Tonight we attended an exclusive screening of Army Wives at Walter Reed. It was held to kick off the Fourth of July weekend and to honor America’s servicemen and women and their families. Two of the show’s stars attended — Sally Pressman, who plays Roxy, and Brigid Brannagh, who plays Pamela.
I was invited a few days ago to escort the stars to the red carpet and to be available to any reporters who wanted to interview real military spouses. It sounded like a fun night so I jumped at the chance.
When I called Elysia and asked her if she wanted to hear something funny, she just said “uh oh.” I guess I’ve earned it, but she did agree to attend and we gambled and took Citrus with us.
They showed next week’s episode in the old Red Cross Building at Walter Reed, and invited wounded warriors, their families, and other servicemembers. The place was packed.
Lee Woodruff, wife of news anchor Bob Woodruff, gave an amazing speech about what she went through when her husband was almost killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq and her understanding of what military families experience. If I can get a transcript, I’ll post it.
Brigid Brannagh then addressed the audience and barely said a sentence before being overwhelmed with emotion. She spent the day at Walter Reed meeting with soldiers and their families, and then being in front of a packed audience was too much. She regained her composure and made it through, as did Sally Pressman. Both of them couldn’t say enough how much they appreciated being able to represent everyone’s stories on the show.
Only in the past few days have I realized how many people watch the program, both military and those with no connections to the military. It is the highest rated series in Lifetime’s 23-year history, and it is because the scenes are very authentic.
It was quite something to watch the episode with several hundred families and wounded warriors. There are sappy moments and silly moments — which make it fun – but at its heart it manages to capture quite a lot of how families cope with war.
If there ever was a tough audience with a critical eye for the facts of military community, this was it. By the end most of the audience was wiping tears away. Wives, husbands, wounded soldiers, survivors. Everyone except for our 2 year old daughter, who has been particularly enamored of one character (Trevor LeBlanc, Roxy’s husband) and talked about him through most of the screening.
We mingled afterwards and Citrus chatted a bit with Sheila Casey while her husband – General George Casey, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and former command of the forces in Iraq — was elsewhere in the crowd.
The episode will show next Sunday at 10pm. I did not take many pictures, but will undoubtedly receive a few from Lifetime in the next few days and will post them then.
2 Responses to “Screening of “Army Wives” at Walter Reed”
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This is such a great show…..keeps getting better and better
Did you get interviewed?