A big band and an energetic troupe of singers and dancers bring that 1940s vibe back to the Count Basie Theatre Sunday. (Click to enlarge)
There’s the Andrews Sisters’ rollicking reveille “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” Bing Crosby’s jumped-up “Swingin’ on a Star.” Benny Goodman’s pounding epic “Sing! Sing! Sing!” Glenn Miller’s signature slow-dance “Moonlight Serenade.”
While they might date from your great-grandma’s era of USO shows and network radio, they represent the music of youth — the soundtrack for a country tested by the Great Depression and a Second World War, but ready to seize its moment on the global stage.
This Sunday afternoon, the songs, steps and styles of the 1940’s are brought to Lindy-hopping life by producer-pianist Bud Forrest, his String of Pearls Big Band Orchestra, and an energetic young cast of singers and dancers when the touring production dubbed In the Mood returns to the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank for a 2 p.m. performance.
Subtitled “A 1940s Musical Revue,” the matinee is the latest in a string of area appearances for the crowd-pleasing show that recreates the hepped-up, energized pop music that helped win a war.
It’s a sound “as brassy as Patton, as riveting as Rosie,” according to promos, one that introduced the Heartland to big-city jazz and exotic rhythms, and the world at large to an America that was becoming a cultural phenomenon to be reckoned with. It’s also a treat for multi-generations of fans who just love to hear a live big band swinging the hits.
Tickets ($20 – $45) can be reserved right here.
