Laura Power
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 9, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - It's that time of year when people look back through time and remember the effects wars have had on the world.

But in the days leading up to Remembrance Day, Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC) will bring to its audience a different way of remembering.

Bridget Ryan, Beth Portman and Kate Ryan are the three singers/storytellers in the production The Swingin' Sisters Club which comes to Yellowknife this weekend. - photo courtesy of Northern Arts and Cultural Centre

The Swingin' Sisters Club by KayBridge Productions is a musical review with the talents of three Edmonton-based artists - Bridget Ryan, Beth Portman and Kate Ryan - and accompanying pianist Roxanne Classen.

The show looks at on the events of the Second World War through the eyes of the women who stayed at home.

"It's really a celebration of the music and the stories of the time," said Ben Nind of NACC. "I thought that it was a natural fit for Remembrance Day and I thought that telling the stories of the home front as a tribute to those who supported their soldiers that went to war was a different way of telling that story."

The show brings forth its messages through a series of songs from the 1940s, stories, and skits including the reproduction of radio shows that were popular at the time. Ryan said the group fell in love with the era's music when they performed in the productions Nightingales and The Saturday Night Club, years ago.

"This one kind of married the two shows together," said Kate Ryan. "It's kind of based on a story where three women kind of shake things up at a local radio station."

During the two-hour performance, each of the three women play several characters. She said one section of the show deals with what women dealt with at home during the war, including treatment they received in the factories.

"That raised a few eyebrows to certain audiences, but I think it's really important to talk about that," she said.

Though neither of them have relatives serving overseas today, each of them had family in the Second World War.

"I think that was another reason we all felt passionate about this show," said Ryan.

It's not only the calendar date that makes this show timely. Singer Kate Ryan said with what's going on in Afghanistan today, the theme of the show is relative.

"We need to remind everyone of that message, and how to really value your family and your home," she said. "When we did this show at the Edmonton Fringe ... we just could really feel the audience really being moved by how timely this music has become again."

The shows take place tonight and tomorrow night at NACC, with each show starting at 8 p.m.