After performing an uplifting “old-timey” big-bandlike number in choir at Naperville’s Calvary Church in 2006, Renee Hein and Nancy Baumet kept hearing the same comments from those in the audience.
“More than one or two or five people came up to us and said, ‘you guys sound a lot like those Andrews Sisters,'” Baumet said. “So we were at the point in our lives where our littlest ones were going to be in school full time, so we were like, ‘I wonder if people would like to hear this?'”
After researching the Andrews Sisters — Patty, Maxene and LaVerne — and studying their music and movies, they decided to give performing as the famous sisters a try.
“We said ‘let’s just take this to some retirement homes, they might be interested in this,'” Baumet said. “One show turned into 50 shows the first year. Fifty shows turned into 100 and then 100 to 125 to 150 shows a year. It really filled a niche for a lot of people with the military.”
Now known as the Legacy Girls, Aurora residents Baumet, Hein and Dia Madden will bring their tribute to “America’s Wartime Sweethearts” to Fox Valley Repertory Theatre at Pheasant Run in St. Charles. The Legacy Girls will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday and June 6, and return in the fall for a 2 p.m. Oct. 22 show.
“It is us bringing a high-energy portrayal of the hearts of the real Andrews Sisters — that they loved this country and they just wanted to have fun with their audience,” Baumet said.
Rather than just singing, the trio portrays who the Andrew Sisters really were, she said.
“We like to kind of be who they were. They were wonderful singers and entertainers. They engaged the audience, they joked with them. And they just loved the people, the men and women who did their part to keep this great country thriving,” Baumet said. “That’s what we like to do, more than just sing.”
The sisters, she said, were very high energy with bubbly personalities.
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They liked to engage with the audience, and that’s what we like to do. We like to joke with people,” Baumet said.
As they perform the Legacy Girls do the same choreography as the sisters, and tell facts about the songs and the era in which they were written.
“It’s kind of a story to tell about the sisters, but it’s much more than a play. Instead of watching the story of the Andrews Sisters, it’s more like you’re there at one of the Andrews Sisters’ shows. It’s quite different,” she said.
Much like the real Andrews Sisters, the Legacy Girls also entertain those who served the country. The trio has been working with Honor Flight Chicago for the last seven years, helping to entertain World War II veterans before they leave for a trip to Washington to visit sites including the World War II Memorial.
“We go to Midway Airport at about 4:30 a.m. on Honor Flight morning,” Baumet said. “We wait until they all get situated at the gate, and we give them a nice U.S.O. show and we kind of spark their memories before they take off. It’s kind of like the tip off of the day, kind of sets them in the mood for going back. We feel very privileged to entertain for men and women who actually remember being entertained by the real Andrews Sisters.”
When asked what it was that made people feel so connected to the Andrews Sisters, Baumet said it is because they represented “back home.”
“They went overseas all the time and entertained the troops, and they represented a piece of home — the girls back home and the nice girls back home. Their personalities were fun and very uplifting and the music very encouraging,” she said. “What it did is it kind of took their mind off where they were and what they were doing. It just sort of brought them to a place of ‘everybody’s in this together and we can have fun for a moment here.’ Of course they clung to that. The people in the service just couldn’t wait for the next show. They represented a piece of home, for sure.”
While all ages are in the audiences at Legacy Girls shows, they draw a large number from the Greatest Generation, she said. They see the memories and the emotions come back to those who experienced the era.
“A lot of these people will tell you about their military experience and what they remember, but with us, they also bring into it the music.’ I remember the music during that time,’ or ‘I used to play the trumpet,'” Baumet said. “We get their stories of when they were in the service and when they were in the band. It kind of shifts their mood a little bit as they’re talking, you hear them talk about what they listened to or danced to or played the music. You can just feel it. You can see their eyes light up, like they remember how good it was.”
Baumet said the trio has had people tell them the real Andrews Sisters would be proud of their performances.
“It kind of makes you feel really good,” she said. “Because what it means is we’re doing more than just repeating what they sang. We’re spreading the joy.”
Cichon is a freelance writer.
Legacy Girls
When: Saturday, June 6 and Oct. 22
Where: Fox Valley Repertory at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles
Tickets: $32
Information: 630-584-6342 or foxvalleyrep.org