WPCNR STAGE DOOR. By Johnny Angel. April 5, 2008: Susan Katz’s Westco Productions brought another legend back to Westchester County Saturday night — The legendary Lettermen – the slow dance kings of the 1960s. They mesmerized, memoried and mingled with over 300 adoring fans at intimate Irvington Town Hall Theatre Saturday night in another of Westco’s marvelous “Blasts from the Past.”
The three showmen extraordinaire, The Lettermen singing one of their signature medleys: The Way You Look Tonight, A Summer Place and When I Fall in Love beginning the second half of Saturday’s Lettermen extravaganza. Front to Back: Donovan Tea, founder Tony Butala, and Mark Preston
The trio of recording artists have been with Capitol Records for 47 years recording their standards of slowdance in 17 languages that were the soundtracks of the romances of the rock and roll generation. They delivered a blockbuster concert singing, joking, and connecting with an international audience for more than two hours of actual onstage performance.
There was Duncan Tea singing Cowboy Love in the balcony, to Tony Butala, show here singing Maria to a real “Maria” chosen from the audience, to their fabulous medleys of the group’s signature 60s love songs
The Lettermen earned another letter from the clapping, toe-tapping audience in the little theater on Main Street. The cleancut three complete with “Letter Sweaters” delivered the signature songs in strong update robust vocalizations that were better than they sounded on The Swinging Soiree when Murray the K played them on WINS when WINS was a rock and roll station. The boys packaged their favorites in seamless medleys that they flowed into effortlessly.
The Lettermen made old hearts young again. Couples held hands when “their” Lettermen song was brought back once more.
The trio features Tony Butala (Center) the leader of the group, and Donovan Tea, (left)the lanky Texan looking incredibly like a blonde Righteous Brother. Mr. Tea has been with the group for 25 years and Mark Preston (right) – the man with the Robert Goulet- Bill Medley baritone, a member for 23 years.
The group got everyone on a groovy trip back to the innocent 60s with a rousing, toe-tapping, People Got to Be Free and Look Inside Your Heart , and followed that ”double play” with Our Day Will Come and Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Memories/Hurt So Bad/Put Your Head on My Shoulder and that was only part of the first half of this “You got your money’s worth and more” concert. But of course, you always get your dollars’ worth at a Westco production!
When the group came down into the audience sing Beautiful Balloon and invited the audience in the orchestra seats to come up and have pictures taken with them – something this reporter has never seen in a concert – the audience bonded with The Lettermen
Throughout the show, whatever the boys did, the audience loved. And they did it well. Their backup band did not over shadow them. Their voices blended and as the leader Mr. Butala said, the Lettermen have always featured three strong singers who can solo and harmonize.
That was what kept this show delivering two hours of music without any dull parts. Every concert seems to have some songs that do not grab you – but not this Lettermen concert. From Donovon Tea’s (above) original song to his new daughter, Daddy’s Girl, and Mr. Tea’s Cowboy Love (sung from the balcony), you never knew what The Lettermen would do next. There were no dull moments!
When Mr. Butala reminisced about his start in show bus`iness with the Mitchell Boys Choir in the 1950s, and did a trio of Cole Porter’s Kick Out of You, Under My Skin and Night and Day singing them in the audience it was as entertaining as it was unexpected. When Mark Preston executed CopaCabana in the second half, and worked the audience, shaking hands with them, well this was entertainment!
You Never Know Who You Might Meet at a Gold Star Event: White Plains Personalities, left to right, Dave Corcoran, Brenda Starr, Don Hughes, Candyce Corcoran and Mrs. Hughes talk over the exciting first half of the concert.
The second half topped the first half, if that was possible. Mr. Tea’s Little Boy’s Prayer, another original composition by Mr. Tea in honor of his 3 year old son was very nostalgic.
In Part Two of the evening, the Lettermen reported receiving lots of notes backstage and delivered two medleys that made their signature hits of the 60s sound upbeat and irresistibly romantic better than ever.
The boys have kept their voices in blockbuster form, belting with heartfelt emotion, articulating tenderness flawlessly.
This reporter’s favorite of the evening was Ebb Tide, with Mr. Preston doing a Righteous Brothers riff on this high school gym slow dance classic. (If you’re in your 60s, now you know what I mean by that.)
After Mr. Preston mesmerized the hall with his version of the Paul Anka classic Say You’ll Love Me, another smooth medley of The Way You Look Tonight, A Summer Place and When I Fall In Love, even Mr. Cynicism, John Bailey wanted to dance.
A large contingent of persons from the Phillippines attended the concert, and, in their honor, The Lettermen even sang Because of You in Filipino — which is just as pretty as it is in English. It was a moment that showed that America through its music, at least, and the music of The Lettermen delivers the emotions and the feelings that the world falls in love to. Here the boys pose with the group that came out to see them The boys will be performing in the Phillippines this July.
On into the night the boys sang – ending with three encores that included God Bless the U.S.A., and I Believe. You got the impression the boys did not want to leave. The audience of devoted fans were standing en masse applauding at the end.
Never have I seen a concert where the performers delivered this many songs all done well. The audience wouldn’t them go, and the boys did not want to leave.
And note to all performing groups – The Lettermen did not do one “B-Side.” (A B-side in rock n roll radio, children, was the non-plug side of a record, and if you do not know what a record is it is a like a CD with 2 songs on it instead of 18. When the record was delivered to the deejay – be it Alan Freed, Jack Lacey, or Murray the K, or Dick Biondi, or Art Roberts, he was instructed by the record promoter to play the A side. )
The Lettermen did all A Sides tonight.
After the concert, the boys didn’t leave, they continued a wonderful feature of the Westco Gold Star Series, staying a full hour afterward to have pictures taken with fans, sign CDs and enjoy the love.
Susie The K — White Plains’ First Lady of Westchester Theatre, Susan Katz, Westco Founder with The Lettermen, Mark Preston, left, Duncan Tea, center, and Tony Butala. Ms Katz founded the Westco Gold Star series last year and has been attracting overflow crowds to see the groups and stars who created the soundtracks of our lives.
The marvelous Irvington Town Hall Theatre has an informality and cordiality that seems to bring performers and audience together. In the audience tonight were Joe Segal who sang the lead for The Tokens on The Lion Sleeps Tonight, (who rendered the never to be forgotten “Ee E E HEE” hat begins that song, which delighted the audience). Three other rock celebrities came up just to see the Lettermen sing. Next up in Wextco’s Gold Star Series is The Fifth Dimension (Beautiful Baloon-remember?) on April 28, Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals May 3 and next fall the New Christy Minstrels on October 5.
Why do people come out to see the groups of the past? Why do the groups keep performing?
Tony Butala, the Lettermen founder in 1958, when The CitizeNetReporter congratulated him on the super professionalism of the group, said, “We have been a part of a lot of peoples’ lives, and they tell us this. And you never get tired of hearing that.”
May the Lettermen continue to go to high school forever.