Review: Trio captures Andrews Sisters’ exquisite vocal blend

If you were born too late to hear Patty, Maxene and Laverne harmonize in person, I’ve got good news for you.

You can hear Abbey, Renei and Jennifer harmonize together in “Sisters of Swing: The Story of the Andrews Sisters” – and that’s the next best thing.

From the first chord of their first song, “Three Little Fishes,” I knew that “Sisters of Swing” was going to work. The magic of the Andrews Sisters resided in their exceptionally tight harmonic blend, often described as similar to three trumpets playing in chorus.

Without that blend, any attempt to imitate the Andrews Sisters would fall, so to speak, flat. Director Abbey Crawford, as a self-confessed Andrews Sisters devotee, was clearly aware of this and she cast this show perfectly. The first thing she did right was cast Renei Yarrow as Maxene and Jennifer Jacobs as Laverne, two fine singers with compatible voices. The second thing she did right was cast herself as Patty, since Crawford possesses national-class cabaret skills and Patty-like vocal chops.

Yet even that was no guarantee that the three of them would hit that magical harmonic blend, often found only in siblings. All I can say is, they not only sound like sisters; they sound like the Andrews Sisters. No wonder this show has already been extended a week.

The subtitle promises the “story” of the sisters, yet the book by Beth Gilleland and Bob Beverage is an almost comically truncated “Behind the Music” episode. A huge personal trauma might be covered in one throw-away sentence along the lines of, “And then my sister sued me.”

However, the plotline is sufficient to give us the general arc of their story: Their Minnesota roots, their vaudeville dues-paying, their big break with Decca Records, their string of hits, their wartime USO tours and their eventual breakup.

And frankly, that was enough, because I just wanted to hear the songs. And what songs.

We heard sprightly and expertly sung versions of “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)” and “I’ll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time.” Crawford’s staging of the latter two, in a USO-tour setting, made me understand why these songs cut straight to hearts of lonely boys who just wanted to go back home.

My favorite song of all was the great “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” and not only because the “sisters” were terrific. This song featured Patrick Treadway, with hat and pipe, performing an uncanny imitation of Bing Crosby crooning the “sermon” part of the song. I’ve been amazed by Treadway’s talent for more than 20 years, but I never suspected that he possessed an inner Bing.

By comparison, the sisters’ best-known hit, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” wasn’t quite as successful, only because this is a song that cries out for a Big Band backing (or at least a trumpet, blowing eight to the bar). This is definitely not a criticism of the onstage backup band – Jim Ryan on piano, Bruce Pennell on bass and Michael Waldrop on drums. Ryan’s piano had so much swing and boogie-woogie spirit, it was a massive challenge for the audience to stay put in their seats.

Crawford adds a number of nice, light touches which lift this show beyond jukebox revue. Treadway plays dozens of roles – manager, conductor and even Danny Kaye. At intermission, one audience member was chosen by raffle to appear in the second act. The fact that he becomes one of the “Six Jerks in a Jeep” in the song of that title did not seem to diminish his glee at being on stage.

In one scene, Patty comes out on stage, swinging a Louisville Slugger, to threaten her no-good philandering husband. Crawford never smacks anybody, but she doesn’t need to. With “Sisters of Swing,” she has already hit one out of the park.