Entertainment’s in the air on this gorgeous Friday, June 28, 2019 summer evening as we cruise the Asbury Park, NJ boardwalk.
Local radio station 94.3 The Point is pumping out hot hit pop songs to passers-by.
A crowd gathers around a magician who elicits “oohs” and “ahs” as he impresses viewers with his feats of prestidigitation.
A young female singer is making a music video, dancing up the boardwalk lip-syncing to a catchy uptempo tune while her videographer captures her performance riding backwards on his motorized skateboard.
And outside the Paramount Theatre, music lovers are lining up to be captivated by one of the most entertaining groups around — The Doo Wop Project.
The Doo Wop Project is a vocal group which traces the evolution of doo wop music from street corner harmonies to today’s current pop hits. The group is comprised of five talented singers/dancers/actors — Dominic Nolfi, Dominic Scaglione, Jr., Jesse Nager, Russell Fischer, and Dwayne Cooper. All have appeared on Broadway in shows including Jersey Boys and Motown: The Musical.
Inside the Paramount Theatre auditorium, WMTR DJ Alan David Stein, host of the Doo Wop Drive radio program, welcomes the crowd explaining, “Tonight’s show is a collaboration between the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park, NJ, and the Paramount Theatre,” before going on to note, “This is their fourth year presenting doo wop concerts.”
At this point, Stein introduces the stars of tonight’s concert — The Doo Wop Project.
Along with their backup band, the quintet takes the stage, and opens the show with a high-energy rendition of The Earls’ “Remember When.”
Dominic Scaglione, Jr. sings lead, the backup singers joyously singing their staccato refrain, “Re-mem-mem, Re-mem-remember,” as they move with precision hand gestures and rhythmic finger snapping.
The crowd responds with cheers and applause and the group launches into an upbeat medley of The Capri’s “Morse Code of Love” and Bobby Day’s “Itty Bitty Pretty One” — a pair of songs which feature tight vocal harmonies.
Strutting a duck walk as the group sings, “Baby come home to me,” bass singer Dwayne Cooper energizes the crowd, getting everyone clapping along to the music.
Segueing into the famous “Oo oo-oo, oo-oo oo-oo’ intro of “Itty Bitty Pretty One,” the group exudes non-stop energy before musical director Sonny Palladino stands and plays a rockin’ solo on the grand piano and the medley segues back into “Morse Code of Love.”
After the group members introduce one another, they announce their next number stating, “This next song is a rite of passage for any doo wop group.”
Here, the quintet performs a street corner a cappella rendition of The Channels’ “That’s My Desire.”
Dwayne Cooper impresses with his low, low voice as his colleagues harmonize, and countertenor Russell Fischer’s voice floats above the others as it envelops the theater.
Following an upbeat and energetic rendition of The Fascinators’ “Oh, Rose Marie,” the guys perform a “doowop-ified” version of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”
Starting slow and sexy, the guys trade off lead vocals before speeding up the tempo. Dwayne Cooper sings at the edge of the stage before a female member of the audience stands up and dances with him until the music slows down again to a series of sizzling “oohs.”
Jesse Nager takes a moment to chat with the audience, telling them that he played the role of Smokey Robinson in Motown: The Musical. Nager’s lead vocal is featured on a medley of Smokey Robinson’s “Ooh Baby Baby” and “Tracks of My Tears.”
Fancy footwork ensues as the group sings backup before Nager works his vocal magic on Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown.”
Dominic Nolfi is the next Project member to be featured. Although he hails from the West Coast, Nolfi recalls, “My grandfather was a singer who sang on 52nd Street in New York City,” before adding, “When I made my Broadway debut in Jersey Boys, my grandparents came from California to see me perform on the same street my grandfather did.”
Revealing that he learned about doo wop from movies including Mean Streets, A Bronx Tale, and Goodfellas, Nolfi is featured on The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You.”
Next, Dwayne Cooper explains how one of the major goals of The Doo Wop Project is to enable doo wop to appeal to both older and younger audiences — an objective which inspires the group to “doowop-ify” current songs.
Here, Cooper and Co. provide an example of this process with their doowop-ified rendition of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours.”
While enjoying a complex arrangement filled with intricate vocal parts, audience members bop to the music as Cooper does the floss dance and the backup band sizzles.
Revealing that The Del Vikings are one of their favorite groups, The Doo Wop Project concludes Act I with one of the highlights of today’s show — a swinging version of “Come Go With Me,” featuring a sparkling saxophone solo.
Following a short intermission, Act II opens with Dominic Scaglione, Jr. taking the lead on a lively rendition of Dion and the Belmonts’ “I Wonder Why.” Crooning, “I wonder why/I love you like I do,” Dominic’s stage mates provide tight background harmonies, dancing around and having fun while Scaglione, Jr. delights the crowd with his impressive falsetto.
