GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- Fourteen of the Army's top singers, dancers and showmen lit up Tower Barracks at the 2014 Soldier Show, Oct. 28 and 29.
During the 75-minute show, active-duty, National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers belted pop songs -- like David Guetta's "Titanium", Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive" and Phillip Phillips' "Home" -- while they jumped, shimmied and sashayed across the Tower Barracks Theater stage.
With the theme of "Standing Strong," the performance went beyond entertainment to promote fortitude in the face of adversity.
"The show is delivering the Army message through song and dance instead of sitting in a classroom looking at slides," said Sgt. 1st Class Frederick McDuffy, Army Entertainment's noncommissioned officer in charge.
While much of the show was fun and upbeat, it also addressed serious issues -- some tragic, some commonplace -- that the Army community knows well.
The performers conveyed the desperation of suicide and the hope of finding support with Christina Aguilera and A Great Big World's "Say Something." In another scene, a Gold Star Family mourns their fallen Soldier; in another, the waiting fiancée of a deployed Soldier sings John Legend's ballad, "All of Me."
For the Soldiers on stage, the stories and messages they portray are deeply personal.
Spc. Copey Rice, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, struggled with a friend's recent suicide while rehearsing for the show.
"It was just so emotionally draining," he said. "The (suicide) scene made it possible for me to keep going."
The Soldier Show's resident break dancer, Staff Sgt. Harrison Scurry, stationed at Fort Drum, New York, finds most meaning during "Thank You," a song the cast performs thanking Soldiers for their service.
"In the early stages of war it seemed like no one cared," said Scurry, who has devoted the past 12 years to the Army. "I spent 39 months total in Iraq and Afghanistan. With 'Thank You,' the Soldiers see that someone cares."
"When we went to Afghanistan the Soldiers sit down with rock faces. When we got done singing 'Thank You' they were smiling."
After each show, the performers stand in a receiving line. Soldiers often take this opportunity, explained the cast members, to share their thoughts on the show and how it affected them.
"Standing there in that line, I've had some of my greatest moments seeing the gratitude from the message," said Rice.
Spc. Abighail Mary, from Camp Humphreys, South Korea, agreed.
"That's the best moment when you can see the emotion, when they're telling you about their son or daughter," said Mary. "That's the most important part for me."
The performers' ability to connect with their military audience makes the Soldier Show a powerful asset, said McDuffy.
"It's actual Soldiers who go through the same things you go through delivering the message," he said. "And that's what makes it different."
Got talent? Apply to audition for the 2015 Soldier Show here: http://www.armymwr.com/recleisure/entertainment/experience_army_entertainment.aspx.
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