The holiday crowd at Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts this Friday, December 15, 2023 evening is ready to celebrate the season with a concert by America’s Sweethearts, a NYC-based ensemble of female singers who perform music from the 1940s, ’50s, and ‘60s.
Backed by a quartet featuring piano, bass, drums, and saxophone, Sweethearts Katie Anderson, Amanda Lea LaVergne, and Kristen Michelle take the stage. Dressed in matching red dresses, white stoles, and silver snowflake brooches, the trio harmonizes “Old Mr. Kringle, is soon gonna jingle/The bells that’ll tinkle all your troubles away” on their jazzy opening Christmas song, “(Everybody’s Waitin’ for) The Man with the Bag.”
Blonde Sweetheart Katie Anderson welcomes the audience to today’s show and introduces a number made popular by The Andrews Sisters entitled, “Hold Tight.” Shimmying their shoulders as they sing in close three-part harmony, the trio gets concertgoers bopping their heads in time to the infectious rhythm on this swinging tune.
After introducing each other, the Sweethearts launch into a stylized rendition of The Andrews Sisters’ “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” where they give the tune a holiday twist by changing the lyric to “Don’t sit under the Christmas tree with anyone else but me.”
The audience applauds, and brunette Sweetheart Amanda Lea LaVergne inquires, “Do we have any Broadway fans?” The crowd responds in the affirmative and the trio sails into a rhythmic rendition of “Lullaby of Broadway” from the musical 42nd Street, and follows up with the happy-go-lucky “Good Morning” from Singin’ in the Rain.
“Are we having a good time?” asks Anderson, prior to introducing “the unofficial welcome home song for WWII veterans.” On “Sentimental Journey,” redhead Sweetheart Kristen Michelle invites the audience to join in singing before going down into the crowd and sharing her microphone with an audience member, Lynn, who solos on the mic to large applause.
Following the Andrews Sisters’ atmospheric “Christmas Island,” the trio performs one of the highlight numbers of the show, The Andrews Sisters’ debut hit, “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön.” Solidly accompanied by the band, the Sweethearts sing, “Bei mir bist du schön, please let me explain/Bei mir bist du schön means you’re grand,” as music lovers tap their toes in time to the swinging rhythm.
Michelle, who hails from Edison, NJ, gets emotional when she discovers members of her family in the audience tonight. After introducing the group’s next song, both she and Anderson exit the stage leaving LaVergne to solo on a lively interpretation of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.”
Michelle and Anderson return in white dresses with red fascinators on their heads to perform the dynamic Judy Garland/Barbra Streisand medley, “Come on Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again.” As Michelle sings “Forget your troubles, come on get happy” Anderson simultaneously croons, “Happy days are here again/The skies above are clear again,” to enthusiastic hoots and hollers from the crowd.
LaVergne retakes the stage in white to join her colleagues for a lively version of Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” and the trio follows up with a nostalgic rendition of Perry Como’s “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays.”
Changing things up, the women perform a buoyant interpretation of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers ’50s hit, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” before the crowd energetically joins in singing “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to/Cry if I want to/Cry if I want to” on the trio’s sparkling rendition of Leslie Gore’s “It’s My Party.”
After performing the swing ballad, “Sisters,” from White Christmas, the Sweethearts invite Larry, a volunteer from the audience, to come up to the edge of the stage and be their “sister” as they perform the “Shoop Shoop Song.” Larry dances with LaVergne and Michelle while Anderson croons, “If you want to know/If Larry loves you so/It’s in his kiss,” to cheers and applause.
Snowflakes of light appear on the walls around the stage as the trio performs “Let it Snow,” and the group follows up with a moving rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
Members of the audience who served in uniform are honored on a stirring “Armed Forces Medley,” and a moment of silence is offered “for those we lost” as the women sing a heartfelt a cappella arrangement of “Danny Boy.”
Following a tender interpretation of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” the trio concludes tonight’s show with a rousing interpretation of The Andrews Sisters’ signature song, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” which has music lovers standing and cheering for America’s Sweethearts.
As concertgoers make their way out of the theater, Larry from Toms River — who danced with the Sweethearts on “The Shoop Shoop Song” — asserts, “I’ve been to a lot of performances here at the Grunin Center and this is one of the most energetic shows I’ve seen — it was great!” Pam from Toms River agrees, adding, “I loved it! I loved the music and I loved the history — it was fantastic!”
Ray from Edison insists, “I loved this show,” before proudly exclaiming, “My granddaughter, Kristen, was in it!” Acknowledging, “Our family came from Ireland and we always did Irish step dancing, so we wanted to be here tonight to see her sing and dance,” Ray declares, “Kristen performs all over so we’re very happy see her when she’s on stage here in New Jersey!”
Discloses Sweetheart Amanda Lea LaVerge about performing in the Garden State, “I’m originally from Texas, but I’ve lived in New York for many years now and it’s always nice to play close to home,” prior to concluding, “There’s a sophistication that comes with New Jersey audiences. There’s a history and an appreciation of music and theater in New Jersey that always makes it so wonderful to perform here!”
To learn more about America’s Sweethearts, please go to americas-sweethearts.com. To find out about future events at Toms River’s Grunin Center — including Ella: The Early Years presented by Amanda King on March 15, The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass band on April 6 , and The Sentimental Journey Big Band on April 28 — please go to grunincenter.org.
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