A patriotic tribute

Michele Marr

On a stage festooned with red, white and blue bunting and flanked on

each side by wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling American flags, more than

50 children stood in neat, tiered rows, prepared to sing.

A few looked shy, their expressions studied. A few looked dreamy.

Some looked proud. Nearly all of them flashed smiles that broadcast

an irrepressible exuberance.

They wore T-shirts and jeans -- the quintessential American

costume. Each of their navy blue shirts was emblazoned with an

American flag and three words, “Hope of America.”

The children’s choir of the Huntington Beach South Stake of The

Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints sang “Hope of

America,” the title song for the church’s 19th annual Independence

Day program.

“Whatever you are doing for the rest of the day, the show sets the

right tone so it’s not just ‘It’s the Fourth of July, we’re going to

have a barbecue.’” said Mark Matthews, who choreographed the dance

for the show with his wife, Julie.

This year, the hour-long music, dance and video production,

directed by Kathlene Busby, the church’s cultural arts director and

her co-directors, Diane Christensen and Elaine Miller, celebrated our

nation’s youth -- the hope of America.

It also commemorated the 100th anniversary of flight; acknowledged

Bob Hope, in the year of his 100th birthday, for his service to our

armed forces during an entertainment career that has spanned more

than seven decades, times of war and times of peace; honored our

nation’s military; and celebrated our national heritage.

Three tour guides, played by Parker Jacobs, Deanna Purdy and

Tammie Shinedling, led the audience through the show’s Americana tour

with bits of vaudeville patter.

At an early stop they paid tribute to every U.S. president by

name, “from George to George, by George.”

Later, in Kitty Hawk for the Wright brothers’ first flight, Jacobs

explained, “The Wright brothers built the first airplane.” “That’s

right!” quipped Shinedling.

The music was performed by a children’s choir directed by Mary

McCraney; an adult choir directed by Virginia Richardson; and four

pianists, a drummer and several other instrumentalists. Its mood

moved from lighthearted to poignant and from playful to reflective.

The children’s choir rocked and shoo-bah-bopped to “Celebrate the

United States.” They remembered the American frontier with a lively

“Davy Crockett,” while Brandon McClintock mimed a strapping Crockett

in fringed deerskins and a coonskin cap.

The 80-voice adult choir sang Alexander Shriner’s haunting

arrangement of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Part gospel, part

march, the music brought a hush over the room.

The children sang “The Wright Brothers” over a slide show of the

brothers’ plane and flight. Soloist Diana Rose, backed by The

McCraney Sisters, Mallory, Cassidy and Delaney, sang “Space Shuttle

Columbia” a tribute to the space program and a tender homage to its

fallen astronauts. “They died serving all mankind, living out our

dream,” Rose sang.

Jacobs, Purdy and Shinedling harmonized a snappy “Don’t Sit Under

the Apple Tree” and, to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” 30

children, ages 2 to 5, dressed in red, white and blue, paraded down a

catwalk off center stage, waving tiny American flags.

Twenty-four teenagers swing danced to “American Patrol.” Dressed

true the era, the boys wore pleated trousers, white shirts and

suspenders. The girls wore soft dresses with gathered bodices and

flirty, flounced hems, all handmade in the week before the show.

“None of the dancers had any real experience,” said Matthews, who

had only a handful of rehearsals to teach them the number. The

couples wowed the audience and won applause with tricky pull-throughs

and flips, some of swing dance’s signature moves.

After saluting Bob Hope with a video retrospective and the

nostalgic song, “Thanks For the Memory,” the show, as it does every

year, saluted the U.S. armed forces.

Four church members took the stage, one-by-one, to represent the

Army, the Air Force, the Marines and the Navy: Sgt. Craig O’Connor,

Cadet 3rd Class Zachary Parker, Major David Jones and Lieutenant

Ritchie Blake.

Veterans of the armed forces in the audience were asked to stand

to be recognized. The show’s cast and the audience sang the Army

Song, the Air Force Song, the Song of the Navy and the Marine Corps

Hymn. The tribute drew a standing ovation.

“They don’t stand up [every day] and say, ‘Hey, I did this great

thing’,” Matthews said. “I like having the opportunity to give them

some respect for their willingness to serve.”

For Busby, who has worked on 18 of 19 shows, they are all about

celebrating the privilege of living in the United States.

“We started doing one show and it got so popular we started having

two shows and they sold out. Last year we added a third show,” said

McCraney.

The church’s 600-seat meetinghouse theater was sold out for the

third year. Busby waved an arm toward the emptying seats after

Friday’s 10 a.m. show.

“Every show was standing room only,” she said, which is how she

hopes it will always be.

* MICHELE MARR is a freelance writer from Huntington Beach. She

can be reached at michele@soulfoodfiles.com.