From the moment The Wanderers insist "Let's Go to the Hop," in the doo-wop tradition that sounds newly minted, it's an invitation hard to refuse. Like their black (jackets and pants) and blue (shirts and pocket handkerchiefs) outfits, they're a harmonious combo. Great, because representing 1950s and 1960s guy groups, harmony is what they're all about. Bop, bop, ding, dong, with lots of energy and clear enunciation, they easily shift from solo turns to backup and in-between progressions to quartet.
Robert H. Fowler's the strong bass. Eric Collins embellishes his cabaret reputation for hitting and sustaining really high notes. Irish tenor Francis Kelly and romantic recent "Jersey Boy" Bryan McElroy do everything, stressing the dramatics in between. The guys do standards like "Blue Moon" and "In the Still of the Night" and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" perfectly straight, with an emphasis on perfectly. More dramatization goes into "The Great Pretender" (Bryan struts), "Cry" (Eric recalling Johnny Ray but with his own falsetto spin) and "Poison Ivy."
With the singers' after-intermission changes into shirts of varied
colors with coordinated patterned ties come diversions from the previous
era's typical hits. A few strains of "Day-O" bring in an extended
"Wimoweh" with many of the tune's original references to animals. An
"Irish Drinking Song" with Bryan and Francis referencing deaths gives way,
happily, to The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk" hit of '54. More
commercial hits follow, including a soundtrack used in movies and
advertising since 1967.
Jim Prosser keeps up with all both on piano
and with facial expressions.
Final revue minutes feature an extended
version of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" that gets everyone
clapping. It's recalled that the Fab Four began in 1954 as a group called
The Quarrymen. (Such factual tidbits of research used to introduce numbers
comprise the script of this revue.) But between the opening and closing
sounds and movement there was -- and would be -- a great difference.
Enjoying the fine stage, musical, and choreographic direction of The Wanderers and the performances of the guys who wander through the '50s and '60s allows travel through good times.
