INTERVIEW: For Veterans Day, ‘All Hands on Deck’ at the State Theatre
Photo: All Hands on Deck features songs from the 1940s. Photo courtesy of State Theatre / Provided with permission.
In the 1940s, the United States emphasized its unity in the face of World War II. There were still divides, for sure, but the many different segments of society banded together to win the war effort in Europe and the Pacific. This camaraderie included the entertainment sector, with actors and singers traveling around the country and helping to sell war bonds.
In the spirit of these traveling artists, Broadway performer Jody Madaras crafted a show that celebrated the musical and cultural contributions of the 1940s and the patriotic fervor of the day. The result is All Hands on Deck, a touring production that pulls into the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Sunday, Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. Appropriately enough, it will be a veterans celebration on Veterans Day itself.
“Audiences can expect to leave the theater feeling a lot better about our country,” Madaras said in a recent phone interview. “What they can expect is an authentic roadshow and radio broadcast from 1942, a step back in time to when our country was truly united. They can expect four Broadway performers and a live nine-piece big band orchestra with all of the songs and dances and jokes and romance that America has loved for over 70 years.”
Some of the song selections brought to life by Madaras, Valerie Hill, Kelly Plescia and Andrew Leonforte include “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” “Atchison, Topeka, and The Santa Fe,” and “I’m in the Mood for Love.” The State Theatre bills the afternoon performance as an all-singing, all-dancing and all-patriotic extravaganza, and tickets are a scream at $15-$35.
“I’m originally from a small town called Pemberville, Ohio, in the Midwest, and I grew up with two sets of grandparents both who served in the United States Navy during World War II,” said Madaras, who also performs in the show. “And so I was exposed to the music of the 1940s early on, and I think it was about 2005 while I was in New York, I decided it was time after 23 years of being a Broadway actor to write my own show. I thought, well, what ground do I walk I on, and I realized that I wanted to write a show that would showcase a time when our country was fully united.”
Madaras, who appeared on Broadway in Finian’s Rainbow, started to research 1942 because it was a pivotal year in American and world history. His studies brought him to the story of the Hollywood Victory Caravan, a group of actors who went out to sell war bonds in the country. They would board a train and travel to a town or city — maybe even New Brunswick, New Jersey — and put on a show for local residents.
“For the local residents to see the show, they had to buy a war bond, and that was their ticket in,” he said. “And so nobody had ever thanked the Hollywood Victory Caravan actors. They never got a postage stamp or anything, and so when I found them, I said, you know what, I’m going to loosely base my show on the Hollywood Victory Caravan. And that’s how the All Hands on Deck show came to be.”
Madaras has been interested in music and theater for a long time. He was in junior high school in the 1980s and was part of a band and choir at Eastwood High School in Pemberville. Then, thanks to an influential teacher, he eventually moved into the field of magic.
“I worked up a magic act, and that really got me going in terms of performing and being in front of an audience,” he said. “And then as I got into high school, I pursued singing and the musicals and so forth, and found that I had pretty good luck at being cast and using my dance skills and my singing skills. And so I pursued it as a career and graduated from the University of Michigan in musical theater and moved to New York in 1994, and the rest is history, been working ever since.”
When looking out at the audience of All Hands on Deck, Madaras and the company see a variety of ages. There surely are many veterans in the crowd, and also lovers of the Jazz Age and big bands.
“I think my favorite part of the All Hands on Deck show is watching the audience during the show and talking with them as they leave the show,” he said. “A lot of times the folks that see the show, while they’re watching the show, they actually start to relive their youth. They relive their youth, and they think about their parents. Or they think of when they were serving in World War II or Korea. They relive moments as we are performing, and so when the show is over, these folks a lot of times will come up to me and say, ‘You sang that ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ song, and I used to sing that when I was in Germany in the service. And we were sitting around.’ … I think they feel a little bit better, a little bit happier, whistling the tunes they grew up with.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
All Hands on Deck, created by and starring Jody Madaras, will play Sunday, Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.
