In the Mood takes the audience back to the 1940s

MORRISTOWN — Travel back to the 1940s and relive the music that moved the nation's spirit when In the mood: A 1940s Musical Review, comes to Mayo Performing Arts Center on Friday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29 to $59.

In The Mood celebrates America's Greatest Generation through the music of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Erskine Hawkins, The Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra and other idols of the 1940s.

In The Mood takes a look at America's Swing Era, the last time when everyone listened and danced to the same style of music. It recreates defining moments from the 1930s/1940s — from the happy-go-lucky era before WWII — to the start of the war when thousands of our youth were going abroad to defend our freedoms — and longing for the end of the war when loved ones would be reunited. The music arrangements of these American songs evoke powerful emotions even in people who were born decades after WWII.

Swing Music inspired America with a vision for the future filled with hope, promise and prosperity. This music moved the nation's spirit and helped to sustain the nation's morale during World War II, arguably the pivotal event of the 20th Century.

Creator and producer Bud Forrest is a Juilliard trained pianist and conductor who served as accompanist for the official U.S. Air Force chorus The Singing Sergeants. He compiled the greatest music from the swing era into a revue about the big band era and the influence of this music before,during and after the WWII years. The second act is experienced as a moving tribute to those who fought in the war and to all veterans — even today's.

In The Mood captures the feel of the big band era in part because of the involvement of the late Vic Schoen as the show's primary arranger. Schoen created the musical arrangements for the entire career of the legendary Andrews Sisters and was Music Director for both Universal and Paramount Pictures. He was one of the seminal creators of the swing-era sound that he imbued into In The Mood.

The Mayo Performing Arts Center is located at 100 South St. in Morristown. For more information or tickets contact the box office at 973-539-8008 or visit www.mayoarts.org.