We’ll Meet Again performed in Carlyle
May 11, 2026, 10:06 am
Doug Waldner
From May 1-3 Carlyle’s Cornerstone Theatre presented “We’ll Meet Again” in the Carlyle Memorial Hall.
“We’ll Meet Again” is a musical that was originally commissioned by the Royal Canadian Legion in 1986 in celebration of its 60th anniversary. Cornerstone Theatre was formed the same year and this play was one of its initial productions in conjunction with the Ladies Auxiliary of the RCL that year. Cornerstone Theatre has produced this play several times in the ensuing years, but this year was special as it is now the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion and Cornerstone Theatre’s 40th anniversary.
Thanks to the hard work of Joan Bue, attendees for Friday’s performance were offered charcuterie cups of fruit, cheese and meat.
On Saturday, the Carlyle Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion catered a lovely ham supper as a Dinner Theatre. All proceeds from Saturday’s production are going to the Carlyle Legion branch for their work in the community. The Carlyle Branch would like to take this opportunity to thank Cornerstone Theatre for its efforts in putting together this wonderful weekend of entertainment and such a successful fundraiser.
The play is set in an English pub near the end of the Second World War and the music is all of that era. During the 1986 production there were a large number of veterans and spouses of veterans who attended the play and many of them shared their reminisces after the show. In the ensuing 40 years most, if not all, of the Second World War veterans have passed on, however Audrey Young, one of the Ladies Auxiliary members from 1986, attended this year’s production. Young is 96, and has memories of the difficult times during that war.
A number of cast members from the original production have also passed on. Their roles were capably played by younger actors and singers, but the echoes of the missing singers were heard in the minds of those of us who were part of the original production. Although there were new performers, there were also the links to the past. There were a number of actors and singers who had been in either the original show or one of the other versions who reprised their roles for this version.
Despite all the memories and ghostly voices playing in our minds, the 2026 edition of “We’ll Meet Again” was exceptional. The musical accompaniment by Wendy Rounce, and Lori Brown on the piano and Clay Johnstone on the electric keyboard was excellent and so appropriate for the era. There were love songs such as “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” and “Lilly Marlene,” songs praying for a better time such as “The White Cliffs of Dover” and “When the Lights go on All Over the World,” and comedic songs such as “Der Fuerhrer’s Face,” “Knees up Mother Brown,” and “The Biggest Aspidistra in the World.” There were a couple of Andrews Sisters songs (with an extra sister) and a couple of barbershop quartet songs (maybe barbershop sextet songs).
The play featured a bartender, barmaid, soldiers, sailors, and airmen, as well as women in the female branches of those services. Parts of the uniforms of the sailors in the show were originally worn by Mr. Gary Roy, who was in attendance, during his service in the American Navy.
The cast consisted of Dianne Twietmeyer, Joan MacDonald, Sophie Turk, Emma Boutin, Jadah Walbaum, Megan McAuley, Lauri Noble, Lane Easton, David Slykhuis, Paul Twietmeyer, Ashton Lisitza, Kristopher Koski, Jesse Twietmeyer, and Shannon Klatt, with Dianne Twietmeyer directing. Will Elliot was the sound tech and Doug Waldner handled the lighting. This performance was a true ensemble effort. Everyone in the play was showcased and did an excellent job.
The cast sang solos, duets, trios, various other groupings and mass choral work. The songs of that era, so well performed, were powerful at invoking memories of lost love, and yet optimism for the future in the face or horror and adversity of wartime. The finale with the entire cast singing “We’ll Meet Again” was beautiful, powerful in what it says, and brought tears to many an eye.
This was a show about the “Greatest Generation,” the adversity they faced and their triumph in the face of that adversity. Their sacrifices must never be forgotten.
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