Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Dinah Shore, Walter Cronkite and Ed Sullivan are alive and rehearsing for their upcoming performance in Gainesville.
Well, at least their impersonators are.
The Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus has been preparing for the 1950s Musical Variety Show for about a year. This is the second, and last, 1950s performance they will be putting on for years to come, said Joan Gowan, co-director and head of the show committee for the chorus.
The choir is a nonprofit organization and consists of 27 women, ages ranging from 20 to 80, and for 35 years it's been Gainesville's "best kept secret," Gowan said.
"It's hard to sell women musical groups, particularly when not all the women are Dazzlers from the University of Florida."
Gowan, 69, put an ad in The Gainesville Sun for swing dancers, jugglers, magicians and ventriloquists in the community.
"I was hoping to get something weird," she said.
Although no jugglers or ventriloquists auditioned, she did find swing dancers and impersonators, but most of the cast are returning performers from last year, Gowan said.
The show is based on ‘50s television and will incorporate some of the most famous faces of that time. In between acts, ‘50s commercials will be played.
According to Gowan, the chorus has addictions, such as wearing fake eyelashes and sequins that shimmer on stage, which fit in with the ‘50s perfectly.
"We were doing bling before bling became big," she said.
The show will take place on Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. at the P.K. Yonge Performing Arts Center, 1080 SW 11th St. The performance is going to be a fundraiser for the chorus and one of the only shows that involves individuals from the community. Jodi Jainchill, 36, of Gainesville is one of the returning acts.
Jainchill, who is legally blind, is a hoop-dancing instructor and physical therapist and is bringing her hula-hoop techniques to the stage. Since it's a ‘50s show, she is only using one hoop, she said.
"Hooping has come back and in a different way," she said. "It's come back as a creative art. It's using the hoop as a dance partner."
The newest and youngest member of the chorus, Gisselle Rosa, joined after attending the ‘50s show last year. She has sung all her life, but it was always very serious, she said. After watching the fun the women had on stage, she asked to join.
Rosa, 20, is a UF dietetics major who loves being in the company of some of UF's retired faculty and staff.
"They are all the sweetest women who just love to sing and gossip," she said. "They're young at heart."
The show was a great success last year, and almost sold out, Gowan said. Tickets are on sale for $10 and can be purchased by calling 352-378-6837.
