A patriotic and life-affirming story, We’ll Meet Again is inspired by the life of Heinz “Henry” Stern and his family’s remarkable odyssey and narrow escape from Nazi Germany in 1937, their immigration to America, and their integration and settlement in Alabama. The family was welcomed with open arms to the small town of Opelika, where then 5-year-old Henry and his family found love and acceptance. Henry would grow up to become a true American original. He even earned the title “Mr. Opelika.” For more than 60 years, he continued to search the United States for other family members who survived the Holocaust.

We’ll Meet Again is the second musical written by the team of Alabama playwright James R. Harris and award-winning composer and arranger Mark Hayes. Their previous collaboration, Civil War Voices, was first staged in 2008.

The new musical production features iconic music from the 1930s and 1940s, including many of the most popular songs and swing dances of the WWII era such as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “Juke Box Saturday Night.” Also incorporated are several lovely Jewish and Hebrew songs intimately integrated into the story, including the favorite “Hava Nagila.”

We’ll Meet Again was developed, in part, by the world-famous Barter Theatre, the state theater of Virginia. It received its world premiere, directed by Richard Rose, in 2022 at the Historic Savannah Theatre in Savannah, Georgia, and as part of the East Alabama Arts Performance Series in Opelika, Alabama. The initial run was highly successful, with enthusiastic audiences cheering with standing ovations at every performance. Plans for a statewide tour developed soon after the first performances.

The 2023 southern tour of We’ll Meet Again is made possible by generous support from Auburn University men’s basketball head coach Bruce Pearl and his wife, Brandy, who experienced the premiere at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts last year.

The tour is currently in development with East Alabama Arts, which will present a ticketed preview performance at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m. The tour will officially launch at the Gogue Center with two performances—Wednesday, August 30 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, August 31 at 7 p.m.—before moving on for a two-night run in Decatur, Alabama. Additional engagements will take place in Florence and Enterprise, and in Athens, Georgia.

A NOTE TO OUR 2023–24 SEASON SUBSCRIBERS

As a reminder, all 2023–24 full season subscribers have been given tickets for the August 30 performance. Subscribers who are unable to attend the performance on August 30, who wish to relinquish their tickets or who would like to exchange their tickets for the August 31 performance, are asked to contact the box office. Additional tickets for can be secured free of charge by contacting a member of our patron services team by telephone at 334.844.TIXS (8497) or via email at gpactickets@auburn.edu.