The U.S. Army Soldier Show will roll into Fort Gordon for two performances next month.
Back | Next 
"This is a high-energy, high-tech show featuring some of the best talent in the Army," said Steve Walpert, Fort Gordon's entertainment director.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the modern era of the show. Irving Berlin began the Soldier Show tradition in 1918.
The 90-minute show is a mix of musical types. Included will be a tribute to Mr. Berlin, with soldiers performing his 1942 tune This Is the Army, Mr. Jones.
Also marking its 25th anniversary this year is Michael Jackson's album Thriller. The soldiers will perform a special rendition of the song.
"As the song begins, a soldier-performer on guard duty scans the audience with a night vision camera and spectators can see themselves on positive screens. With the use of black lights and colored costumes, the night-vision effect will spill onto the stage," according to a news release from the Army's Directorate of Family and Morale, Recreation and Welfare.
While the show is upbeat, Mr. Walpert said he hopes the audience has an awareness of the performers and their ultimate mission.
"There is a second when you are watching this Las Vegas-quality show when you have to take a pause and remember that these are our soldiers," he said. "A year ago or a year from now they could be deployed."
The reality that many military service members are in harm's way will be evident through the staging and other effects.
"The impression we want the audience to get is that they've been transported to the Middle East to a combat area," Soldier Show director Tim Higdon said in a news release.
The U.S. Army Soldier Show will be performed at Fort Gordon at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 28, and at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 29, at Alexander Hall on Chamberlain Avenue. For more information, call (706) 791-4389.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
