The Greatest War: World War I, Wisconsin & Why It Still Matters

×

Expand

Subtitled “World War One, Wisconsin and Why It Still Matters,” this event will mix music and history to tell the story of the conflict and mark the centenary of Armistice Day. The Kissers (pictured) contribute seven new originals as part of more than 20 songs woven in among readings of period letters and diaries, and projected images. Also performing are Sean Michael Dargan, Hanah Jon Taylor, Joe Nosek, November Criminals, and The Viper & His Famous Orchestra. For more events marking the Armistice Day centennial, visit thegreatestwar.org.

press release: In the two weeks running up to Veteran’s Day, Sunday 11 November 2018, there will be a program of events in Madison to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War One. These events are being staged to foreground the enormity, significance and lasting legacy of the First World War, a conflict that affected millions, including soldiers, nurses, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters who came from Wisconsin.

Collectively known as Armistice +100, these events will have something for everyone:  art exhibitions, film screenings, live theater and musical performances. The centerpiece and culmination of these events is a live “Rock and Roll History Show” at Madison’s historic Barrymore Theatre called, The Greatest War:  World War One, Wisconsin, and Why It Still Matters.

Equal parts rock opera and documentary, the show uses music, imagery, and words to tell the story of the Armistice and the war that lead up to it. Using letters, diaries, and articles written by Wisconsinites, it presents a way of connecting the past with our world today. And it draws the audience in with compelling music written and recreated by Wisconsin musicians:  Madison Irish rock legends The Kissers; acclaimed Madison singer/songwriter/bagpiper Sean Michael Dargan; Milwaukee’s polka/hip-hop powerhouse November Criminals; and Milwaukee's ukulele provocateur The Viper and his Famous Orchestra. The music will be accompanied by a live display of photos, film, and artwork from 1914-1918, projected on a giant, 24x14 foot, digital video wall.

Today’s geopolitical world has been shaped by no single factor more than the First World War. The Greatest War is a multimedia, exhibition-rich, live music exploration of the modern, living legacy of the conflict and the uneasy truce that ended it. 100 years to the day after the Armistice, the historic Barrymore Theatre will brim with this rock ‘n’ roll history show, expounding upon and exalting that legacy, while searching for meaning in "The War to End All Wars." We want people to come to the show curious about what it was and why it should still matter; we want them to leave with some answers, a song in their head, and even more curiosity for their own future investigations.

Our ever-growing group of partners includes:  The Wisconsin Veterans Museum; The Wisconsin Historical Society; The US World War One Centennial Commission; The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research; Blizzard Lighting; The Progressive Magazine; Chapter 25, Veterans for Peace; and the Wisconsin Union Directorate.

There is a lot more information about it here: www.thegreatestwar.org/

Tickets:  $15.00 Advance/$17.00 Day Of Show