The high-spirited yet lighthearted style of entertainment that boosted the morale of American servicemen and women as they fought the most destructive yet vital conflict in human history was present onstage again as the Wallace Center at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Historic Site hosted its fifth annual World War II-era USO Show on the evening of Friday, May 23.
Gorgeous lady singers, wacky novelty acts and a booming big band provided audience members with a taste of the carefree distractions that gave those whose care it was to save the world from fascism a much-needed few hours of joy and laughs between battles.
Although not a production of the actual USO, the collaboration of professionals and amateurs gave a good approximation of the show style of that period.
“Last year we had a first-rate show; and this year we’ve taken it a step beyond to second-rate,” yucked Boris “Sheppy” Green, the show’s emcee, who in real life is known as Jeff Urbin, the education specialist at the FDR site. Behind him there was a backdrop of a U.S. flag and patriotic motifs, and all around the stage was adorned with green canvas, duffel bags and helmets. “Sheppy” and the other performers cracked their jokes or belted out their tunes into a period radio microphone that bore the letters “WFDR.”
“How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?” the jovial Green asked his listeners. “I don’t know – They never have!” he answered himself to general guffaws, an echo of a time when black humor was sometimes the only way to put a positive spin on things.
Yet grim realities were not entirely absent, as a newsreel showing the attack on Pearl Harbor and Roosevelt’s “Day That Will Live In Infamy” speech was followed by the emcee narrating the history of the USO, which was founded in 1941 to provide entertainment and social services to military men and their families.
And in a flash the show reverted to that function, with the talented Ruth Boyer singing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,” “All of Me” and “Blue Skies.”
Boyer, who is the lead singer of a group called Blue Gardenia, which performs ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s standards, told The Beat that there was a very personal aspect to her performance in the show.
“My dad was in the Army in Europe during World War II,” she explained. “He later became a Lifetime Commander in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I grew up with patriotism, always going to parades and decorating graves with flags on Memorial Day, and it is a privilege and an honor to be in this show.”
Fun continued to be mixed with seriousness as a 1944 Disney cartoon, “Victory Vehicles” starring Goofy, was shown, but things got really goofy with Keith Nelson’s novelty act. Five volunteers, all of them children, were pressed into service to hold sticks aloft during his plate-spinning routine. Various hilarious maneuvers were performed to keep the plates going, as Nelson repeatedly exhorted the kids to “Look fabulous – the most important thing on stage is to look fabulous,” which, amidst giggles as they strove to keep their arms steady, they did.
Kelly Urbin, a sweet and petite aspiring singer and actress who featured throughout the show in a running routine in which she played a self-proclaimed medium who could get “Sheppy” in touch with the dead, got her chance to shine with a fine performance of the melancholy World War I-era song, “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” which she said was still performed in succeeding decades. Yet she said it was the decade of World War II that holds a special place in her heart.
“I love the ‘40s,” she told The Beat. “I love the hairstyles, the makeup, the style of singing. Above all I love Judy Garland – I learned to sing listening to her. It took a special talent to pull off those types of songs. If I could go back to the ‘40s, I would in an instant. It was a time of togetherness – everyone came together for a great cause.”
Band leader Mark Raisch, whose Totally Suave Little Big Band finished off the show with such era standards as “Ace In The Hole,” “Up A Lazy River,” and “Got A Crush On You” before the whole ensemble concluded with rousing renditions of “God Bless America” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” also feels that there is a unique quality to that era and USO shows in general.
“I think it’s just wonderful to keep alive the camaraderie of that time,” he told The Beat. “It’s great to revive the tradition of supporting the troops, and doing it with fun and spirit.”