Swingtime Canteen
by Charles Busch, Linda Thorsen Bond, William Repicci

Name: Swingtime Canteen
Brand: Charles Busch
SKU: 9780573623332
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)

Swingtime Canteen Book Cover — Swingtime Canteen Cover

Highlights

Female

105 mins 1940s/WWII All Women Interior Set Period Costumes

Synopsis

Over 300 Performances off-Broadway!

It's London, 1944.

Join MGM star Marian Ames and her all-girl band from the Hollywood Canteen for the rip-roaringest canteen show of them all.

After 17 years with MGM, still-glamorous movie legend Marian Ames has endured four flop films in a row and is being put out to pasture.

But this is 1944 and no time for self pity.

So Marian has gathered up her instrument-playing gal pals from the Hollywood Canteen and headed for London to entertain the troops.

Joining her are Jo Sterling, (her drum-playing stand-in on 17 pictures), her skittish niece Katie Gammersflugel, solid-as-a-rock piano-playing riveter Topeka Abotelli, and leggy chorine Lilly McBain.

Get ready for a memorable night as these five archetypal film characters from the 1940's prove their mettle while they sing over 30 vintage classics from the war years.

Laughs, tears, emotional fireworks, air raids and a celebration of women during the war punctuate this hilarious and heartwarming story.

Songs include “Don't Fence Me In,” “I'll Be Seeing You,” “Sing Sing Sing,” “How High the Moon,” “I Don't Want to Walk without You,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” “Sentimental Journey,” “Apple Blossom Time,” a fast paced, 12-song Andrews Sisters medley, and many more.

Press Reviews

"An irresistible nostalgia-fest!"
— Time Out London

"Swingtime Canteen is an evocative balancing act of music and comedy, parody and sentiment. They make the good war sound great... [There's an] Andrew's Sisters medley that's a wowser... a reminder of what the boys were fighting for, and what any struggle – war in the '40s, AIDS in the '90s – means to the combatants: pain and loss, and a sweet, frail hope."
— Time Magazine

"A must see! A must enjoy!"
— The New York Post

"High Octane! Rip Roaring! Smoothly Polished!"
— New York Newsday

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
PRINCIPALS MARIAN AMES (Eb3-Eb5) – A lovely, classic leading lady of the silver screen who is slightly past her prime. Elegant, gracious and maternal, Marian is a strong leader with a healthy dose of wry humor.	female	—	(Eb3-Eb5) – A lovely, classic leading lady of the silver screen who is slightly past her prime. Elegant, gracious and maternal, Marian is a strong leader with a healthy dose of wry humor.
JO STERLING (everyone's best friend) (F3-C4) – A good natured gal and everyone's best friend. She's warm, sensitive, brainy and ready with a snappy wisecrack at every occasion. (Drums)	—	—	(F3-C4) – A good natured gal and everyone's best friend. She's warm, sensitive, brainy and ready with a snappy wisecrack at every occasion. (Drums)
KATIE GAMMERSFLUGEL (G3-Eb5) – A young, small-town girl. Enthusiastic and highly emotional.	female	—	(G3-Eb5) – A young, small-town girl. Enthusiastic and highly emotional.
TOPEKA ABOTELLI (F3-Eb5) – A rough-edged housewife and mom. A super-patriot who works as a riveter in a war plant. A zany, warmhearted woman with an antic energy. (Piano)	female	—	(F3-Eb5) – A rough-edged housewife and mom. A super-patriot who works as a riveter in a war plant. A zany, warmhearted woman with an antic energy. (Piano)
LILLY MCBAIN (G3-C#5) – Gorgous, ambitious and tough as nails. A survivor who masks her vulnerability with a cynical veneer. (Alto Sax, Banjo & Guitar)	female	—	(G3-C#5) – Gorgous, ambitious and tough as nails. A survivor who masks her vulnerability with a cynical veneer. (Alto Sax, Banjo & Guitar)
THREE WOMEN SIDE MUSICIANS	—	—	—
ELEANOR FUCHS Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone & Tenor Saxophone	—	—	Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone & Tenor Saxophone
MURIEL KRAVIS Trumpet	—	—	Trumpet
JEANNIE PIELMEIER Bass	—	—	Bass