Few show business acts embody World War II as much as the Andrews Sisters. That fact makes Roger Bean’s “new” (2008) ’40s musical “The Andrews Brothers” a natural, one that raises the question: Why didn’t anyone come up with this sooner?
FCLO Music Theatre’s staging is only the second (the first being at Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West), and it’s a valentine to everyone and everything associated with this country’s war effort, from USO shows and bond drives to rationing resources and putting funds into savings.
The ingenious plot is relatively simple: We’re in the South Pacific theater of war, circa 1943, where the Andrews Sisters are due to arrive soon to entertain the troops. Set to handle the stagehand work for their show is a trio of brothers whose last name is Andrews.
Not only do these three young men love everything about the Andrews Sisters, including singing all of their songs; their names are Lawrence, Max and Patrick, corresponding with LaVerne, Maxene and Patty.
“The Andrews Brothers” starts with the arrival of pinup girl Peggy Jones (Bets Malone), who meets the Andrews Brothers and asks who they are. Convinced they’re good enough to perform on stage, the confident Max (David Engel) tells her they’re “backup singers” for the sisters.
Peggy eventually realizes that the brothers aren’t really USO entertainers – yet she thinks they’re good enough to headline. Thus, when a telegram arrives stating that the Andrews Sisters are canceling their appearance due to illness, the Andrews Brothers get their big break – in drag, of course.
Director Nick DeGruccio’s staging accentuates the comedic while letting us sympathize with the boys, who know they’re good enough to sing but need Peggy’s help to pull off their impersonation of the world-renowned Andrews girls.
Larry Raben’s wheezing and hyperventilating underscore his terror at performing solos, heightened by Peggy’s attraction to him. Raben’s comedic style is akin to the stammering shyness of Danny Kaye and, from a slightly later era, Jerry Lewis’ pratfalls.
Engel’s Max is a quietly confident take-charge guy, while Chandler’s Lawrence is Mr. Reliable.
All three characters are most at ease when performing, and “The Andrews Brothers” gives the actors a chance to prove this, with 27 numbers from the World War II era – many of them popularized by The Andrews Sisters – in Bean’s vocal arrangements, with music arranged by Jon Newton.
Malone combines a sexy stage persona with an endearing Betty Boop-type speaking voice that often carries over into her singing. Her character connects the boys to the show-biz world they idolize, and she’s a quintessential ’40s heroine: the plucky small-town girl who made good.
All four actors are terrific hoofers, executing Roger Castellano’s dance steps with precision and apparent ease.
Malone scores with the tongue-twisting lyrics of “Breathless” while shimmying and swaying to the slow, jazzy “I Wanna Be Loved” and teaching the boys to sing “MairzyDoats.”
DeGruccio’s creativity blossoms in his staging of “On a Slow Boat to China,” as Peggy and Patrick row a small prop boat across the stage with an inventive use of a length of blue silk (the ocean), a small crescent moon and a parasol.
Other first-act highlights include a charming, relaxed version of “Rosie the Riveter” and a medley of “Hawaiian War Chant” and “Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar.”
The show’s second half is done as a USO show, with the audience functioning as the servicemen being entertained and the boys trying to navigate their numbers while in high heels, their many staging mishaps played for laughs.
All of the Act Two songs are aptly swingy, jazzy and sentimental, ranging from “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Hold Tight, Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama?)” to “Shoo-Shoo Baby” and “I’m Doin’ It for Defense.”
Act Two highlights include a Hollywood Canteen segment and the use of two gents from the audience for the “Three Little Sisters” and “Six Jerks in a Jeep” numbers, while one of the volunteers does a slow dance with Malone to “I Want to Linger.”
In conducting the nine-piece pit orchestra, music director Lloyd Cooper achieves an authentic 1940s sound. Kevin Clowes’ set is a realistic mixture of flats, cutouts and actual objects (crates, foot lockers and the like), and Deborah Roberts’ costumes add to the show’s authenticity.
Ditto the numerous movie trailers, shorts and Disney and Tex Avery cartoons shown as pre-show and intermission entertainment. During these screenings, as with the entire show, you won’t want to leave your seats.
Freelance writer Eric Marchese has covered entertainment for the Register since 1984.
Contact the writer: emarchesewriter@gmail.com
