Oh What A Night!: A Musical Tribute to Frankie Valli and
the Four Seasons recalls the band's hits of the '60s and
'70s. Photo supplied.
The music of Frankie Valli is back in season next
month. Nigel Benson talks to Oh What A Night! writer and
performer George Solomon.
The wireless hits of the '60s and '70s crackle back to life
in Dunedin next week.
Oh What A Night!: A Musical Tribute to Frankie Valli and
the Four Seasons celebrates the life, music and times of
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
''It's one of those groups people have a connection with. The
groups back then were so distinctive. When you heard Frankie
Valli on the radio you knew it was Frankie Valli,'' writer
and performer George Solomon says on tour from Queanbeyan,
Australia.
''A lot of the appeal of this is the music. The songs are so
catchy and timeless. The writers were so clever and wrote
things everybody could relate to. It wasn't only great
lyrics, though. The melodies were so beautiful and so
contagious.''
The group's hits include Sherry (1962), Big Girls
Don't Cry (1962), Walk Like a Man (1963), Rag
Doll (1963), Oh, What a Night (1975) and
Grease (1978).
''I've always loved the three-minute little masterpieces that
band used to create. I was about 5 years old when my sisters
would play Frankie Valli in the house. The music was so much
fun to hear as child and even today I never get tired of
doing these songs,'' Solomon says.
''I think the movie Chicago was tremendously popular and
opened the door for other things. Musicals on stage have
never gone away.
''It really is an excellent show. We have some amazing
singers in this show. It's like a Radio City music hall in
someone's living room. You can't go wrong with the music of
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons because, when people are
watching the show, they can't believe how many hits they
have,'' he says.
''Also, the appeal of our show isn't limited to any age
group. You can bring the entire family. Kids and pre-teens
enjoy it as much as adults. The melodies are so singable.
They run around in your head. The harmonies are so intimate
and so pleasing to the ear. It's definitely a show for all
ages.
''It's also filled with comedy. There's a lot of banter and
we give a lot of information about Frankie Valli and the Four
Seasons in a humorous way.''
Solomon grew up in Monongahela, near Pittsburgh, and left
home at 15 to move to New York to perform professionally.
''I always liked to sing and I got cast in a lot of musicals,
so I thought, well if people want to pay me to sing, then
I'll sing.''
Within two years he had won the New York Drama Critics Award
for Best Actor and Las Vegas Entertainment Personality Of The
Year Award. He has since performed and written with a galaxy
of major stars, including Diana Ross, Bill Cosby, Tina
Turner, Stevie Wonder, Harry Connick Jr and Liza Minnelli.
''Liza Minnelli was such a fun lady and so nice and Diana
Ross was really lovely, too. Smokey Robinson is one of the
nicest men on the planet. You hear about the so-called diva
behaviour of some performers and then you meet them and you
think `Where did that come from?','' he muses.
Appearing with Solomon in the production are Paul Holmquist,
Brandon Albright and Rick Morgan.
See it
Oh What a Night!: A Musical Tribute To Frankie Valli and
The Four Seasons is on at 7.30pm at the Regent Theatre in
Dunedin on March 5 and at the Oamaru Opera House on March 6.
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