Sentimental Journey: Song, Dance and Nostalgia

Written By: Mary Lou Smith for The Laurel Magazine | Issue: Whats News

I anticipated a fun evening of song, dance, and a dash of nostalgia at Mountain Theatre Company’s most recent production, Sentimental Journey. But my heart was in for a big surprise. Your heart can still catch the excitement, too, now through September 4^th.

The show opens with a celebration of sweet romance, then gradually turns into a rip-roaring musical revue, loaded with bobby-soxin’, bee-boppin’, finger-poppin’, and interludes of rousing patriotic tunes.

Girls were dressed to the nines, gorgeous bright eyes and lipstick so red, fire engines turned chartreuse with envy. Guys swirled and twirled the ladies over their pomaded heads, and twixt the legs of their double-pleated trousers. There were some serious abs working that evening.

On the chance you are going to catch one of the final shows, don’t expect a story line or dialogue to get in the way of the sensational performances. This is purely wall-to-wall music . . .  vocal, dance, and instrumentals from the USO Bugle Boy to Latins in satins. 

 Visually, show sets are intentionally minimal. Executive Artistic Director, Scott Daniel, describes Act One’s first section as a black and white memory that fades into a technicolor fantasy.

Act One’s second section celebrates Latin and Latin-American music and culture that were growing in popularity in the 1940s. The temperature rises as the show builds. Womens’ costumes shift to chic monochrome beiges and golds, while the men don casual, finely-tailored Havana attire. 

Speaking of costume dazzle . . .  if you had several days to count the applied crystals, you’d arrive at 23,000 individual gems. Now that’s a trunkful of mind-boggling eye-pop.

Act Two is a tribute to the USO shows of WWII and the servicemen and women who served in the Allied Forces. Guys were in uniform and gals in the ever popular red/white/blue high-waisted, wide leg shorts, skirts, and Katherine Hepburn pants. 

The choreographic high energy kicks, slides, and spins paid tribute to jive/jitterbug fusion of the 1940s. Jive was the dance of the decade, and the evening’s dancers were smooth as silk and crisp as rustling taffeta.

In that stunning attire, singing in super-tight harmonies, an Andrews Sisters trio nailed “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” to everyone’s delight.

Complementing the costuming was classic make-up, worthy of any 40s movie star.  

The look, the style, the costuming, the setting, the planning, the directing wove around and through this excellent selection of tunes. Several stood out for my ear: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “Rum and Coca-Cola,” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

All the songs, especially the show-stopping “God Bless America” were a beautiful tribute to the sensational tunes that bubbled up in 40s movies, USO shows, musical plays, and more. 1940s musicians were recognized for their tremendous contribution to the morale of troops and Allies around the world. They didn’t fire a gun, but their efforts served this country in ways weapons never could.

Laurel’s Marjorie Christiansen says, “Outstanding shows like Sentimental Journey provide beauty for our eyes, hearts, and souls. We never get tired of the emotional buoyancy wonderful shows like this provide.” 

Kudos to Scott Daniel who conceived and directed the production. Hats-off to his make-up and hair-styles. Huzzahs to Vanessa Russo for her dazzling choreography.