photo by Scott Kahn
Bobby Steggert as Stu & Ivan Hernandez as Mitch
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Many movies, Broadway shows, and television series have dissected nearly every war in the mere 200-plus years in America's history. Many shows have shown the inner and outer struggles of boys conscripted into service and how they become the men they become. But NOTHING prior to this time has highlighted the specific struggle of men, as they become aware of the central part of their being, revealed by the annealing fire of being thrust into a crisis, in the company of other men, until "Yank."

World War II is present in the collective mind and history books, represented in every format from music to cable TV series. We never tire of the war stories that humanize those who came before us. Since gay men and lesbians have been largely excluded from written histories, it might seem to some that LGBTI people were "invented" at Stonewall. We have always been "here," and we were certainly "there," giving our lives, energy and loves to the cause. "Yank," inspired by the late Allan Bérubé's book "Coming Out Under Fire: the History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two," is that story.

Borrowing the title of the magazine published by enlisted men, for enlisted men, this musical is a rarity-it's new! The music is written in the classic musical style-1940s-style music for a 1940s-style musical where there's pin-up girls, like Betty Grable, and a secret hidden lesbian treading the corridors of power in the Pacific Theatre. These and other women in the show are all ably played by the versatile Nancy Anderson, who in "Yank" world, really IS every woman! There's great choreography, a partial-"Monty" scene right in the beginning and another rarity-an intermission theatre line for the *men's* room. And if that's not enough, tap dance and a dream ballet make this the perfect genre musical for all times, with a love story for all time.

Stu (Bobby Steggert) is a young man drafted into this man's Army and wondering what all men wonder, whether or not they admit it-is he man enough to survive selective service? Until he meets his squad-including Tennessee (Andrew Durand), Rotelli (David Perlman), Professor (Christopher Ruth), Czechowski (Tally Sessions)-and Hollywood, whom most of the guys know as Mitch (Ivan Hernandez), and his destiny. It's Mitch who makes basic training bearable. Stu's feelings for Mitch are deep and once he figures out what they're really about, the greatest danger is not in the South Pacific.

Stu meets his future, however, in Artie, a reporter for "Yank" magazine, late one evening at an enlisted man's club. Played by actor/choreographer Jeffry Denman, Artie's arch and oily ways make him a winning-um-mentor showing Stu the ways to survive the war. Artie also provides Stu's initiation into an amazing brotherhood and reveals a world within a world within a world.

The ensemble also includes a versatile troupe of players including Todd Faulkner as Sarge-the proto-Sergeant of EveryPlatoon-as well as Scarlett, the starlet of the Steno pool. With Zak Edwards as Melanie, Denis Lambert as multiple characters, and Joseph Medeiros as well, showing versatility, the entire ensemble is strong. Steggert and Denman's initial meeting and interlude plays out as a delicious tap pas de deux, and the device of men meeting men also plays out in tap, later in the show-an excellent metaphor, as tap isn't for everyone, but some of us love it! Lambert is also the Dream Mitch, dancing with Medeiros as Dream Stu, in a vision Stu has, and you will need to see the beauty of the work, and the emotions and pathos behind it, to have a true appreciation of its depth.

"Yank" begins with the finding of a diary and two men are connected via a long line of love and liberation. All is there for us to discover, and to understand that there are some human experiences that none of us invent, but all of us may feel.

"Yank-The Musical" has extended through April 4, so make sure to visit www.yorktheatre.org or call 212/935.5820 for remaining availability. You MUST see this show-it's the history of our lives.