The autobiographical musical journey known as Modern Warrior LIVE will arrive Sept. 6 at Lorain County Community College’s Stocker Arts Center, 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria.
The show will be one night only before moving to Highland Hills the next night.
The musical follows the story of Jaymes Poling, a veteran of the U.S. Army.
It covers Poling’s three deployments in Afghanistan, as well as the transition he experienced upon his return home.
By partnering with the The Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County, Veterans of Foreign Wars of Ohio, American Legion Post 30, and Community Foundation of Lorain County and Music on a Mission was able to bring the show to LCCC for one of its stops on tour.
“We are bringing this production (in) from New York City … (trumpeter Dominick Farinacci) and Jaymes Poling co-wrote this production,” said Marilyn Zeidner, program coordinator for Music on a Mission. “I myself have not seen it, but a lot of people around here have.
“People from Veterans Court and everything saw it.”
The show is more than just a look into the veteran lifestyle, Zeidner said.
Additionally, the show describes itself as a catalyst for the conversation about mental health problems, especially in military veterans, she said.
“According to the overview, 75 percent of the attendees sought help after seeing (Modern Warrior LIVE),” Zeidner said. “September is Suicide Prevention Month, so it coincides nicely with that.”
Zeidner said Farinacci, who is show co-creator and Northeast Ohio native, was a huge supporter of taking the show to the Stocker Arts Center.
Farinacci said he and Poling originally met through mutual friends.
“I’m a jazz musician,” Farinacci said. “Over the years of touring, I’ve seen how music really has a way of connecting people of all different walks of life.
“I ended up meeting Jaymes Poling through a mutual friend, and I got to hear his story as a combat veteran.”
After hearing Poling’s stories of his time serving in the Army, Farinacci was compelled to bring his friend’s life story to the stage.
Every word of the production’s autobiography sections is Poling’s own, Farinacci said.
“I was really taken by his story of the challenges that he went through, his perseverance, the strength that he showed from such a young age,” he said. “It’s a story that as a civilian I really haven’t heard much.
“Beyond the snapshot of the damaged veteran, and the liability of the hero.”
After two years of collaboration, Farinacci and Poling created Modern Warrior LIVE in New York City.
Through his musical connections in New York and Ohio, Farinacci assembled a talented team for the touring process.
“It’s a real intense hour and a half that brings together his story with world-class artists from all different kinds of genres of music,” he said. “We created this production and we’ve been touring it for the past five years all around the country.”
Tickets for the performance of Modern Warrior LIVE are available now at www.modernwarriorlive.org.
