AISLE SAY Floridas
AT THE HOP
by and with The Alley Cats
Florida Studio Theatre's Court Cabaret
Cocoanut & Pine Aves., Sarasota, 941-366-9000
June 10 through July 6, 2014
Reviewed by Marie J. Kilker
As the first entry in Florida Studio Theatre's Summer Cabaret
Sidekicks Series, The Alley Cats demonstrate they are ÒAmerica's Premiere Doo Wop Group.Ó
They perform all their music a capella and
from songs of the 1950s and '60s. Led by founder Mando Fonseca, who delivers
most of the talk between musical selections, four singers out of 30+ Alley Cats
come from their base in California. The Alley Cats tour the countryÑincluding schools where they teach
about their music-- in live performances, make CDs, and are featured in radio
jingles to voiceovers as well as on TV.
At FST, where
cabaret (in two dedicated venues!) seems to be taking over from regular
theater, The Alley Cats keep the lights on Òso
audiences can participate,Ó says
Fonseca. And participate they do!
Several women could be billed as dancers the night I saw the show. Of course, there was also the older guy
brought on stage to try to keep up with a bunch of doo wop articulations. It was as if we were on
a cruise ship full of elderly whooping it up. (Actually the guy didn't do
badly, especially considering the many quick changes meant to trip him up.)
The best loved songs included ÒShh
BoomÓ and ÒStand By MeÓ with an ÒUnder the BoardwalkÓ done in the style of The Drifters. The deliveries were either by the entire group in unison or,
mostly, by soloists with back-up by the others. Jeremy Bernard, tenor, seemed
the most frequent soloist with young baritone Grant Hendrickson the one who
ventured into the house. Frank Romeo exhibited his long experience with the
group and the deepest voice . Mando Fonseca led into each song as second tenor
and spoke most of the patter. This consisted in the main of joking about the
group's experiences in Sarasota, having such elderly audiences (though more
savvy than visitors from Naples or Tampa or little towns up north), and
development of a special holiday show that Fonseca would certainly like to do
in Sarasota in the winter. (And wouldn't the audience members like to request
same? Or at least buy one or more of the six CDs the group hawks after each
show?)
As a plus, The Alley Cats exhibit great timing and
pronunciation along with harmony. They don't need musical instruments but they
might well benefit from a script writer. Impromptu remarks added 15 minutes to the
announced program length of 90 that included an intermission.
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