“Utterly unique, musically and visually exciting, chilling and thought-provoking!”
Gwendolyn Rice
Show Review: A Great Show Commemorating The Great War
“Sometimes we have to look backward in order to fully understand the present and to begin to anticipate the future.”
Capital Times Editorial: To forge a better future, we must know the pastIt was a remarkable show. Moving. Enlightening. Rocking. Important. Thank you!
Andy Moore
Senior News Producer,
Wisconsin Public Television
Well done on SO many levels. I LOVED the lights and so many of the lyrics. Welcomed the inclusion of women and often unheralded participants. Got pumped to finish my own exhibition on WW1. Great work!
Micaela Sullivan-Fowler
Librarian,
Ebling Library, UW-Madison
Curator of Staggering Losses: WW1 & the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 (2019)
Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful experience with your community last night. My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed The Greatest War; from a historical perspective, a human perspective, and an entertainment perspective! It exceed every expectation. Very very well done – congratulations!!
Lisa Olson
Samara Kalk Derby
Wisconsin State Journal
November 4, 2018
Andy Moore
The Isthmus
November 8, 2018
Interview by Rob Ferrett
Central Time
Wisconsin Public Radio (skip to 11:14)
You and your collaborators deserve acclaim for last night’s remarkable performance at the Barrymore. I was very impressed, and just shared my sentiments with the other members of the Wisconsin World War I Centennial Commission. I just wish there were future performances scheduled so that I could bring my friends and family members. Personally and on behalf of the Wisconsin Historical Society—congratulations!
Matt Blessing
State Archivist / Director of Library, Archives and Museum Collections
Wisconsin Historical Society
Well done last night. An excellent production. I was glad that we could be a part of it as well and it was nice that the stories in our archives were introduced to a larger audience that may not have visited our museum before as well.
Kevin Hampton
Curator of History
Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Wow! What a night! Congratulations to you and your whole gang. What a touching, teaching, entertaining show we were lucky enough to experience.
Mary Claire Collins
Great niece of Helen Bulovsky and daughter of Janice Collins, co-author of
“Finding Helen: The Letters, Photographs and Diary of a WWI Battlefield Nurse
Ken Fitzsimmons and the crew that put together ‘The Greatest War: World War One, Wisconsin and Why it Still Matters’ have achieved something miraculous. They have taken history that is complex, controversial and half-forgotten and produced a strikingly coherent and remarkably powerful statement about the past and the present. The combination of rock, rap, country and dance hall music with archival footage and spoken-word performance comes together so elegantly that the show feels almost like a gathering of very informed and very talented friends in a pub that hasn’t changed much since 1914. Yet, the original songcraft and the polished performances confirm this show as a major artistic achievement.
I was privileged to be associated in a small way with its initial presentation, and to witness the joy, sorrow and wonder it inspired in the course of an amazing evening. I have no question that ‘The Greatest War’ has the potential to similarly inspire audiences across Wisconsin and across the country. Indeed, I would be disappointed if others were not able to share in the experience of a show that those who were present on November 11, 2018, will never forget.
John Nichols
National Affairs Correspondent
The Nation
TV Coverage
Top Stories
Channel 27 WKOW
TV Coverage
Channel 3 WISC
The Greatest War combines original songs with fresh takes on popular tunes of the day into an incredible musical journey, offering a fresh perspective on the event that reshaped history. The show goes beyond the ‘trenches’ and takes audiences into the lives of the men and women who saw their world suddenly changed forever.
Mike Ivey
Freelance Journalist
Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times
My partner and I travelled from Milwaukee Sunday night for “The Greatest War.” It was exceptional!! We were so impressed and moved. As an artist who curated many experiences I know how much work and love went into that, it showed. Was well worth the overnight trip to visit Madison.
Nina Bednarski
Artist
I don’t how I would even begin to explain to someone just how incredibly powerful and so beautifully put together this show was. It’s beyond words. I wasn’t surprised – i knew it would be great – but I had no idea of the magnitude of greatness. [My teenage daughter] Jordynn would like the rest of her history classes to be taught exactly like it – could you make that happen say..next semester?
Becky Ebbott
I have so many great things to say about this show. First of all, major congrats to Ken Fitzsimmons for putting on and pulling off and totally delivering the goods to a SOLD OUT crowd at The Barrymore tonight. Who’da thunk folks would come out on a centennial Armistice Packers Sunday to see a Rock and Roll History show about why WWI is relevant to modern day Wisconsin? Ken! That’s who! I knew that it was gonna be good, and I knew there was a good chance of being blown away, but I really didn’t think it would have such an impact! I don’t know how to explain it to those that weren’t there, but like Ken said, “It’s art. It’s meant to be felt.” I know it seems extreme, but my worldview has changed. The art worked!
Andy Quandt
Owner of Gib’s Bike Shop (Lake Mills)
and the BikeMobile
Please share with The Kissers how incredibly powerful the show was tonight..wonderful music, visuals & verbal presentations. The show was delayed because of lines of people wanting tickets. The audience obviously LOVED it as did we.