"Waiting for the Parade" is set in Calgary, Canada, during World War II. It tells the story of five women who gather to work for the war effort while men
they love are away. The author, John Murrell, was commissioned to write a Canadian history play and interviewed people who had lived through the war, producing
powerful memories of waiting for news, of shifting loyalties and enmities. The play is episodic in structure, each scene presenting a vignette often accompanied
by music and songs. The popular songs also underscore the ironies inherent in a country at war against another country from which many of its citizens,
and much of its culture have originated. Murrell records his belief that "women are the connective tissue which allows the human race to keep faith that
normal life will ultimately return. Women remind us, with wit and resilience, of the great importance of family, and also that family is not everything;
of the great importance of patriotism, and also that patriotism is not everything. Their pragmatism is utterly heroic."
they love are away. The author, John Murrell, was commissioned to write a Canadian history play and interviewed people who had lived through the war, producing
powerful memories of waiting for news, of shifting loyalties and enmities. The play is episodic in structure, each scene presenting a vignette often accompanied
by music and songs. The popular songs also underscore the ironies inherent in a country at war against another country from which many of its citizens,
and much of its culture have originated. Murrell records his belief that "women are the connective tissue which allows the human race to keep faith that
normal life will ultimately return. Women remind us, with wit and resilience, of the great importance of family, and also that family is not everything;
of the great importance of patriotism, and also that patriotism is not everything. Their pragmatism is utterly heroic."
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