Touring shows captures full swing concert experience

October 24, 2013 at 12:05a.m.

Most of the touring productions reliving the swing era of music from the ’30s and ’40s begin and end with the big-band orchestra.

However, roughly 20 years ago, Bud Forrest decided to do something different. At the time, he was producing an Andrews Sisters tribute, but that slowly evolved into the touring production “In the Mood,” which comes to Youngstown’s Stambaugh Auditorium next Thursday.

“While focusing on the music of the Andrews Sisters, the show evolved for no other reason than I just saw the combination of the music, the instruments and the energy,” said Forrest, calling from Bethlehem, Pa. “Eventually, it developed into something more than that.”

What “In the Mood” evolved into was a full-on swing experience that went beyond the quintessential community theater walk-down-memory-lane experience. Instead, as artistic director and pianist, Forrest transformed “In the Mood” into a celebration of America’s greatest generation through the jazzy, sentimental and patriotic music of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Erskine Hawkins, The Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra and other idols of the 1940s.

Sure, similar shows boasted a full orchestra, but Forrest set out to capture the energy and excitement of a swing concert by adding costumed and choreographed dancers giving the experience a truly authentic feel.

Joining the 13-piece String of Pearls Big Band Orchestra are six “In the Mood” singers and dancers performing more than 30 songs, including obligatory tracks such as “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy [of Company B],” “In the Mood,” “Tuxedo Junction” and “Sing, Sing, Sing.”

Forrest said every year roughly a quarter of the show changes depending on the personnel. For instance, the current “In the Mood” tour includes a strong trumpet player, which opened up different and obscure opportunities from the songbook.

“We added a song this year by Jimmy Dorsey and Vaughn Monroe called ‘This is Worth Fighting For,’” Forrest said. “It’s about a soldier describing the land and family and saying this is worth fighting for. That’s something that most people would have not known on a regular basis compared to ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy [of Company B],’ which everyone knows. This is a ballad. Some of these songs were written just for the war effort, and this is probably one of those. A big part of our show is to honor all veterans. Really, it’s honoring what the music means to all of us.”

Considering Veterans Day is only a couple of weeks away, the timing of the show coming through Northeast Ohio is apropos. When asked what he hopes audiences take away from “In the Mood,” Forrest didn’t hesitate.

“It touches everybody across the board,” Forrest said. “I hope people leave feeling proud with an appreciation of the music. Sometimes I’ll get an email from families later on saying that after seeing the show a grandmother began to talk about what the music meant to her as a young girl back in the ’40s. So it opens up family discussions of the war, while letting people understand what life was like back then.”