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Swing it
while you sing it
>>Swing
it while you sing it
by
LORRAINE CARPENTER
 All
singing, all dancing and all entertainment fills the bill for this weekend’s
20-strong tribute to American vocal group the Andrews Sisters. Backed
by the brand new Montreal Pop Big Band, local vocal trio the Moonlight
Girls will take centre stage in the role of Minneapolis, MI’s original
Andrews Sisters, Maxene, Patty and LaVerne, whose massive success in
the ’30s and ’40s makes them the best-selling female vocal
group ever.
Along with 113 chart-topping hits, 17 movie roles and collaborations
with such esteemed contemporaries as Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, Benny
Goodman and Les Paul, the swingin’ sistahs are remembered for their
USO tours, singing for troops throughout the American phase of WWII.
With the kind of crystal-clear harmonies only siblings can achieve,
LaVerne and co. also had the distinction of introducing various ethnic
and eclectic styles of music into the mainstream, as in their hits “Bei
Mir Bist Du Schön,” “Beer Barrel Polka,” “Rum
and Coca-Cola,” “South American Way” and “Say ‘Si
Si’ (Para Vigo Mi Voy),” among others.
Singing aside, the Sisters beefed up their performances with lively,
syncopated choreography and comedy, a complete entertainment package
that our local talent strives to reproduce in three performances this
weekend. The Moonlight Girls (featuring young but experienced singers
Isabelle Gagné, Nathalie Albert and Mylène Gauthier) join
Patrick Morin and his Montreal Pop Big Band in their first major performance,
along with internationally renowned tap dancer Bernard Bourgeault and
additional dancers from the Montreal Tap and Swing Express companies.
All these singers, swingers, musicians and hoofers will whoop it up
in a lit, painted and propped setting meant to recreate the ’30s
and ’40s, built around the themes of glamour and romance, the contagious
vivaciousness of boogie-woogie, and the not-so-retro vibe of wartime
entertainment. So, ladies, build up that hair, and gents, sharpen those
suits to step out for a swell night, in swing time. :
At the Monument
National (1182 St-Laurent), Salle Ludger-Duvernay, on Thursday, March
28 to Saturday, March 30, 8pm, $25–35
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