By Charles McClure
news@ltview.com
Perhaps no generation managed to capture the spirit of Christmas like those who lived through World War II.

“It was perhaps the last time in American when we truly had a sense of innocence,” said TexARTS co-founder Todd Dellinger. “It was a time when so many things were uncertain, but our nation pulled together as one to see us through those troubling days.”

The “Greatest Generation” has been a source of endless inspiration, and Dellinger is no exception. He has written a 1940s Christmas musical, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” that opens Friday, Dec. 5 at the Kam and James Morris Theatre at the TexARTS Keller Williams Studios, 2300 Lohman’s Spur. The show runs through Dec. 14.

Get ready for a nostalgic trip down memory lane complete with the most classic and beloved songs of the era.

“This production has been a labor of love,” said Dellinger. “The inspiration comes from my grandparents on both sides. While it was a very terrible time for America, it was also a very special time. As I began to think about it, I thought it would be nice to access all that wonderful music, draw upon those great stories and tap into what those families went through.”

Dellinger watched all 15 hours of the Ken Burns documentary “The War” in preparation to write the dialogue.

“It is pretty incredible stuff,” Dellinger said. “Anything that I thought I had understood about that period and went through was not only reinforced, but it also opened my mind in a much broader way about what exactly people went through and how hard it truly was.”

Dellinger’s grandparents on both sides lived in Pennsylvania.

“My grandmother on my mother’s side was in the Navy and served in Trinidad and my grandfather on my father’s side served in the Army — he was a scout. He was in the Battle of the Bulge.”

Dellinger can still remember seeing his grandfather’s uniform neatly hung in a closet.
Like so many World War II veterans, Dellinger’s grandfather seldom spoke about his experiences.

“I can remember that he had nightmares still when I was little,” Dellinger recalled. “They were flashbacks of the horrors he witnessed.”

But it was the artifacts and photographs that Dellinger would find stored in family closets that fascinated him.

“I always loved looking at the photos from that period,” Dellinger said. “I always had an affinity for that time.”

His love of vintage World War II photographs led him to request local residents to send their favorite pictures to TexARTS. Many will be incorporated into the show.

Wendy Zavaleta and Joe Penrod will narrate “I’ll Be Seeing You.” The cast includes Selena Rosanbalm, fresh off her critically acclaimed performance in the TexARTS production of “Always Patsy Cline,” Leslie Hollingsworth, Kelly Khun, Courtney Sculley, Alison Spell, Amanda Blalock, Andrew Cannata, Erin Erxleben, Erick Ferguson and David Gallagher.

Dellinger said he and fellow TexARTS co-founder Robin Lewis, a Broadway veteran who will choreograph the show, have been very pleased with the way the show has come together during the rehearsal process.

“We are hoping that this becomes an annual event here in the Lake Travis area,” Dellinger said. “The songs may change and different pictures may be used, but we think this has a real chance to find a special place in the hearts of our local theater patrons.”

The show is full of period favorites like “Boogie, Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Remember,” “In the Mood,” and of course the iconic “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

He has wrapped the songs around an original narrative based on the letters that were so prevalent during that period.

“It is based on two families living during the 1980s,” Dellinger said. “We learn through the narrative and the letters that were exchanged that they were children who lived across the street from each other in ‘Anywhere, America,’”

The focus is on the period from 1942-45.

“The narrative links it all together and tells the story in general way of what was going on at the time,” Dellinger said. “It starts with their fathers leaving and comes back around to some families being reunited, while others cope with the pain of loss.”

Dellinger said he was originally going to use actual period letters, but found it too difficult to find examples that would meld into a storyline.

“So I wrote letters that were in the style that were so common in those days,” Dellinger said. “I think people will identify with them.”

Reservations are recommended. Call the TexARTS box office 852-9079 or visit www.tex-arts.org for more information.