By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current
A few weeks ago, I convinced Clare that we should travel to the Huron Country Playhouse to catch Drayton Entertainments presentation of “Jersey Boys”.
I had my eyes on this musical for many weeks, but it was sold-out night after night and tickets were extremely scarce.
However, by the skin of our teeth, we managed to snag two tickets on closing night!
I had seen the musical several years ago and absolutely loved it, but was secretly wondering if this more regional production would live-up to the standards of the touring production I had seen previously.
Readers should be aware that vocal harmony is my absolute, hands-down favourite form of music and while perhaps the harmonies of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons aren’t anywhere close to the complexities of groups like Voctave, or The Four Freshmen, their music is pure delight.
I’m not easily convinced to take-in dramatic productions but toss in some great songs to turn a play into a musical and I’m in, silly as most of them are.
Some will likely send hate mail but the only musical I’ve ever seen that I did not enjoy was everyone else’s favourite, “Wicked”.
If one tries to give me free tickets to see that again, I’ll have to decline.
In short, Jersey Boys was incredibly good, and I will suggest even better than the touring production I had seen previously.
The vocals were spot-on, perfectly balanced, and Niko Combitsis who portrayed Franki Valli could not have been any more of a dead-ringer.
His falsetto voice was amazing!
The other three actors/vocalists, Garrett Woods as Nick Massi, Josh Alcantara portraying the musical genius Bob Gaudio, and Kale Penny as Tommy DeVito, were stunning in filling-in all of the gorgeous harmonies as The Four Seasons.
Roll your eyes and laugh if you wish, but the beauty of their harmonies caused my eyes to well-up several times. No, I actually felt a few tears run down my cheek.
The language was raw at times, but writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elise wanted to realistically portray what life was like on the rough and tough streets of Jersey back in the fifties and sixties.
And I cannot give enough kudos to the band.
Music Director Konrad Pluta looked after the keys, and the rest of the pit band included a guitarist, bassist, reed player, trumpet player, and a drummer.
The band knew exactly how to support the harmonies without interfering and that is not easily done, especially when vocal harmonies define a group such as this.
So why do I rave about a production that is no longer running? Because it IS still running, but not in Grand Bend.
Drayton Entertainment operates a series of five theatres and rotates their productions from theatre to theatre during their season.
Jersey Boys has closed in Grand Bend but has moved on to the King’s Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene and runs from August 8 th to September 1 st.
I highly recommend an overnight trip, if you can find a ticket. It’s that good!
On another topic, a few weeks ago marked the end of an era.
I’ve spoken about the late WDSS Music Director Andy Botai here several times, and at our WCB spring 2023 concert, we played several scores dedicated to his memory.
Andy was my music teacher and an inspiration to me.
He was a French horn player in the Hungarian National Opera Orchestra, and he and his wife Alice defected from Hungary many years ago when it was still under communist rule.
Andy of course passed away in 1984 and I was given the daunting opportunity to take over for him after his passing.
Be it known though that while I took his place, I never filled his shoes.
I had heard pieces of their story and how they arrived in Wallaceburg, but I never had the courage to ask for the details before Andy passed away, and I lost contact with Alice after she left Wallaceburg.
A few months ago, through the hard work of Audrey Hind, I managed to make a connection with Alice through her caretaker, Karen Russell.
In asking Alice to share their story, Karen pulled out her phone and recorded Alice explaining how they arrived in Canada, and subsequently, Wallaceburg.
Karen sent me the audio of that conversation.
Alice’s voice was weak as she was 90 years of age, but to hear her voice again was magical.
Sadly, Dr. Alice Botai passed away on May 8 th, barely two weeks after Karen recorded their conversation. But I now have the complete story and if anyone wishes to hear it in Alice’s own words, it is available on the Cavanagh Funeral Home site.
To hear Alice and Andy’s story, go to Alice’s Obituary, select “Photo’s and Video’s” and you will see “Botai’s Journey from Hungary”.
Another element to their story that I was unaware of is that Alice was apparently a nationally known media star and was described to me as the “Barbara Walters” of Hungary.
I wish I had an opportunity to get more of that part of the story.
While Alice wasn’t my music teacher, she was very much entwined and in-tune with many of the students at the school, always present for our concerts, and became a supporter of me and my musical journey.
Chris and Brenda Mann, along with myself and several close friends of Alice gathered at Riverview Cemetery a few weeks ago for a short interment ceremony marking the end of a musical legacy here in Wallaceburg.
I don’t know what everyone else was doing a few weeks ago when it was so hot that I thought I was walking on the surface of the sun, but I turned my air conditioner to “Antarctic Breeze” and sequestered myself in the basement working on…..Christmas music.
While it’s far too early to talk about our WCB Christmas concerts but I do want to pique readers curiosity about a very special concert that we will be presenting at St. Paul’s Congregational Church in Chatham this fall.
This concert has been in the works since 2022 but we’ve been unable to present it due to the lack of a local venue, so we’ve decided to move it to Chatham.
If one has never been in St. Paul’s Congregational Church, you are in for a treat. It is a magnificent facility that we have been afforded the privilege to perform in.
It’s nothing short of a big gamble presenting this concert out of town but we’re hoping our dedicated supporters will make the trip to this very unique concert on Saturday October 19 th at 7 pm.
I’ll provide more information in a few weeks.
