Over the course of the 2024 Celtic Throne tour, dancers, crew members and Philadelphia Church of God members have been collecting stories and responses from the people impacted by the show.

Shreveport

Too many ushers volunteered at this show because they all wanted to see it.

A security usher explained that they normally have to buy a ticket to see a show, but they all decided to go in anyway because it was so good. She said cried because she felt it was the first time in a while she was proud to be truly American.

One lady from Scotland said she had been to Riverdance and many different shows like it. She said we were on par with those shows. She was floored when I said we were from Oklahoma. A mother and daughter came in wanting to check it out, because they watch other dance shows. She said after the first half that she was crying the whole time, because there is an emotion in this show that isn’t in other shows.

On man came up, shook my hand really tight and wouldn’t let go. “This is what this country needs right now,” he said. “You guys have embodied the American spirit.”

One lady came up to me and said, “I got your message.” Then she said, “I went to Ambassador College. I knew Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong personally, and I was baptized. I didn’t know Mr. Flurry was carrying on what Mr. Armstrong was doing.” I told her I was so glad she came, and she said, “Me too.”

Fort Meyers, Florida

At the intermission, I was talking to an elderly gentleman who said he and his wife had just traveled to Ireland looking for an Irish dance show to watch. He said that someone in Ireland towards the end of their trip recommended coming back and seeing Celtic Throne. When they got back, they saw that Celtic Throne was coming right down the street from where they lived, and they booked tickets.

Sarasota, Florida

The front-of-house manager said he’s been doing this for 25 years and has never seen a group like ours. He kept commenting on how nice we all are. He said their staff loved interacting with us. “If you guys hadn’t said in the show that you were related, I would have asked,” he said, “because there is a family element in the show that we pick up on.” He really wanted us to come back.

One woman, when she got up to leave, said, “Thank you for renewing my faith in humanity.”

After the show, I was asking one of the stage hands how the show Hamilton had gone (they had performed there right before our group). He had been talking with the other stage guys about how they would miss our show. Hamilton had been there for two weeks, but he said they would miss having us since we help out. He said it felt like “we are part of your guys’ family.” He kept following me around and saying he wanted to do more with us.

A lady at the hotel stopped me in the elevator as I was coming out and said, “I just wanted to let you know how much it means to me to see your kids dressed nicely with their hair done nicely.” She started crying. “Everyone was on time, respectful, nice to each other.”

A theater helper said he had been working there for 25 years and had never seen an audience reaction like we got. He also said he could tell we were all family, and he said he would come with us if we would have him. “I’ll carry your luggage to Nashville,” he said.

Jacksonville, Florida

After the show, one man said, “Someone needs to talk to your marketing manager and tell him that what you guys need to be marketing is your smiles and happiness.” He said he had seen all the major shows, including Lord of the Dance and Riverdance, but that our smiles and happiness really set us apart. He really emphasized that I needed to tell that to our marketing manager. “I’ve been around a long time,” he said, “and I can tell that you guys don’t do it for the money, because there’s not much money in it, but you do it for the joy of it.”

A lady who had sat in the front row said, “Thanks for giving me faith in the next generation.”

Nashville, Tennessee

At the street promo, I talked to a man working at a stand across from us. He said he could immediately recognize that we were different. He mentioned that he could tell the group was really good at leadership. He must have seen Mr. Macdonald giving the kids instructions. I told him that dancing keeps them out of trouble. He said, “I can tell. We need more of that.” He kept saying, “I can tell you guys are different.” He also mentioned the fitness and the discipline the kids had.

Poway, California

I talked to a lady in the audience who said she goes to shows all the time and has never seen anything like this. Approximate quote: “There’s genuine emotion in you guys. The smiles are clearly not fake smiles. I can see it in your faces—it’s love, real love. I go to other shows like Wicked and think, ‘Wow, that was amazing,’ afterwards, but I don’t go and call people and tell them they have to come like I have for this show. I’ve already called two people and told them they have to come tomorrow night.”