“In the Mood” brings musical memories of the 1940s at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Cheyenne Civic Center. The show combines a mix of big band musicians, singers and dancers.
Even among the very young, talk of the 1940s stirs up images of Japanese fighter planes flying over Hawaii and striking Pearl Harbor. Older people, however, also remember the sounds of the era.
Dance halls were filled with a cacophony of sound from big bands and the sweet melodies of female trios filled the air as swing dancers twirled and tossed their partners around the dance floor.
The Cheyenne Civic Center will bring musical memories of the ’40s alive at 7:30 p.m. Friday with “In the Mood,” a celebration of 1940s entertainment.
The show is in its 19th year and has traveled across the US and around the world, Bud Forrest, producer of the show, said. The performance features the String of Pearls Big Band Orchestra, a group of 19 musicians, singers and dancers.
“The show will be a sampling of 1940s entertainment,” Forrest said. “In the Mood” is two and a half hours of choreographed dancing, singing and that big band sound.
Forrest describes it as patriotic and nostalgic.
“It’s a show for everyone,” he said.
“In the Mood presents music that many people will be familiar with. Songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Chattanooga Choo-choo” will bring back old memories for some while creating new memories for others.
The 1940s was the last era in which everybody was dancing and listening to the same kind of music, Forrest said. “It provided a glue that bound people together.”
That is why traveling tours like the USO were so popular, Forrest said. Everybody knew and could follow along with the music.
“It’s great to see three generations of families come to our show,” Forrest said. People do not like to talk about their war experiences, but a show like this brings out the happy moments that people are more willing to share.
“It’s a thrill to meet service members,” Forrest said.
A section of the show will honor vets and men and women in the service.
Forrest said this is a full-time gig for him, but performers come from all over the country to auditions, which are held each year in New York. Every year there is a new batch of performers to see, he said.
” In the Mood” tours in the fall and in the spring for eight to 10 weeks. The show recently did a tour through New Zealand and Australia that boasted 32 sold-out shows.
“People love this music,” Forrest said. It is traditional American music with American lyrics.
