post 4027, AMVETS Post 95, Knox County Veterans Service Office, Veterans Service Administration, Knox Memorial, and with assistance of proceeds from Stein Brewing Co.’s Boo n’ Brew event.
LEARN MORE: Visit mtvarts.com, knoxmemorial.org or go to Park National Bank on the Square in Mount Vernon.
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