The Midtown Men return to the Basie stage Saturday for a stylish salute to the music of Frankie Valli and his 1960s jet-set contemporaries.Â
The sleek-suited Mad Men of TV may have linked their last cuff – but we’ll always have The Midtown Men, that quartet of actor-singers whose 60s sharkskins and smooth retro style has taken the music of Frankie Valli and his contemporaries to all new audiences (and heights).
As group member (and Tony winner) Christian Hoff observed during one of their previous forays to the local stage, “You know it’s hot up there when the color of your suit changes from light blue to deep purple…but something about wearing those clothes keeps you focused, keeps you in the period…like wearing the uniform of a great ball team.”
Being former cast members from the Tony-winning Broadway smash Jersey Boys — and co-producers of their own internationally touring and recording act — the Midtown Men (Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard, J. Robert Spencer) continue to sweat the details of a project that pays particular tribute to the soaring sound and catalog of the Four Seasons, as “home team” an act as the Garden State’s ever produced. And when the guys take it to the Count Basie Theatre stage this Saturday, May 30, they’ll more than just follow in Frankie’s footsteps — they’ll be on the turf of Steven Van Zandt and the E Street Band, with whom they collaborated on the single “All Alone on Christmas.”
On recordings like Sixties Hits — and during the live sets that the Men have offered everywhere from Honolulu to the Hamptons — the quartet mixes spot-on renditions of Four Seasons standards like “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Candy Girl” with eternally resonant favorites from The Turtles (“Happy Together”), The Zombies (“Time of the Season”) and the Liverpuddlian Lads (“Can’t Buy Me Love”). There’s also an easy, old-school Rat Pack rapport to the proceedings, and some comic highlights that include Longoria’s priceless impression of Joe Pesci.
Tickets for the 8 pm show are priced at $29.50 – $79.50, and can be reserved right here.
