The Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation hosted a reception and two performances of the nationally renowned play about women’s service in Vietnam, “A Piece of My Heart,” by Shirley Lauro. The performances on Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th were presented by Infinite Variety Productions and were held at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.

Veterans and theater-goers both had a wonderful experience. Each performance brought out visible and audible signs of recognition and acknowledgement from the audiences, ranging from laughter to tears. Even those who had seen the play before found something new—a more stark presentation, for example, that was most effective in its simplicity. Cast members included Ashley Adelman, Danielle Beckmann, Jake Cullens, Larissa Dzegar, Maria Makenna, Elizabeth McNelis, Petol Weekes. Carina Don served as Stage Manager. Howard Hill managed the sound, and Yu Han Huang designed the set. Bridget Leak and Norma Medina directed. The theatre group donated their time and talent to offer these performances to the very persons they portrayed onstage.

Throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, the VWMF sponsored the StoryCorps Oral History Program to collect oral histories from veterans. Twelve very special stories were collected and will be filed with the Library of Congress Veterans Oral History Program. This effort was done in conjunction with a grant StoryCorps received called “Military Voices.” We were honored to partner with them to preserve the stories of women who served in the Vietnam War era.