The Michael Feinstein Foundation for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook will present a new gallery exhibit, “G.I. Jive: The Music and Entertainers of World War II,” opening on Oct. 2 in the Palladium.
The exhibit is a partnership with the Indiana chapter of the United Service Organization (USO).
The exhibit will launch with a special opening celebration and fundraiser benefiting the Foundation and the Indiana chapter of the USO. Tickets for the Oct. 2 (3 to 5 p.m.) opening are $100 available by calling (317) 843-3800 or online at www.TheCenterForThePerformingArts.org.
Attendees will explore the exhibit and meet special guest Linda Hope, daughter of iconic comedian Bob Hope. Michael Feinstein will welcome guests including Brig. Gen. John McGoff, Chief of Staff, Indiana Air National Guard; and Indiana USO Executive Director Col. Douglas Warnecke.
Entertainment in the Palladium upper south lobby (transformed into a Canteen) will include Actors Theatre of Indiana performing songs of the Andrews Sisters, a Jack Benny impersonator, rare USO film footage, re-enactors and vintage military vehicles on display.
“G.I. Jive” explores the influence of American music on the home front and the battlefield and how the Great American Songbook made a truly global impact.
“Unlike past eras, when patriotic music had not just a strong military message, but a military sound, World War II was a unique experience for songwriters and singers,” said Doris Anne Sadler, executive director at the foundation. “Musicians of that era found that the once popular styles were out of favor with the public. Instead, audiences wanted fun music, dance music, and so, songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” became instant hits. The military message and patriotism may have remained in some ways, but the war-inspired songs sounded like much of the rest of popular music at the time.”
Besides getting soldiers’ toes tapping and lifting the spirits of the public, boogie woogie music played a very significant part in World War II at home and abroad. “G.I. Jive: The Music and Entertainers of World War II” will open to the public Oct. 4 in the Great American Songbook Gallery on the gallery level (Fourth Floor) of the Palladium. Gallery hours are 1 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays. The gallery is also open to concert-goers attending the Songbook series at the Palladium.
The exhibit will highlight famous USO performers and important songwriters during the war and will include rare footage from camp shows. The exhibit will also showcase songs that were used as anti-Nazi propaganda and music popular with both the Axis and the Allies.
The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel City Center, includes the 1,600-seat Palladium concert hall, the 500-seat Tarkington proscenium theater and the 200-seat Studio Theater. The concert hall is also home to the Michael Feinstein Foundation’s Great American Songbook Collection, acting as a museum and education center by day and a concert venue by night.
