Troupe's 50-state tour honors military veterans

May 20—HIGH POINT — How would you describe the logistics of trying to plan a barnstorming tour of 50 shows in 50 states — 51, counting the District of Columbia — in a span of only four months?

Crazy, right?

"Oh yeah," says Erinn Dearth, founder and creator of Letters From Home, the Triad-based troupe that's wrapping up just such a tour this month, including a performance Thursday evening at the High Point Theatre. "People told me, 'That's insane — you have to be realistic.' And I'd say, 'Oh yeah? Watch me be realistic.' "

The reality is that the High Point gig is the 50th show of the tour — the final show will be May 28 in Marion, Virginia — and maybe it wasn't so insane after all.

Since January, Dearth and her fiancé, Dan Beckmann — former High Pointers now living in Yadkin County — have been traveling from state to state, accompanied by a four-person support team, to showcase their two-act production that's part entertainment, part patriotic pep rally, part history lesson and fully engaging.

"The first act is dedicated to the early days of the USO during World War II and Korea," Beckmann explains. "It's kind of a vaudeville style, with a lot of singing, tap-dancing, comedy, audience interaction — just a lot of fun. The second act is more theatrical. It walks you through the subculture of America and what it was like to live overseas during the Vietnam War. It speaks more to the time that Vietnam veterans served."

Dearth, a lifelong singer, dancer and actor who used to perform with High Point's now-defunct North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, created Letters From Home in 2010 at the suggestion of her late father, U.S. Coast Guard veteran Pat Dearth.

"It was Sunday night dinner, and my dad had the idea of doing a show for veterans," she recalls. "We had an old record player in the front room, and we started listening to a bunch of old records and making a set list."

The show largely began as an Andrews Sisters tribute act, featuring such World War II-era hits as "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Sentimental Journey." It gradually evolved to include other music from that era and the Korean War era. Five years ago, the show expanded again to include Vietnam-era hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "The Letter" and "Blowin' in the Wind."

The show's mission, however, hasn't changed.

"The basic mission has always been to honor veterans, active military and their families," Dearth says. "We used to cater to just World War II veterans, and then to other military, but now kids and families and people of all ages are coming to our shows. At a time when our nation is a bit divided, we're trying to unite the nation rather than just honor veterans — that's really important to us."

The show has been performed in hundreds of venues across the country — and even in Normandy, France, during festivities commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day — but the planning of the current 50-state tour actually resulted from the recent coronavirus pandemic. Dearth came down with COVID-19, got bored while in quarantine and decided to start making plans.

The logistics of planning the tour are staggering: Mapping a route. Securing an acceptable venue in each state, a process that entailed hundreds of phone calls and thousands of emails. Getting the word out to potential audiences through such outlets as local VFWs and American Legions, civic clubs and churches. Notifying media outlets and scheduling interviews to promote the show. Creating posters for every state's show.

"Yeah," Dearth acknowledges, "it was a lot."

But, she and Beckmann quickly add, it's been worth it to see how the show has affected those who have come to experience it.

"We always do a meet-and-greet after the show," Beckmann says, "and a lot of people will come up to us with tears in their eyes, unable to speak or express what they want to say. We've had a lot of people tell us they were able to confront and let go of some things they hadn't been able to let go of since they came back from Vietnam. That may be the biggest victory, because I think that's why we do theater — to move people."

Dearth agrees, adding that the show has really resonated with Vietnam veterans because of the way many of them were treated when they came home.

"A lot of the Vietnam guys are so grateful to be welcomed home," she says. "And their wives and daughters will say, 'Thanks for making my dad feel so special.' Or some of the guys will say, 'This has given me a lot of closure' — we hear that a lot."

It's those kinds of moments that will remain in Dearth and Beckmann's memories long after the tour is over, they say.

"The places we've seen have been amazing," Dearth says, "but the people we've met will be the thing that will stick with us forever."

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579