Special guest narrators
Grammy-Winner Bruce Hornsby and Tuskegee Airman Ezra Hill
Historic Musical Themes performed by the U.S. Army
Training and Doctrine Command Band at Fort Monroe
Now on CD! 
In 1607, Captain
Christopher Newport and John Smith set sail from England searching for riches and
adventure. What emerges is a new nation that struggled to find freedom and
opportunity for all people. This story is told within the borders of the Virginia
Peninsula.
There's Pocahontas and Powhatan who see strangers take over
the land of their ancestors. There's the settlers struggle to survive in Jamestown
and the eventual move to Williamsburg. Patrick Henry helps
us understand the reason for the Revolutionary War. After victory in Yorktown, the
country struggles with slavery. That struggle explodes in Hampton where the first
land battle of the Civil War is fought at Big Bethel. The Monitor and the CSS
Virginia fight off of Hampton's shores and warfare changes forever. Benjamin Butler
frees slaves in Hampton 
In Newport News, Collis P. Huntington's shipyard connects
the United States with the world through industry while Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey
touch the world through the arts. NASA Langley Research Center explores the sky and
eventually helps America land on the moon.
This is one of Rainbow's most ambitious productions and one
that we have wanted to present for many years. While we haven't stopped yet to count
the puppets and props we know that we have never had so many speaking parts in a single
show... 25 actors were brought in to portray four centuries of
historic characters.
Grammy-Winning Bruce Hornsby assists in
narrating the story of his hometown and surrounding area. It is especially
appropriate that he introduces the sequence on Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey.
Bruce was inducted into the Virginia Legends of Music Walk of Fame at the same time as
both Ella and Pearl.
We are equally fortunate the have the kind assistance of
the U.S. Army TRADOC Band provide traditional music to our telling of the Revolutionary
War and Civil War segments. How appropriate, since so much of our Civil War portion
of the show is told in and around Fort Monroe.
The Civil War segment of the program is narrated
by Tuskegee Airman Ezra Hill. A life long Peninsula resident, he recently was
honored at the White House where he presented President and First Lady Bush a copy of his
children's book about the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen.
The show officially opened on
December 9, 2006 at the Williamsburg Library Theater.
Click here for a behind
the scenes look!
Click here for complete show
credits and to download a PRESS RELEASE!
To schedule a performance for your organization, please
email us at: jamestown@rainbowpuppets.com.
We wish to thank the City of Williamsburg, York County, James City
County, the Williamsburg Area Arts Commission and the York County Arts Commission for
their generous support of this project.
For
more information about Bruce Hornsby, Ezra Hill, or Jamestown, please visit
these sites:
