Opelika Council Approves Funds for 'We'll Meet Again' Performance

BY MICHELLE KEY MICHELLE@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA —

During Tuesday night's Opelika City Council meeting, the council approved a special appropriation to the Arts Association of East Alabama (AAEA) in the amount of $14,000 to be used exclusively to defray expenses of using the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts (OPAC) on Aug. 28, 2023, for additional productions of “We’ll

Meet Again.”

The production centers around the life of Henry Stern whose family settled in Opelika during World War II after escaping Germany’s persecution of those of Jewish heritage.

The play was first performed in Opelika in August 2022. It will begin the regional tour with a school performance at OPAC, the evening show for the community on Aug. 28 and performances in Auburn at the Jay and

Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.

“We’ll Meet Again” is a musical written by the team of Alabama playwright James R. Harris and awardwinning composer and arranger Mark Hayes.

“Our hope in creating this show is to capture the essence of what America has meant to the world in our best moments — love of family, love of country, welcoming others into our culture, and striving and succeeding together as a community,” Harris said in a press release.

The 2023 southern tour of “We’ll Meet Again” is made possible by 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.

“That night, we were treated to something we really weren’t expecting,” said Pearl in a press release issued by the Gogue. “We laughed and we cried. We enjoyed the music and the dancing. We were filled with great pride and happiness about the greatest country in the world that we love so dearly.”

After growing up in Opelika, Stern went on to become a wellknown and respected businessman.

OTHER BUSINESS

• The council approved a bid from Hudmon

Construction Co. Inc. in the amount of just over $102,000 for the removal of dead, dying or dangerous trees and stumps.

• The council approved a bid from Utility Packaging and Construction Inc. for steel and materials for Substation 10 in an amount of just over $202,000.

• The council approved expense reports from various departments.

See OPELIKA, page B11