The Bonus Army

In the dark early days of the Great Depression, in 1932, tens of thousands of unemployed World War I veterans traveled from all over the United States to march on Washington, D.C. They demanded that Congress, which had voted the war veterans a cash bonus to be paid in 1945, redeem their bonus certificates immediately, as they desperately needed the money. They called themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force, but were known as The Bonus Army. In this environmental theatre production of the classic American protest musical, the audience is immersed in the rollicking action and soaring melodies by four-time Obie-winning composer Al Carmines, book by award-winning playwright David Epstein.