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Time to Remember
A Tribute to the Men and Women of WWII
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Time To Remember interweaves music and stories of the war years from basic training in Canada, to the military camps in England, the battlefields of France, and the Pacific Campaign. While designed especially for veterans, this show also is a must for anyone interested in discovering the history of wartime Canadians, the songs they sang, and the music that inspired and touched their hearts.
Following an opening tribute to the Navy, the Air Force, and the Army, with What Do You Do In The Infantry, Squadron 413 and All the Nice Girls Love A Sailor, the audience is swept up into an evening of adventure as they journey through the war years. The audience is introduced first to the young men from England who arrived in the small town of Yarmouth on the south-western tip of Nova Scotia to be trained at East Camp - the Telegraphist Air Gunners of the Fleet Air Arm Royal Navy. 'All the nice girls love a sailor' and it will be no different for the audience as they meet and our two "TAGs".
The show moves quickly to the pilots of the Royal Canadian Air Force who flew the skies of south-western Nova Scotia, and to the Army recruits who came by the thousands from across Canada to be trained at the Canadian Infantry Basic Training Camp 60. The antics of basic training are relived in songs like This Is The Army Mr. Jones and Kiss Me Good Night Sergeant Major. The recruits will tell humorous stories of training in Yarmouth, intermingled with the songs they sang.
From the light-hearted to the serious, the audience will see these young men and women about to venture across the Atlantic to England. The powerful emotions of departure are conveyed in dialogue and the songs Good Luck To The Boys of the Allies, Now Is the Hour, and Red Sails In The Sunset. In England amidst the reality of war there is romance and the audience is introduced to the wartime story of a young Canadian nurse and a Canadian airman who meet during a bombing raid. As time passes the story unfolds from the songs I Know Why to I'll See You In My Dreams.
The music of the British pub, including Tavern In The Town, Roll Out The Barrel and Boomps A Daisy, offer a glimpse of how young men and women were able, for a brief time, to forget the realities of war, drink, meet people, and sing around a piano while they waited to ship out to unknown destinations.
As Act II begins, the audience returns to the home front with the song Keep The Home Fires Burning and stories from local newspapers. The audience travels to the battlefields of Europe and learns of the joy and sadness, courage and determination, commitment and sacrifice of brave men and women. The Act includes The White Cliffs of Dover and a tribute to Dover, England and the role of Canadian soldiers in capturing the guns of Calais. A British TAG relates events of the Pacific Campaign and the audience is introduced to his Australian war bride.
As is traditional with 440 productions, Time To Remember pays tribute to Dame Vera Lynn and to the patriotism of wartime Britain through a presentation of the well-known songs that include Yours, Berkeley Square and There'll Always Be An England. These songs inspire the audience to an appreciative understanding of the staunch belief in victory and in the future. All 440 wartime stage presentations end with We'll Meet Again and Wish Me Luck and this season's performance is no exception.
For both the cast and the audience the experience of an evening of wartime music is one that will leave them humming tunes and remembering the unforgettable moments and people of the war years.
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