Gustav-Ryberg
The Kissers
The scale and savagery of World War I will hopefully never be matched. The four-year conflict led to the mobilization of 70 million personnel. Field Marshall Douglas Haig’s British troops suffered nearly 60,000 casualties at the Battle of the Somme on the first day. By the end of the Somme’s eight-month engagement 1.2 million Allied and German soldiers had died. There were still two years of World War I to come.
On Nov. 11, the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, a battalion of Madison musicians will take the stage at the Barrymore Theatre for an original stage show called “The Greatest War: World War I, Wisconsin, and Why It Still Matters.” The ambitious production is largely the brainchild of local Celt-rocker Ken Fitzsimmons, who approached the project with a level of determination that Sir Douglas Haig himself would approve of.
Sean Michael Dargan
Co-producers John Wedge and Ken Fitzsimmons trying out a smaller version of a video wall at Blizzard Lighting in Waukesha.
Fitzsimmons has a life-long interest in WWI starting, he remembers, as a young man who noticed a paltry row of books on the subject in a bookstore compared to the volumes on the Civil War and World War II. He calls the Nov. 11 production “a “live rock ’n’ roll history show.” It’s the result of more than a year of research, composing and rehearsal. Onstage, Fitzsimmons and his band the Kissers will be joined by, among others, Sean Michael Dargan (Get Back Wisconsin) and Milwaukee’s hip-hop polka group November Criminals. While the musicians perform, a large screen will feature photos, film, art and newspaper archives.
The songs tell the stories of Wisconsinites who were caught in the cauldron of war. Not all were in the trenches. “Traitor State” tells the story of how nine of 11 of Wisconsin’s U.S. congressional representatives voted against going to war. Fitzsimmons wrote this song as a conversation between himself (playing the role of Wisconsin) and his band members (who represent the rest of the country).
Fitzsimmons says he believes the show will provide an entertaining and enlightening way to learn about the war and why it still matters. “Music has a direct line into your heart. And in the live setting we can provide a performance without distraction,” says Fitzsimmons. “What I want in this concert more than anything is to foster a sense of connection between the audience and those who lived during this extraordinary time.”
