Dee and Jack: The Birth of a Musical in Bigfork

"Like in real life, you have the low points and the high points. Their life had plenty of low points, but they always found the life in even the darkest of situations." - Luke Votava Bigfork native Luke Votava wrote a musical about the life and love of his grandparents who lived the majority of their lives in the Red River Valley. After writing one song about a barn as a project as an undergraduate in college, a song cycle began that has snowballed into a full-fledged musical. Tomorrow night at the Edge Center for the Arts, audience members will witness a unique theatrical experience. Professional musicans and vocalists will bring the story and songs of "Dee and Jack" to the stage in a rare occurrence for theater goes as they witness the birth of a musical. No sets, no special lighting, just high quality theatrical reading and professional musicians breathing life into the music and story of love, perseverance, overcoming and a life well-lived. "I never got to meet my grandpa, because he died at a young age, so I had to do some hunting around. He would send these beautiful love letters to my grandma when he was in the war. I found the letters that he sent her and I got to read thru all these letters and get an idea of his syntax and how he thought and how he spoke and that's how I got to know him better...it's really been a way to discover who my grandpa was and how he lived... And my grandma, I was always very close with many grandma Denora, Dee was her nickname... I would meet her after schoon every day. She was one of those people that if you met her once, you knew, you would remember her." - Luke Votava