For almost four decades — even during the global pandemic — Arts Express has persevered in celebrating the Fourth of July through music and song in its signature production of “Let Freedom Sing.”
This year, Tucson’s Independence Day tradition marks a new milestone: The musical extravaganza will be staged in the nonprofit’s new theater at Park Place, 5870 E. Broadway, Suite 214.
“We are so excited to celebrate the return of live music to ‘Let Freedom Sing’ in our new theater. We are committed to presenting a show that is really focused on uniting people and celebrating everything that brings us together while also celebrating diversity,” said Karen Wiese, executive director and producer of “Let Freedom Sing.”
The new 15,500-square-foot venue features cabaret-style seating with tables that are socially distanced. It offers not only a theater, but also administrative space, rehearsal rooms, classrooms and storage.
Wiese said the organization is gratified to bring mask-free live performances back to the public in the wake of the pandemic, which has presented numerous challenges — both financial and logistical — for arts-related nonprofits.
“It hasn’t been easy, but it has been heart-warming to figure out how to keep presenting the arts through the COVID-19 pandemic. We have gone forward with the mindset that the arts are essential to the community, and we can present them in a responsible way, and we have had six shows in our new theater since the pandemic started,” Wiese said.
Wiese emphasized that masks, social distancing and other safety protocols forced performers and theater artists to become more creative: Actors learned to use their eyes and upper faces more, artists worked to incorporate masks in costumes and maintained high-quality sound with lavalier microphones inside masks.
“The audience also had to use their imaginations, so we all learned a lot,” said Wiese.
However, she said they are thrilled to move forward with the mask mandate lifted as they rehearse for “Let Freedom Sing” and the upcoming performances of “A Chorus Line,” which opens Friday, July 23, and continues through Sunday, Aug. 1.
Production Director Matthew Holter finds it appropriate that Let Freedom Sing has a “Route 66” theme as the country begins to open up again.
“Basically we want to take the audience on a bit of a road trip along Route 66 and create a sense of that freedom of the road. Obviously, Let Freedom Sing has been the title of the show for years, and sometimes freedom can include the liberation one feels when taking a road trip,“ said Holter, who admitted that he loves driving cross-country.
He worked to incorporate the historic significance of the route established in 1926 as the “Main Street of America,” which originated in Chicago and continued through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica, California.
“It is very freeing when you are taking off on Route 66 with a sense of excitement and dreams and positive images in your mind. You are wondering what kind of experiences you will have on the trip and we bring that sense of wonderful possibilities to the audience with patriotic hits, jazz, musical theater and contemporary music that strikes a chord of summer on the road. We really have something for everyone,” Holter said.
Throughout the first half of the show, the repertoire will feature solos, duets and small and large ensembles of local performers and a seven-piece ensemble band described as a “lean, mean musical machine” performing classics with ties to locations along Route 66. Tunes include “Get Your Kicks On Route 66,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Singing in the Rain” and “California Dreamin’.” Against an underscoring of “Shenandoah,” Regina Wills will perform a reading of “Dreams,” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first influential Black poets in American literature.
“It is very stirring reading that goes right into “Over the Rainbow,” which alludes to the Rainbow Bridge that you cross on Route 66 in Kansas. There are subtle connections to locations along the route throughout the performance, and those subtleties are the types of things the audience of our shows often understand and appreciate,” said Holter.
Additionally, Holter said the performance will include a preview of “A Chorus Line” and many traditional patriotic classics such as “God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful.”
Ultimately, the first production of “Let Freedom Sing” in the new venue marks a landmark event for Arts Express as it continues its mission of building a better community through arts education and musical theatre. In the last year, it has served almost 13,500 people of all ages and diverse cultural and economic backgrounds as cast, crew and audience members. The continuum of programming is comprised of the Arts Express Kids Summer Program (grades kindergarten through 12); Behind the Scenes: Broadway and More; Monte Awards for high school students; Summer Stock for performers of all ages; and typically nine annual community theater productions including “Let Freedom Sing.”
