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By Leslie Mizell, Staff Writer
News & Record, Thursday, November 10, 2005

GREENSBORO – Educators should consider teaching history more like it's laid out in "Star-Spangled Girls."

Long after students have forgotten something like the date of the Battle of the Bulge, they'd be apt to remember these entertaining, often fascinating personal stories of catching spies on U.S. soil or setting up hospitals at the battlefront.

The fact that these anecdotes, heard Tuesday night at UNCG's Elliott Center, are from women, makes this production from the Touring Theatre Ensemble of North Carolina that much more interesting.

The ensemble's founder and artistic director, Brenda P. Schleunes, wrote the play based on the letters, transcripts and other material that make up UNCG's Women Veterans Historical Collection.

The result is an extremely personal account of World War II activities by women who served as Army nurses, Red Cross workers, WACS (Women's Army Corps), WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) and WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).

Five women - Robin Doby, Peggy Droz, Kim Maddrey, Carol Plew and Kay Thomas - capably jump in and out of characters as they tell their stories of love and loss, patriotism and discrimination, wild adventure and numbing routine.

Their tales are interspersed with song snippets of the era ("Over There" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy").

The actors fall in and out of accents - or even male characters - as the differing stories unfold revealing the strength, curiosity and gusto with which they became pioneers in the women's movement.