The story of “War Horse” has a relatively short but powerful history.
The World War I-based saga, written from the perspective of Joey, a horse bought by the Army for service in France, began life in 1982 in Great Britain as a young adult novel.
“It’s not as known as a children’s book in the U.S. as it is in the UK, where it’s kind of a staple, like ‘Charlotte’s Web’ or ‘Old Yeller’ or ‘Where the Red Fern Grows,’” said Julie Longhofer, co-founder and artistic director of Wichita Repertory Theatre, or ICTRep. “It’s a coming-of-age book.”
By 2007, the National Theatre in London produced a stage version of the book, with the horses portrayed by large scale puppets.
“It’s been the most successful stage play in the history of the National Theatre,” Longhofer said of the play, which was brought to Broadway in 2011, the same year a movie version directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg hit theaters.
The play included a full orchestral score, including vocals by four narrators and a large chorus.
“It has all kinds of flavors and moods and motifs in it that are very, very memorable,” Longhofer said. “The music stands on its own because there’s a real narrative quality to the music and it captures the different parts of the horse’s life as he grows up and as he goes through things that are difficult. Because it’s the voice of an innocent, it has a neutral perspective.”
Longhofer and her husband, Stan, were captivated by the score, and wanted to produce it locally, incorporating the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
“Stan was in love with the idea of doing this project with the Wichita Symphony,” she said, and approached Don Reinhold, who retired last summer as the WSO CEO, about working together.
“He called the team in the UK that was involved in a concert version in 2016 or 2017 and asked if that was something we could license,” Longhofer said. “The people who are licensing it had done screen projections that are based on illustrations from the book, and the screen projections go along with the orchestral score.”
The London company had plans to market “War Horse” to North America but were thrown off track during the pandemic.
So when “War Horse,” a collaboration of ICT Rep, WSO and the Butler Community College concert choir, takes the stage next weekend, it will be a North American premiere.
Daniel Hege, conductor and musical director of the symphony, said he welcomed the collaboration and was impressed by the piece.
“We’re always looking for different projects. We love our classical offerings and our pops offerings, but this is something that didn’t really fit into one of those categories,” Hege said. “I’m always curious to find projects like this that have a very compelling story, that could reach a different audience, and something where the orchestra’s involved not in a pops way or a strictly part of the classical canon way, but something that had a film score feeling, a cinematic quality to the music.”
Accompanying the music are illustrations created for the book, animated by Tony and Olivier award-winning scenic artist Rae Smith.
The Edinburgh, Scotland-based film company that created the animation and orchestration are also working with Tom Cruise for a symphony score for his “Top Gun: Maverick,” Longhofer said.
“All of that really appealed to me,” she said. “That’s why I said let’s do this.”
The Sunday afternoon performance is meant for families, Longhofer and Hege said, and is recommended for ages 10 and older.
“It’s a complex musical project with a really, really good story. I hope all kinds of Wichitans can come out and sample it,” Longhofer said. “It’s a great way to introduce young people to the symphony.”
A semi-professional company, ICT Rep was founded in 2017 with a focus on programming for children. After being dormant during the pandemic, Longhofer took over as artistic director in 2023, with three productions in the 2023-24 season and a double-feature of “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Travesties” this summer.
Longhofer will be one of four narrators of “War Horse,” along with Joseph Urick, Gavin Tanner and Sydney Alder. Shaun-Michael Morse, a Wichita theater veteran, will sing the baritone part.
All are being costumed by Longhofer, as well as the 40-member Butler choir.
“It’s a good story well told,” she said. “Each part of this performance and this project is very strong. Obviously, the story is what spurred everything else on, but all the different components are very exciting. The music itself tells the story, it’s part of the narrative.”
‘WAR HORSE’ IN CONCERT
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27
Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas
Tickets: $20-$85, from the Century II ticket office, wichitasymphony.org or 316-267-7658
Local News
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