Sisters of Swing at Allenberry Playhouse

I had a wonderful Saturday with my host family - The Kellys.

Mike and I spent the morning after breakfast running some errands which turned out to be an adventure for me. I got a chance to visit a rare 'shoes smith' whose little workshop is an art in its own right. Later, I have the pleasure to visit the Susquehana Bank (where Mike works) to see in person how the "ATM Drive Thru' works.



The real treat however was the dinner and later a theater performance at the Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse. This unique resort resides along the Yellow Breeches River which is famous for fly fishing. I was surprise to learn that John Travolta gained his fame starting by performing at the Allenberry Playhouse. If Travolta fans wish to see him in his youthful glory, a visit to this playhouse is a must for you will be greeted with an amazing photo of Travolta with his 'killer's smile' in a commemoration booklet at the entrance of the playhouse - look closely!

The focus of this blog post however is on the 'Andrews Sisters'. The Andrews Sisters were a prolific and hugely successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras, consisting of three actual sisters: LaVerne, Maxene and Patty. Entitled the 'Sisters of Swing', the play lasted for 2 hours with a 15 minutes intermission. It was such a well planned performance.

During World War II, the Andrews Sisters entertained the Allied forces extensively in America, Africa and Italy, visiting Army, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard bases, war zones, hospitals, and munitions factories. The excellent performance of Anne Montavon (Patty), Melissa Dvozenja (Maxene), Jessica Kaufman (LaVerne) and Andrew Lyons (who plays all the man's role) brought the audience, young and old, back to those trying era. One of the nice touch of the play was how the producer had invited a veteran army man from the audience to appear on stage with the cast in one scene of the second half of the performance. This brief cameo performance from a member of the audience paid tribute to all who had served in the US Army. The cast lined up to thank the audience for their support at the end of their performance.

Needless to say I had enjoyed myself tremendously. Though it took 40 minutes to travel to and fro the venue, this evening had been wonderful for Mike, Mary Kay, Rachel and I.



p/s: unfortunately, no photograph is allowed in the playhouse.