Distant Thunder is a Broadway style musical that is coming to The Ware Center in Lancaster on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The musical blends traditional Native American philosophy with modern concepts and displays Native American culture and concerns.

The show was co-written by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, who choregraphed Footloose and her son, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, who appeared in "In the Heights" on Broadway.

Distant Thunder is supported by five major Native American tribes and has cast members that have traveled from diverse tribal lands to perform in the musical.

Jordan Traut, former liaison and graduate student at Millersville University, did her thesis on the Distant Thunder production and helped bring the musical to Lancaster.

Traut said, it was important to bring the show to The Ware Center, as it is next door to the Fulton theatre, which was previously the old county jail house where the last indigenous people native to Pennsylvania were massacred in 1763.

"I think its going to be sort of a reclamation of the space and a rectifying of some of the darker history of Pennsylvania, our European-American communities and our indigenous communities," Traut said. "...I think bringing Distant Thunder to Lancaster is a good first step forward, I'm hoping, in including indigenous voices back into the history of Pennsylvania as well as into higher education in general."

Shaun said, he hopes the show informs people about the Native American community with a performance that is of Broadway quality.

"We want people to come and and see this show and be blown away by the message, by the importance of what they're seeing, by the execution, by the music, and have a high bar so that it can stand up there with any other Broadway musical and be a proud indigenous Broadway style musical."

Distant Thunder is a Broadway style musical that is coming to The Ware Center in Lancaster on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The musical blends traditional Native American philosophy with modern concepts and displays Native American culture and concerns.
The show was co-written by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, who choregraphed Footloose and her son, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, who appeared in "In the Heights" on Broadway.
Distant Thunder is supported by five major Native American tribes and has cast members that have traveled from diverse tribal lands to perform in the musical.
Jordan Traut, former liaison and graduate student at Millersville University, did her thesis on the Distant Thunder production and helped bring the musical to Lancaster.
Traut said, it was important to bring the show to The Ware Center, as it is next door to the Fulton theatre, which was previously the old county jail house where the last indigenous people native to Pennsylvania were massacred in 1763.
"I think its going to be sort of a reclamation of the space and a rectifying of some of the darker history of Pennsylvania, our European-American communities and our indigenous communities," Traut said. "...I think bringing Distant Thunder to Lancaster is a good first step forward, I'm hoping, in including indigenous voices back into the history of Pennsylvania as well as into higher education in general."
Shaun said, he hopes the show informs people about the Native American community with a performance that is of Broadway quality.
"We want people to come and and see this show and be blown away by the message, by the importance of what they're seeing, by the execution, by the music, and have a high bar so that it can stand up there with any other Broadway musical and be a proud indigenous Broadway style musical."

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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