Come Home to Kanesville

Can you possibly imagine what this town was like in 1846?
For one thing, this town was then named Kanesville and was the edge of civilization. Across the river, life was still rough and inhabited by Native Americans.
Many families of the Mormon faith had previously left Missouri to peacefully live in Nauvoo, Illinois to escape religious persecution. Unfortunately, again these people faced persecution with the death of their leader Joseph Smith and came to Kanesville for safety and to begin their trek to Salt Lake City, Utah.
"Come Home to Kanesville" is a musical about the history of Council Bluffs with the Mormon families settling here before moving across the river to their Winter Quarters in North Omaha.
What is unusual about this musical is that many of the leading roles are shared by two people. This allows for more development of the characters and the focus on the message rather than individual performers. Being this is the seventh and final year for the show, the performers search for ways to have the audience become more a part of the story. This year, two new songs have been added to the musical. Each year the show looks for ways to make it better than the previous ones.
With performers from Washington, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and locally, each lead had to learn two roles completely before meeting in Council Bluffs. The cast then intensely worked long hours for ten days to bring this to the community.
For some of the performers, this musical is a challenge and a learning experience teaching dancers to become actors, actors to become singers, and singers to become dancers. To achieve this, the cast of 63 members have to learn the value in trusting each other as they become a family on this stage.
Performances begin July 19th and continue through August 3rd on Tuesdays -Saturdays at 7:30 pm and a special family performances every Saturday at 4 pm at the Historic Kanesville Tabernacle located at 222 East Broadway. The show last about an hour and twenty minutes. These performances are free with limited seating on a first come first served basis.
With performers from Washington, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and locally, each lead had to learn two roles completely before meeting in Council Bluffs. The cast then intensely worked long hours for ten days to bring this to the community.
For some of the performers, this musical is a challenge and a learning experience teaching dancers to become actors, actors to become singers, and singers to become dancers.To achieve this, the cast of 63 members have to learn the value in trusting each other as they become a family on this stage.
Performances begin July 19th and continue through August 3rd on Tuesdays -Saturdays at 7:30 pm and a special family performances every Saturday at 4 pm at the Historic Kanesville Tabernacle located at 222 East Broadway. The show last about an hour and twenty minutes. These performances are free with limited seating on a first come first served basis.
With the value of relying on people rather than material possessions, the learning to trust in others to do what is right and pride of your heritage are just a few things experienced by both the early settlers and this cast.
During these hot summer months, come in and cool off at the Kanesville Tabernacle to enjoy some great music that will leave you smiling.