Catch the smooth sounds of big band at Columbia Theatre
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 11:40 PM PST
By Tom Paulu
Printable version
E-mail this articleGlide into the Columbia Theatre on Friday night, and it will sound a lot like the 1940s.
A Canadian singer and big band will do songs by the likes of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey, and portray a radio broadcast from the World War II era.
Holly Larocque and the Mark Ferguson Orchestra are returning to the theater in a reprise of the show they did here in 2006.
The group has been called “the new voice of Swing,” Larocque said earlier this week by phone during a tour stop in Eugene.
Larocque had a career in Canadian TV and musicals before she created a show for a 1995 reunion of World War II veterans, with Ferguson as chief arranger.
The concert was such a success that Larocque and Ferguson kept the 14-member band together; it’s now doing its third tour.
Larocque said it’s a lively show. “A big band is true show business,” she said. “Everyone on the bandstand must be a showman. There’s some outrageous band choreography.”
The act includes people playing a radio announcer and doing “a series of newly minted vintage commercials.”
Larocque likes wearing Hollywood glamour fashions of the ‘40s, which she said helps the show appeal to fans too young to remember the days when “In the Mood” was a radio hit.
Larocque pointed out that Big Band music boosted morale during the Depression and World War II.
“It did a tremendous amount of work in our world,” she said.
Now that times again are tough, she calls her style of swing “an uplifting type of music at a time when we most need it.”
IF YOU GO
What: The Big Band Broadcast, a recreation of a 1940s radio show with singer Holly Larocque and the Mark Ferguson Orchestra.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Where: Columbia Theatre.
Tickets: $31 and $41. 575-8499 or (888) 575-8499.
Astoria Show: The show will also be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Liberty Theater is Astoria. $44 and $48 for adults and $37 and $42 for students and seniors. (503) 325-5922, ext. 55.
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