Big band musical onstage now in Palmer

PALMER — Fedoras and zoot suits, big-band swing and the “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”

Maybe these things make you nostalgic. Maybe you just think they’re neat. Either way, Palmer High School’s got your number. “All Night Strut,” which opened Thursday, is a musical review featuring big-band music of the 1930s and ’40s.

Palmer High School music teacher directing the show, Stan Harris, said the kids seem to have a fair amount of interest in the music.

“We do a swing dance here every year and it’s really popular,” Harris said. “They just really like that particular kind of music.”

If dress rehearsals Wednesday are any indication, Harris seems to know what he’s talking about. Cast members all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“I think it really kind of broadcasts a lot of the natural talent that we have around Palmer,” said senior Chris Rowell, who took a break to talk as his castmates continued on onstage with “Minnie the Moocher.”

Rowell’s favorite song in the review?

“This one, Minnie the Moocher.”

Kellie Bernstein, also a senior, said this is her fifth production in high school. She said she doesn’t have a favorite section of the production.

“I think overall it’s just fun,” she said. “We all dance and sing together.”

Packer Dean, dressed in a loud red suit and a black fedora, said he’s been acting since his freshman year. He said “All Night Strut” appeals to him for the way it captures the period’s juxtaposition between the wild, fun times at dancehalls and the weighty seriousness of World War II.

“I really kind of like the time and the history behind this decade,” Dean said. “There are a lot of emotions that come out.”

Dean’s favorite number? “Minnie the Moocher.”

In a white dress and black gloves, Taneisha Godden took a break to talk and, when asked what character she played, gestured to the stage and said, “I am Minnie.” As in “Minnie the Moocher.”

She’s also a Palmer High stage veteran. Last semester she played Cinderella’s birth mother in “Into the Woods.” Like her castmates, she’s enthusiastic about the show.

“It’s a great combination of dance and singing,” Godden said.

She said her favorite song in the review is (… wait for it …) “Minnie the Moocher.” But she also likes “A Fine Romance.”

“It’s a really funny song,” she said.

Harris said that musical reviews are a pretty standard element of PHS’s stage schedule.

“This one I actually found from one of the Broadway musical rental companies. It had been done in Los Angeles and elsewhere,” he said. “We have kind of woven some stuff through and we’ve invented some dialogue. The songs are woven together a little bit more.”

Speaking on opening night, he said he felt he and the cast were ready.

“Yeah, I think so. The last week is always panic city especially when you’re trying to get costumes together and you’ve got the microphones and this and that,” Harris said. “I would imagine in the next couple of nights we’ll have some surprises, but we’re ready.”

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.

What: All Night Strut, a musical review of ’30s-era standards

Where: Palmer High School

When: 7 p.m., Feb. 24 and 25 and March 1-3.

Cost: $10 for adults, $7 for students

Reservations: 746-8403