one man show about wwii american officer comes to marcus center`s

Press Contact:
Molly Sommerhalder
Phone: 414-273-7121 x399
Email: msommerhalder@marcuscenter.org
ONE MAN SHOW ABOUT WWII AMERICAN OFFICER COMES
TO MARCUS CENTER’S WILSON THEATER AT VOGEL HALL
THE ACCIDENTAL HERO
SATURDAY, APRIL 23
Tickets On Sale This Friday, January 22!
MILWAUKEE, WI (Thursday, January 21, 2016) - The Accidental Hero is a multimedia one-man show about a WWII American officer who miraculously liberates the
Czech villages of his grandparents. It's a true story, written and performed by his
grandson. This show comes to the Marcus Center's Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall for one
night only on Saturday, April 23 at 7:30 pm. This special presentation is part of the Off
Broadway at the Marcus Center series and is sponsored by the Envoy Restaurant and
Lounge.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 22 at the Marcus Center Box Office. Patrons can
purchase tickets in person at the Marcus Center Box Office at 929 North Water Street,
Downtown Milwaukee, by phone at 414-273-7206 or online at MarcusCenter.org or
Ticketmaster.com. Groups 10 or more can purchase tickets by calling 414-273-7121
x210.
Patrick Dewane's grandfather refused to talk about his service in the war. Yet when he
died, his basement yielded a treasure trove of typewritten accounts, photos and rare film
footage.
Matt Konop carried by townspeople of Domazlice, Czechoslovakia, 1945.
Dewane brings this archival material to glowing life as an enthralling, humorous and
heartwarming tale of miraculous escapes and astonishing coincidences. This touching
show runs from belly laughs to tears. Dewane takes on a dozen different roles as he
powerfully recounts his grandfather's journey from Omaha Beach, the Battle of the
Bulge, and the end of WWII. In the last week of the war, Konop's story turns away from
a soldier's survival tale to something from mythology. He discovers his lost identity,
embraced by the tribe he never knew. Like Luke Skywalker, Konop thought he was just
fighting the Evil Empire, in this case the Nazis. But unlike Skywalker, this story is true.
His was an epic homecoming. As he freed the Czechs, they liberated him.
Audiences across the US and the Czech Republic have thrilled to this remarkable,
uplifting story from The Greatest Generation. Konop's grandparents had left the Old
Country in the 1860s to pursue the American Dream. Konop was raised with their
language, Czech, but expected to "become American." To get ahead, he needed to discard
the old ways and his first language. Dropped into WWII, his fluency in Czech got him the
dangerous assignment of commanding the Advance Party to liberate Czechoslovakia.
And once at the Czech border, his curiosity drew him into the country of his
grandparents, well ahead of the rest of his division. What he found changed his life. The
Czechs couldn't believe the miracle of "being liberated by one of our own." He couldn't
believe the hero's welcome that greeted him. It deeply changed his notion of what it
meant to be both Czech and American.
However, like many of his generation Matt Konop didn't talk about the war when he
returned. His story vanished with passing time. Back in Czechoslovakia, the Communist
coup of 1948 brought an ugly, repressive regime that would last the rest of Konop's life.
The Communists also changed the official history of WWII and eliminated the fact that
the US Army had liberated Southwestern Czechoslovakia. So while Konop's story faded
in America, it was illegal to tell it in Czechoslovakia. When Konop died in 1983 his
family knew little of his heroics, and the Czechs were forbidden to talk about it. At
Konop's funeral, there was no American flag on the casket, no bugler playing taps at the
grave. It seemed his war stories were buried with him.
Twenty years after his death, his long-forgotten writings were discovered in a family
basement. Along with his war manuscript were reels of color and black and white film he
shot during the war on a Kodak 8mm handheld camera. Konop's grandson, Patrick
Dewane, became obsessed with what was found and turned the story, film footage and
period music into The Accidental Hero, a 90-minute one-man show.
More information about the show is available at http://www.accidentalhero.net/.
ABOUT THE MARCUS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Established in 1969, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is the premier performing
arts venue in Southeastern Wisconsin. As the Marcus Center moves into its 46th year, it
continues to set the standard for high-quality arts entertainment in the region and the
state. The touring Broadway series is recognized as bringing the best of Broadway
entertainment to Milwaukee for the past 19 years. The Marcus Center is also the home to
the Milwaukee Symphony, Milwaukee Ballet, Florentine Opera, First Stage plus a variety
of other important community and family events throughout the year. For more
information about events visit the Marcus Center website at www.MarcusCenter.org.
The Marcus Center is a private 501(c) 3 corporation.
Experience Relaxed, Sophisticated Fine Dining at Envoy Restaurant & Lounge,
Milwaukee
Envoy, located in the iconic Ambassador Hotel, offers classic American cuisine with
global influences. Ingredients feature artisan, local and seasonal products. Envoy offers
breakfast and lunch dinner in an atmosphere that transports guests to a time when patrons
“tripped the light fantastic”. Guests of Envoy experience the legendary service that
generations have come to expect from a staff that is simply “the bee’s knees”. Envoy
offers nostalgic cocktails from the hotel’s original menu, written in 1928. In addition to
half priced appetizers, Envoy Lounge’s happy hour offers buy one martini or nostalgic
cocktail and receive the next at 1928’s price. Guests who dine at Envoy are invited to
enjoy complimentary parking and shuttle service to and from destinations in the
downtown Milwaukee area, including the Marcus Center for the performing Arts. Visit
envoymilwaukee.com for more information and reservations.
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