When I first heard about the Soldier Show, I had lots of questions. You mean Soldiers sing and dance for audiences full of other Soldiers? And they produce it all themselves? But it’s not cheesy? They pack it up and travel all around the country for months? Then they reconfigure and do it all overseas? My first thought was: That sounds pretty cool. My next thought was: How come I’ve never heard of this before?
In San Antonio, the 2015 Soldier Show was extra special, because the homecoming performance – the one at the end of the six-month stateside tour – was held at a gem of a venue off-post called the Tobin Center. Because the Tobin holds a big crowd, more people had a chance to see the sold-out performance. Also, going off-post gives Soldiers chance to interact more with the civilian community. They can showcase more about what they do, how they serve and how the community serves them, too. It’s completely fitting for a show whose theme is “We Serve.”
I thought something called the “Soldier Show” might have lots of marching, drums, fifes and bugles and over-the-top patriotic sentimentality. My husband thought it might be Soldiers taking turns coming up to the stage to sing songs. Nope. This is straight-up entertainment. These Soldiers are talented. They sing. They dance. They even pop and lock. It’s all contemporary numbers you know and hear on your music stream. There’s no lip synching. They’re in shape and they do it all for real live on stage.
On top of that, they wove themes from Army culture into the show. Not in a preachy way, but more in a, “Hey, we got you” kind of way. Gold Star families were honored in a particularly touching piece. During another song, it took me a while to notice some Army Community Service (ACS) program logos going on in the background. I leaned over to tell my husband I recognized one, but he was already tracking. Of course, he knew what they all meant and why they went with the song. That’s another great thing about the Soldier Show. It’s by the Soldiers and for the Soldiers, so they’ll get those themes and appreciate them. But it’s completely entertaining for everybody else, too.
The whole team clearly works hard to put it together, and it’s important that they do. It’s not only top-notch entertainment. Civilian and military audiences get a glimpse at what makes America’s Army so great. We hear messages of inspiration and pride. And for the homecoming show in San Antonio, more people from the civilian community in Military City, USA clued into all the amazing things that our Soldiers do to serve.
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