‘Letters from Home’ USO-style show honors military service from WWII through Vietnam
If you’ve never seen anyone tap dance to The Animals, you’ll have that opportunity Wednesday evening when “Letters from Home” brings their 50-state tour to the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene.
In 2010, singer/dancer Erinn Dearth launched the USO-style variety show as an Andrews Sisters tribute. Gradually, the show evolved into an homage to military personnel encompassing the music of World War II through the Vietnam War.
“The show was my dad’s idea,” Dearth said. “He was a Coast Guard veteran.”
Since its inception, “Letters from Home” has performed more than 900 shows across the country. A documentary on the group produced by “Our State” Television won an Emmy Award in 2015.
Dearth and co-performer Dan Beckmann performed in Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. They sang the National Anthem at sunset on June 6, 2019, on Omaha Beach, and “Letters from Home” returned to Europe in May 2022 to perform for WWII Veterans touring in The Netherlands and Belgium.
“We don’t actually read letters from home,” said Dearth. “The name is more of a metaphor of how the music makes soldiers feel while they’re serving and they get a letter from home.”
In January, Dearth and Beckmann launched a 50-state tour. The two-person show features singing, dancing, comedy and plenty of audience engagement.
“The tone blends classic vaudeville with modern improv. Our mission is to honor active duty and military veterans and unify people through music,” said Beckmann. “It’s a show about bringing a room full of people together for a night. Our tour manager says people come into the show strangers, but when they leave they’re like a group of close friends.”
The first half of the performance hones in on iconic WWII tunes like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” and “Sentimental Journey,” complete with choreography and costuming evoking the patriotism of the time.
“We don’t think patriotism and politics are the same things,” Beckmann said. “For us, patriotism is about community.”
Media broadcasts from the Vietnam era segue the show into its second act featuring songs like “The Letter,” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” as well as the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Doors.
“We want to heal that divide that happened between the Vietnam era and today,” said Beckmann.
The duo has taken their good vibes, all-ages show to a variety of venues from theaters to VFW and American Legion halls and retirement communities across the nation. Idaho marks the 34th state in their cross-country tour, and despite ever-widening political divisions across the nation, what they’ve witnessed on their travels gives them a sense of optimism.
“My heart for this is 10 times what it was before we started this tour,” Dearth said.
Beckmann agreed.
“We’re seeing the best of our country,” he said. “We are 50 united states. You can travel anywhere and find a place that feels like home.”
The pair delights in connecting with audiences after the show and hearing the stories their music has rekindled.
“People are more alike than they are different,” Beckmann said. “They leave our show saying they feel more hopeful.”
Contact Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com.