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Kentucky Historical Society
KHS Museum Theatre Team Prepares for Battle: New performance explores Kentucky’s Vietnam War connections
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 4, 2009)— The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) Museum Theatre team will debut its newest performance, “Theatre of War: Unresolved Conflict of Vietnam,” at 2 p.m. on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in downtown Frankfort.
A 20-minute performance by a single actor, “Theatre of War” will depict the soldier’s experience in the Vietnam War.
The play will be presented every Wednesday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. in November and is free with museum admission. Make sure to schedule a time to visit the KHS history campus and view this moving performance.
Planning for the play began six months ago and has involved nearly every department at KHS as well as scholars and military personnel across Kentucky. A KHS Museum Theatre Vietnam Advisory Committee offered expertise on the Vietnam War and advice on how to handle presenting it in a theatre piece. The sensitive nature of the Vietnam War made writing the script for this play especially difficult.
“The Vietnam War polarized America like no other subject since the Civil War,” said Dr. George Herring, emeritus professor of history at the University of Kentucky and member of the KHS Museum Theatre Vietnam Advisory Committee.
“Every community has a Vietnam story; we are just telling Kentucky’s story. We hope the play will move people emotionally and provide them with a sense of pride of their countrymen who served overseas, no matter what their own feelings about the war,” said Adam Luckey, KHS Museum Theatre specialist.
“Theatre of War” will be performed inside the gallery of “Kentucky Military Treasures: Selections from the Kentucky Historical Society Collections,” a new exhibition that will also debut on Veterans Day. The exhibition spans nearly 200 years of conflicts—from the War of 1812 to more recent engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq—and shares the personal stories of Kentuckians who fought and sometimes lost their lives in these battles.
Patrons will have a special chance to view the exhibition and play for free on Thursday, Nov. 12, the first of a three-day salute to military treasures and Kentucky traditions that KHS is hosting as part of Whitaker Bank and Downtown Frankfort Inc.’s Candlelight Tour Weekend. All KHS Candlelight events, activities and displays are free and open to the public, to view a complete schedule, visit the KHS Candlelight page.
Since 1998, the KHS Museum Theatre program has staged more than 40 original productions often inspired by the rich resources in the KHS collections. Each play is presented within the KHS galleries and is designed to connect audiences with the sights, sounds and stories of the past. These professional productions provide museum visitors with a personal perspective of historical characters and encourage them to explore the exhibitions to learn more. For more information on the KHS Museum Theatre program, contact Greg Hardison, Museum Theatre director, at 502-564-1792, ext. 4454 or Greg.Hardison@ky.gov.
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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history. The KHS history campus includes The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, Old State Capitol and Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the Web site at www.history.ky.gov.
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