Songs take on new vibe with PMJ

It’s a pretty safe bet that the June 10 Admiral Theatre audience for Postmodern Jukebox will be seeing some song and dance from Sunny Holiday.

It’s a certainty, though, that they’ll see her work all over the evening’s entertainment, titled “Life in the Past Lane.”

“My favorite thing has always been behind the scenes,” Holiday said from her Nashville-area base. “The set, the costumes, the choreography … I’m all over all those things in this show, and they all give me so much joy.

“When I’m there (for a particular show), I’ll be onstage, too,” she continued. “To tell you the truth, though, I can be just as happy when I’m not, because that’s when I get to sit and watch all these incredibly talented people bring the show to life.”

Already a veteran performer when she had her first PMJ audition, Holiday said Scott Bradlee’s unstuck-in-time musical collective felt like home. The chance to re-imagine some of the music she grew up with, surrounded by like-minded artists, has been “a dream come true,” she said.

PMJ have gained a rabid following both for their “what-if” treatment of beloved old standards — “What if we did (song), but it was, like, (unexpected contemporary artist) doing it?” – and their retro reworking of more recent songs.

Live audiences love them for the musicianship and imagination they bring to both those approaches, as well as the “one-of-a-kind” aesthetic they bring to every performance. Audiences get into their seats not knowing exactly what they’re about to see. That’s because, Holiday said, the performers themselves might not know who’s doing what until just before they hit the stage.

“It’s really fun,” she said, “because Scott will show up, take a look at us and say, ‘OK, we can do this tonight.’”

Tickets for the 8 p.m. show at 515 Pacific Ave. in Bremerton are $45-$108. Information: 360-373-6743, admiraltheatre.org

Michael C. Moore is Arts and Entertainment reporter for The Admiral Theatre Foundation