A little slice of the New York City theater district is coming to the Richland stage.
The ensemble musical, "Angel Corps," produced by Legacy Performing Arts, a New York City-based theater company, will perform from 9 to 11:30 a.m., March 15, in the Fannin Performance Hall.
The Emeritus Plus 50 Program is sponsoring the musical.
The morning presentation will include a continental breakfast in the lobby of Fannin Hall.
Robin Benson, artistic director and founder of Legacy Performing Arts, launched the theater company in 2007.
The company has toured New York, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire, but has primarily performed in Manhattan. The performers are based in a Gramercy Park church.
The company got started, Benson said, when she talked with friends and artists who were between jobs and didn't have a creative outlet. Benson said she saw the company as a way to help people over 50 get into the performing arts.
"I wrote a show that I thought would be interesting to focus on for those over age 50," Benson said. "We toured all over New York and Vermont. We had a wonderful reception. We produced this one in the spring of 2010."
"Angel Corps" is based on army nurses but evolves out of the true stories of three women: Frances Slanger, Sally Hocutt and Ruth Haskell. It weaves the music of the 1940s with their stories.
"They didn't know each other," Benson said. "I wrote this piece about them."
Called to service after hearing Franklin D. Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor speech, the women of Angel Corps leave their families behind to serve overseas.
While working in the front lines, the heroines find laughs, a sense of purpose and even love.
Benson said she had an aunt who was an army nurse but never talked with her about
the war. The idea of army nurses intrigued Benson so much that she decided to thoroughly investigate the women's stories.
"I liked the time period of the 1940s," Benson said. "I collect old magazines. I found a story written about the angels working in the front. I went to the New York Public Library to do research."
Benson said she even researched books that were difficult to access, such as Haskell's book, "Helmets and Lipstick."
"The point is, it's a very rare book. It costs $400," Benson said. "You can't take the book out of the library.
I made copies of some pages. I found different source material. I wove these three characters [Slanger, Hocutt and Haskell] together."
"Angel Corps" is about 40 minutes long. The performance will end with a celebration of music, in which Legacy members will sing songs from the 1940s. Also, Dr. Paul Benson, Robin's father and professor of humanities at Mountain View College, will discuss the rich culture and history of the 1940s in America. He is the winner of three national teaching awards.
To register for the March 15 program, call the Emeritus office at 972-238-6147. The course number is 681907 and the fee is $15.
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