The music swells, lights go up and the audience is transported to the 1940s, dropped right in the middle of a USO show.

Pepper in 60 southern beauties and you’ve got this year’s Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant in all its glory.

Handsome soldiers, singing beauties, swing dancing, and the old Red, White and Blue will grace the stage at the event which will be held July 3, in Arlington, Texas.

Stacy James Mayo, a Texarkana resident and former Miss Texas, will co-produce and perform in the stage spectacular. Mayo said the production portion of pageants has been downsized in recent years, but she is anxious to bring back old-fashioned glamour with this production.

“It’s really a great show. We’ve been working on the set and it’s going to be a pretty elaborate set and just a big show. They haven’t really had this type of show in years. I’m glad to be bringing it back and I hope that people enjoy it,” Mayo said. “It’s a USO show and it’s ‘40s-based, kind of like Bob Hope used to do. All of the costumes are vintage 1940s. I wanted to make it a big costume show. We have about 25 people in the cast and we have umpteen, I don’t even know how many, costumes, and we’re using a lot of great music.”

“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” “I’ll be Seeing You” and a medley of different service branch songs are among the tunes the cast will perform.

Mayo said the performance portion of the pageant consists of four segments. The opening and closing spots will involve the contestants. The other two will help showcase the swimsuit and evening wear portions of the show.

Mayo, who has also served as both Miss Teen and Miss Texarkana, said it was not just the pageant, but something bigger that drew her to become involved.

“From the beginning of me getting involved in pageants I always enjoyed the different production numbers. I always watched Miss America and loved the big productions and the costumes and the music and all that. I thought that was a big aspect to the pageant,” Mayo said. “A lot of people aren’t pageant people but I thought it was neat that you could also see a full show even if you weren’t, quote, a pageant person.”

Mayo’s love for the production inspired her to offer ideas and suggestions during her stint as a cast member in the 2007 Miss Texas Pageant. Those suggestions brought her to the attention of event organizers and prompted them to offer her a chance to do more than perform. Mayo, who has produced three previous Miss Texarkana Pageants, said she was given carte blanche to choose a theme for the show. She said she chose the USO theme because of the event’s proximity to Independence Day and her previous experience, having produced the theme before.

Mayo said she was also excited to be able to bring local performers with her to be involved in the production.

Texarkana natives Ali Burrow, Shelbi DeMuth, Haleigh Kate Wright and Mark Thomas will dance, sing and perform in the show that will usher in the bygone era.

DeMuth, a local high school senior, has been dancing for 14 years. Though she has performed in some Miss Texarkana pageants, DeMuth said this performance will be very special to her.

“It’s definitely a very big deal because as a senior I thought my dance recital would kind of be the end of my dancing for a while because right now I’m not planning on dancing on a college team. So really this is like kind of the cherry on top because this is my last big thing to do in front of an audience. And the fact that I get to do it for all of Texas really means a lot. Just the fact that I get to help represent Texarkana in the Miss Texas Pageant is really exciting, just for the city itself too,” DeMuth said.

Wright, a high school senior, will also get the opportunity to be involved in the upcoming performance. With an eye toward continuing dance past the high school level, Haleigh said this opportunity means a lot to her.

“Participating in this is very exciting,” Haleigh said. “It’s kind of a new step for me, I guess, because I want to be a dancer. It’s a new experience, a learning experience, to be able to dance in a pageant for new people from around Texas. I’m just thrilled beyond belief to be able to do it.”

Thomas, a vocalist, worked with Mayo in a Miss Texarkana Pageant, has performed in several TexRep musicals, and at Carnegie Hall with the Texarkana Regional Chorale. He said despite his experience, this performance is special.

“It does mean a lot to me to be able to be involved with something artistic, that involves singing, within Texas. It’s just wonderful to be able to give back in the community that I was brought up in,” said Thomas.

Aside from performing, Mayo said she relied on other local talents to make the production a success, specifically Kaye Ellison, who has worked extensively with TexRep, providing costuming for its productions. In this case, she will be providing the majority of costumes the cast will be wearing.