Bob Hope (played by Col. Craig Strong of the Nebraska National Guard), entertains the crowd at the original show in 2015 at the Seward Bandshell. He returns to Seward on Sunday, June 30, at 7 p.m. at the Seward High School auditorium to perform with an all-star cast to include the Seward Municipal Band. The event is free and open to the public.
Bob Hope is coming back to perform in Seward on Sunday, June 30, at 7 p.m. at the Seward High School Auditorium.
He will be joined by an all-star cast of talent from around the state. Seward’s Municipal Band will play instrumental favorites from the World War II era. The show is set in the summer of 1944 and is hosted by the Nebraska National Guard Museum Society and the Seward Fourth of July Committee. This annual event helps to kick off July 4 week in Seward and promises to be a great performance.
The star of the show is Bob Hope (played by Col. Craig Strong) and his counterpart is Bing Crosby (played by Chief Warrant Officer, retired, John Regan). The show will start off with some patriotic selections by the Seward Kiwanis KiTones and be followed by a special award presentation by the Nebraska National Guard to a local volunteer. The master of ceremonies for the evening will be Mike Meyer.
The show is divided into three time periods: 1942, 1943 and 1944. Each time period will be introduced and Hope will perform, along with acts from around the state.
Besides the Seward Municipal Band, talent such as the Lincolnaires Chorus/Sweet Adelines (Karen Randall, director), opera singer Jon Sronce and local favorite Meghan Meyer, accordion group Cesky Sestry – Czech Sisters (Joanne Hawley, Dawn Mundt and Sue Placek – they were a crowd favorite in 2017 the last time they played for the vaudeville show), the ukulele group Street Singers (Veronica Gabel and Barbara Ingwersen) and some 1940s period commercials (Windsor Hotel in Seward, Hughes Brothers Ammo Boxes and Buy a Bond).
This years’ production is directed by Mary Meyer. The sound man (every year) is Jay Ferris. The support crew is Clark “Mr. Fourth of July” Kolterman, Sharon Hambek and the local Scouts (handing out programs).
The Museum and Fourth of July Committee thank all the talent for volunteering to perform this year. The show is the fifth annual presentation (Bob Hope 1944 and 1945 and vaudeville 1917 and 1918 were the previous shows) and promises to be the best one yet.
The show is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m.
