'Yank! A WWII Love Story' opens in Bradenton
It's a little-known musical about a seldom-told aspect of American history.
"Yank! A WWII Love Story" is next up at the Bradenton Kiwanis Theater at the Manatee Performing Arts Center. It's about a Midwestern kid who's drafted into the war and falls in love another young man. Among its themes is how WWII became a great catalyst in bringing gay men and women together.
Few, if any, of the people involved in the upcoming Manatee Players production knew anything about "Yank!" before they auditioned. They've all turned into huge fans of the both the book and the score.
"The music's amazing," said Brian Craft. "It refers back to the '40s music, doo-wop and swing, but with a contemporary feel."
Craft plays Stu, the midwestern draftee who falls in love with Mitch, a basically straight guy. Mitch returns Stu's affections, but is conflicted because he has a girlfriend.
Billy Masuck plays Mitch, and he's also enamored of "Yank!"
"There's comedy, there's in-your-face drama, there's stage combat," Masuck said. "And the music's beautiful. It has a Rodgers and Hammerstein feel."
Craft and Masuck, along with director Kenn C. Rapcynski, acknowledge that the subject matter might be a bit daring for Manatee Players. But they said that older audience members will appreciate depiction of an era that was pivotal to their lives, or their parents' lives, and younger ones will appreciate the look at life before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and before even the mention of equal rights for gay people could be scandalous.
Rapczynski said he has spoken to WWII veterans who fought alongside of openly gay soldiers. They sometimes used slurs in describing those soldiers, he said, but said their sexuality was a non-issue. All that mattered was that the gay soldiers could shoot.
One of the ironies of the musical, and of the experiences of real-life gay soldiers in World War II, is that they were battling for America against the oppression, but yet they faced oppression at home.
"They were willing to fight for these freedoms that they themselves were denied," Rapczynski said.
"Yank!" was written by David Zellnick (book and lyrics) and his brother Joseph (music), neither of whom has written another musical you're likely to be familiar with. It had a workshop at a New York theater festival in 2005 and had a successful and well-reviewed Off-Broadway run a few years later. A Broadway run was in the works, but never happened, or at least hasn't happened yet.
But bleak undercurrents aside, he said, "Yank!" is a splashy musical with a huge cast for the studio theater space (10 men and a woman), big choreography and impressive sets. And perhaps most importantly, songs that stick in your head.
"The music is a salute to different musical styles," he said. "It's beautiful stuff."
Details: Feb. 18-March 6, Bradenton Kiwanis Theater at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. Show times: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $26. Information: 941-748-5875, manateeperformingartscenter.com.
Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919.
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This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 5:38 PM with the headline "'Yank! A WWII Love Story' opens in Bradenton ."