Just in time for Veteran’s Day, a local musician and Southeastern alumnus is raising the curtain to recreate a tale of temptation, greed and integrity.

“The Soldier’s Story” is by the Prodigal Players, a Northshore based musical theatre company, which is formed by drummer and producer Terrance Mahady, who also wrote, composed and arranged the music. Mahady’s musical is based on the original work “L’Histoire du Soldat” by Igor Stravinsky.  

The creative team includes drama director and choreographer Julie Generes, assistant drama director Linder Graham, conductor Erik Morales and well known actor Robert Jahncke, who wrote the script and narrates the story.

According to Mahady, the original story was based on a Russian soldier who returns home to his village to marry his sweetheart. The Devil offers him a book that tells the future in exchange for the soldier’s violin.

The modern version, “The Soldier’s Story,” is about a U.S. soldier, who is a Zydeco fiddler from Thibodaux that joined the Marines to play music and pay off his student debts. This version features musician and Marine Tech Sergeant Josef Falgoux who is approached by the Devil on his way home to see his ill mother. The Devil, played by Bill Larsen, propositions him to trade a tricked out guitar and instant fame for his electric fiddle. Ashley Krieger is the sweetheart while Luke Halpern plays another soldier.

 “We wanted to make it more pertinent to contemporary life,” said Mahady.

The music for the production includes modern contemporary, Cajun, rock, zydeco and New Orleans jazz music. 

Mahady graduated from Southeastern in 1964 as a music major. Upon graduating, Mahady replaced a band director at Amite High School for one semester. He then attended graduate school at the Vandercook School of Music Chicago. Mahady’s teaching career began at Northwestern High School in Kokomo, Indiana and later at Southeastern in 2000.

It was at Southeastern that Mahady met two music students, who were both enlisting in the navy to pay for student loans, giving him inspiration for “The Soldier’s Story.”

Mahady met the cast for “The Soldier’s Story” during a previous production of “Fiddler on the Roof”. Because he knew the actors, dancers and directors were talented, no auditions were required. Instead, the team spent a year preparing for the production, which included Mahady speaking with a local soldier in the National Guard to make the musical more realistic.

Previously Mahady has written a Broadway style musical, titled “Voodoo Boogie,” about a music teacher in New Orleans and his life before and after Hurricane Katrina.  

Not only has Mahady written Broadway musicals but also novels, such as “Bayou Gypsy,” which is about a Ukraine athlete who flees to the United States after the murder of her husband.

Mahady is from New Orleans and accredits growing up there as being an inspiration for his work.

“Growing up in New Orleans was the most important influence on my life other than my family being musical,” said Mahady.

Mahady believes it is important for students to see the musical to examine the choices they make in life and to observe the results of those choices.

“‘The Soldier’s Story’ is an ageless drama that shows how every human, especially young people, are tempted in life and perhaps how they give into temptation,” said Mahady. “You can’t have your personal integrity taken from you. You have to give it away.”

Performances began on November 11 at Tulane University and will take place in various local areas, including Bay St. Louis, Covington, Slidell, New Orleans and at Southeastern on Monday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m. The show at Southeastern will be the last show until February 12, 2016.

The music department at Southeastern will be sponsoring the production, and it will be held in the music recital hall. “The Soldier’s Story” is free and will be available to the general public. According to Mahady, although the production is not a children’s story, it does not have restrictions. For more information, visit “The Soldier’s Story” Facebook page.