The Purple Rose Theatre Celebrates America's Veterans with Reading and Discussion of the Play WILLOW RUN

The Purple Rose Theatre, Yankee Air Museum and Friends of the Chelsea District Library will honor America's Veterans with a concert reading by professional actors of The Purple Rose of the new play Willow Run by Jeff Duncan, playwright in residence at the Wild Swan Theatre in Ann Arbor. This free event is open to the public and will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 19 at the Chelsea Village Conference Center, 1645 Commerce Park Drive, Chelsea.

Following the reading, Purple Rose Artistic Director Guy Sanville and Captain Randy Hotton, a retired U.S. Navy pilot and author, will lead an interactive discussion. Historic artifacts will be on display to demonstrate the development of Detroit's aircraft industry, which invited women -- our "Rosie the Riveters"-- to play prominent roles in winning World War II by building "The Arsenal of Democracy." Learn how they built the technology to meet Hitler's challenge and glorify Detroit as a manufacturing hub.

An optional tour of the Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti will follow from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Chelsea District Library will provide complimentary transportation from the conference center to and from the plant for the first 30 people who reserve tickets to this event.

"Between 1943 and 1945, the Willow Run plant employed over 20,000 workers a day to build bombers for the war effort," says Sanville. "Most of these employees were women; the play Willow Run focuses on their stories."

A box lunch ($12) is available for order until November 12. To reserve tickets call The Purple Rose at 734 433-7782. For more information visit www.purplerosetheatre.org/education/willow-run.

About The Purple Rose Theatre Company

Founded in 1991 by actor, playwright, musician and Chelsea native Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose Theatre Company is a creative home for original American plays. In the 168-seat theatre, patrons experience an intimate encounter with live theatre.

The PRTC also provides an apprenticeship program, performance classes, readings, lectures and tours. It commissions new work from established and early-career playwrights. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit professional theatre, the PRTC operates under a Small Professional Theatre agreement with the Actors' Equity Association.

About the Yankee Air Museum

The Yankee Air Museum, located at the Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, offers unique historical and educational experiences through aviation, military and home-front history, including the history of the Willow Run B-24 bomber plant. At its peak, the plant employed over 42,000 people and produced one B-24 every 59 minutes. When the war was over, the airport became the hub for passenger flights and air freight in the Detroit Metropolitan area. To learn more visit: http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org/.

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