An important piece of American history recently came to life on the Richland stage.
Legacy Performing Arts (LPA), a
New York theater company, presented
"AngelCorps," on March 15, a short
musical depicting the dedicated lives of three adventurous World War II
army nurses.
Three LPA actresses, Gretchen
Mundinger, Krista Severeid and Robin Benson gave their audience a glimpse into the lives of the nurses – Sally Hocutt, Frances Slanger and Ruth Haskell.
The 40-minute production wove short skits about the nurses, their families, and their paths to enlistment during the war – through songs, recordings and a few dance steps. At the
end of the production, geared toward over-50 students, Mundinger, Severeid and Benson led the audience in a celebration of 1940s music, including "Sentimental
Journey," "Accentuate the Positive," "I'll
be Seeing You," and "Someone to Watch Over Me."
Benson, artistic director and founder of LPA, formed the theater company in 2007, along with her cousin Krista and Mundinger. LPA is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to producing superior quality theater for older adults. They seek to change society's perception of the elderly.
Dr. Paul Benson, Robin's father and professor of humanities at Mountain View College, informed the audience about Mary Wilson, (the first woman to win a Silver Star in World War II) and discussed the rich culture and history of the 1940s.
Benson told the story of his world religion class at Mountain View in Sept-
ember 1998, when an 84-year-old lady named Mary Wilson came into his class,
said she was interested in religion and wanted to sit in every Tuesday and Thursday. He agreed, because he was used to seniors sitting in on his class.
When the class ended in December 1998, Wilson surprised him by giving him the book, "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw," and said it was the first day of publication.
Benson was surprised even more when he turned to Page 173 and found out that Mary Roberts Wilson was the "Angel of Anzio," one of the most famous nurses of World War II.
"She won a Silver Star and was sitting in my class," Benson said. "She spent her whole life helping people."
Benson said that with "AngelCorps", to a certain extent, LPA is telling the story of his good friend, Mary Wilson, who has since passed away.
"Life is full of unusual surprises," Benson said. "You never know who you're talking to."
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