CzechFolks.com

Heart of the Tin Trunk is Musical Theater from the Heart of Texas

In the Summer of 2011, musical theater from the Heart of Texas will bring the joy, pride, sorrow and history of the people that settled South Central Texas to the stage at Festival Hill in Round Top, Texas. Much like the Texas Panhandle heritage play, Texas, Backstage, Inc's production of Heart of the Tin Trunk celebrates the history of the Czech and German people who settled between Austin and Houston in the 1800s.

The goal of the playwright, Virginia Leech, is to encourage today's elders to pass on their stories and traditions, but to also remind the contemporary youth of immigrant descendants to hold on to that past and history. It is in their heritage where character, morals and ethics lay. Texas pride is made up of so many histories and cultural influences, but certainly the music, hard work, joy and friendship of the Czech and German people is legendary!

Musical theater can be a tricky thing to pull off, but in today's fast paced entertainment atmosphere, it will probably take a little singing and dancing to get people to show up and absorb the greater message. During the performance, the heart of Texas, as it was settled by the Czech and Germans, is revealed through the contents of an old tin trunk. The heirlooms inside each hold a story that juxtaposes a young college graduate's need to move on with the future with that of a young Czech immigrant mother who must keep her eye to the future to simply survive in an uncertain new world.

Where the elder characters of Heart of the Tin Trunk admonish their grandchildren for ignoring a past that made them who they are today, they ironically tell a story about leaving the past behind. Aside from this little twist of thematics, the play's overlying message is that we all should take pride in who we are, where we came from and those who made it possible for today's young people to excel. It is the quintessential immigrant story that continues to tell itself even today.

Veteran artistic director, Carolyn Franklin, and composer, Dick Smith, will direct the musical. Both are longtime theater professionals from the Houston area. Heart of the Tin Trunk will premier July 30 and 31 and August 6 and 7 in the concert hall at Festival Institute in Round Top, Texas. More information can be found at http://www.heartofthetintrunk.com.

Or call 979-250-1843.