BWW Reviews: Gaslight's THE ANDREWS BROTHERS

Perhaps no singing group more aptly captures the spirit of America during World War II than the glorious Andrews Sisters: the sound of Patty, Maxene and Laverne somehow encapsulates the romantic notions of a world at war that still delights audiences and conjures up visions of all-American spirit and spunk. With songs like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Hold Tight," "Three Little Sisters," and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," audiences are immediately taken away to wartime - well, actually, the war's in its waning days (the time is March 1945), but young men are still risking their lives to ensure our liberties while saving the world from the Axis powers.

So what happens when Laverne comes down with chicken pox and she and her sisters are quarantined just when they are about to headline a concert for soldiers and sailors shipping out to save the world? That's the premise of Roger Bean's tuneful and fun-filled The Andrews Brothers, the musical revue now onstage at Dickson's Gaslight Dinner Theatre, in a thoroughly entertaining show directed by Greg Frey and featuring a charming quartet of performers who bring the show to life with enough style and flair to send audiences out the door, humming the 1940s hits that typify the Andrews sisters, to be certain, and brothers, to our surprise.

Confused? There's no need to be since this is a joyous musical revue, filled with terrific songs and enough onstage silliness and laugh-out-loud goofiness to guarantee delight: At an afternoon rehearsal for a USO show in the South Pacific, Max, Lawrence and Patrick Andrews (Brian Best, Curtis Reid and Chase Miller, respectively) are rehearsing with pin-up girl Peggy Jones (Jenny Norris-Light) for the big show that night, which is to be headlined by Patty, Maxene and Laverne.

What Peggy, a pretty performer who's become the pin-up object of desire of countless military men, doesn't know is that the brothers are really just the stagehands for the show-her backup singers didn't arrive in time and the boys were recruited by the Major in charge to fill in where needed.

Peggy soon gets the skinny on the Andrews brothers and guesses their 4F ailments (Patrick is asthmatic, Lawrence is nearsighted and Max is flat-footed) that kept them out of the Army. Peggy finds herself falling for the sweetly stuttering Patrick when a cablegram arrives, informing them that the concert is cancelled since The Andrews Sisters are quarantined in Hawaii. But perky Peggy, showing her all-American pluck, divines that the show must go on...with the Andrews brothers impersonating the famous trio of sisters.

Completely outrageous as the concept is, the revue works - thanks to the period-perfect songs that propel the onstage action and the focus and committed performances of director Frey's four-person ensemble. It's impossible to single out any of the actors for special attention, so important is each character to the show's success.

Norris-Light, by virtue of being the only female member of the cast, stands out as she exudes 1940s glamour - but each of the gentlemen in the piece deliver the goods just as well - Miller shows great versatility, Reid has stage presence to spare and Best is wonderfully appealing.

You'd be hard-pressed to cast the show better than Frey has with this terrific troupe and he shows off his own prowess by keeping the show's pace fresh and sprightly (and his set/costume/props design add to the production's ambience), aided and abetted by choreographer Tosha Pendergrast and musical director Randy Craft.

• The Andrews Brothers. Written and created by Roger Bean. Directed by Greg Frey. Musical direction by Randy Craft. Choreographed by Tosha Pendergrast. Presented by the Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Dickson. Through April 30. For details, go to www.gaslightdinnertheatre.org or call (615) 740-5600. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (with one 20-minute intermission).

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