Stagehands get their big break in goofy 1940s musical “Andrews Brothers” at Roxy’s

At the first rehearsal for “The Andrews Brothers,” which opens this weekend at Roxy’s Downtown, director Kyle Vespestad gave a warning to his cast.

“There’s a lot of lyrics and a lot of dancing and a lot of harmony. It’s going to be a challenge,” he recalls saying at the first practice. “I truly believe this is one of the most challenging shows that I think you guys will do.”

Vespestad, a Wichita theater veteran, speaks from experience. He played Max in a 2009 production of “Andrews” at Cabaret Old Town, the predecessor of Roxy’s.

The WW II-era show gives a fictional version of three brothers — Patrick, Max and Lawrence — sidelined from the war who are stagehands for a scheduled appearance by the Andrews Sisters. When the singing sisters are sick and quarantined, the brothers step in to become Patty, Maxine and Laverne.

Vespestad said the script has been revised since the 2009 production.

“There’s completely different songs and the script is different, but the gist of it is exactly the same,” he said. “It’s just a lot has changed for the better, I believe.”

The first act sets up the cross-dressing situation for the second, a replica of a USO concert.

“We have to try and emulate the Andrews Sisters and take bits and pieces from them, but not from the very beginning,” said Nicholas Reese, who plays Patrick. “That’s a whole new challenge. You have to find your way through the show.”

“I felt like the characters’ maturation throughout the show was very interesting,” said Ryan Schafer, who plays Max. “They all have their quirks and their faults that they have to overcome on top of pretending to be these famous people.”

The brothers-as-sisters perform 23 songs in the show, some in medleys.

“I’d heard the classics, but a lot of it is new,” said Nicholas Reese, who plays Patrick. “And there’s a lot of it.”

The fourth member of the cast is Madeleine White, who plays singer Peggy Jones, the opening act for the sisters.

“We all like Peggy’s solos because she sounds really good in them,” Schafer said.

“She has only ballad in whole show. It’s quite lovely,” Vespestad said of “I Wanna Be Loved.”

Cast members agreed the most difficult aspect is the music, with rat-a-tat lyrics that never repeat and that lack choruses that can serve as a “breather.”

“Looking at it from a theoretical standpoint, the songs are so dense with horn lines and harmonies, and they’re imitating swing-era horn players but doing it vocally with incredible precision,” said music director Andrew Bowers, who leads a four-person band.

Not to mention that playing men-as-women, they’re constantly singing in falsetto.

“All three of these gentlemen complement each other very, very well,” Bowers said.

Getting a crash course in the Andrews Sisters thanks to YouTube, the cast of 20-somethings said they have developed an appreciation for their grandparents’ era of music.

“It’s just their diligence and their ability as musicians,” White said. “Watching them doing it, it took so much to make it look effortless.”

“The songs get stuck in my head all day long,” Warner said of the past few weeks. “Everybody’s looking at me so funny (when I sing them out loud) because they have no idea.”

The beauty of “The Andrews Brothers,” Vespestad said, is that you don’t have to be an expert on the sisters.

“It’s just a great evening of entertainment where you’d be entertained for two hours,” he said, “whether you know the music or not.”

‘THE ANDREWS BROTHERS’

When: 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 6 p.m. Sundays, Sept. 23 and 30; 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 7 and 14. Show closes Oct. 14.

Where: Roxy’s Downtown, 412 ½ E. Douglas

Tickets: $20-$30, by calling 316-265-4400

This story was originally published September 20, 2018 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Stagehands get their big break in goofy 1940s musical “Andrews Brothers” at Roxy’s."