Next up is a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute medley. First, Scaglione, Jr. and Russell Fischer share the falsetto duties on “Sherry.” Then, Dwayne Cooper hams it up doing his funky chicken dance on “Big Girls Don’t Cry” while Scaglione, Jr. and Fischer continue to trade lead vocals.
Russell Fischer gets his moment in the spotlight when he takes the mic to announce that his parents and family are in tonight’s audience.
Talking about his Jersey roots, Fischer reveals that while growing up in the Garden State he got a large part of his musical education “by listening to radio DJ Bruce ‘Cousin Brucie’ Morrow on the WCBS 101.1 oldies station.”
Fischer expertly handles the high part on “Walk Like a Man,” impressing the audience with his amazing countertenor voice while being deftly accompanied by his colleagues.
Following enthusiastic applause, Dominic Scaglione, Jr. takes the mic to announce to the Jersey crowd, “Nobody loves doo wop like you guys do!”
Here Scaglione, Jr. tells the story about his dad, a retired police and FBI officer, who initially told his son about an audition for Broadway’s Jersey Boys. According to Dominic, Jr., once he was approved to appear in the show by none other than Four Seasons’ own songwriter, Bob Gaudio, Gaudio personally called to give his dad the great news.
His solo voice alone in the spotlight, Scaglione Jr. commands the stage with his exceptional rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”
The audience sings and claps along with Dominic, Jr. on the “I love you baby/And if it’s quite alright” interlude before the entire group joins in on the “You’re just too good to be true” coda.
What follows is a medley of two more doo wop classics — The Crests’ “The Angels Listened In” and Curtis Lee’s “Pretty Little Angel Eyes.”
Afterwards, Dominic Nolfi tells the crowd, “When we played places like Nashville, Memphis, and East Texas, we decided to ‘doowop-ify’ a country song.”
Here, the guys perform the group’s vocal arrangement of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” After Cooper and Nolfi trade off vocals, the quintet does a boot-scootin’ “Cotton Eyed Joe” dance.
Rich vocal doo wop harmonies ring out on a top-notch arrangement of “The Impossible Dream,” from Broadway’s Man of La Mancha.
The audience leaps to its feet for the group’s dramatic performance.
After announcing, “We want to do our best to keep this music alive and pass it on to the younger generation,” Dwayne Cooper exclaims, “Let’s keep it fun — let’s sing about cars and women!”
Starting off with a poignant rendition of The Cadillacs’ “Gloria,” the group shifts into a bubbly version of another Cadillacs’ hit — “Speedo.” Crooning “Now they often call me Speedo/But my real name is Mister Earl,” Cooper removes his glasses and jumps right off the stage and into the audience.
Once he’s there, he make his way high-fiving, hugging, and kissing audience members before posing for photos with fans and even standing on their seats.
Members of the crowd rise to their feet for his energetic performance.
After introducing the members of The Doo Wop Project’s backup band, the boys sing a creative R&B arrangement of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.”
Audience members stand for this “doowop-ified” reimagining of the song, and the quintet responds by performing their version of Little Caesar and the Romans’ “Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You),” an arrangement which ends in perfect five-part harmony.
Doing their best Jersey Boys dance moves, the guys provide a glittering encore version of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)” — a number on which Dominic Nolti’s 8-year-old daughter, Vivienne, joins her father and dances with him onstage.
The crowd cheers and applauds for this high-energy performance as the singers exit through the audience to the lobby of the Paramount Theatre to meet and greet fans both old and new.
While audience members make their way out of the auditorium and into the lobby, we chat with several in attendance tonight who share their impressions of The Doo Wop Project’s performance.
Exclaims Susan from Cedar Grove, “This show is so much fun; I liked it a lot!” Explaining, “I love oldies music — it brings you back,” Susan notes, “and I especially like seeing shows here at the Paramount. I saw my very first concert here and I hope they keep doing more — it’s such a beautiful venue.”
Likewise, Valerie from Verona contends, “The Doo Wop Project performs such happy music — it’s fun — and it brings back so many memories,” before noting, “and I loved seeing them here in this theater, too.”
Betty from Brick remarks, “The Doo Wop Project is one fabulous group; I thoroughly enjoyed their performance tonight.” Revealing, “I saw their Christmas show and it was as good as it gets,” Betty adds, “I hope they’ll come back and perform that show at the Paramount.”
Whereas Andrea from Brick asserts, “They are all such great entertainers,” Lisa from Shark River reveals, “My favorite songs of all were the Frankie Valli numbers.”
Declares Alex from Ocean Township, “I loved this show! I’ve seen The Doo Wop Project before, and I’m a huge fan of their music. The singers are great, the musicians are great, and you can really tell they love what they do.”
Cherie from Branchburg concurs exclaiming, “This was an awesome concert! My parents played this kind of music, so I always heard it when I was a kid. The singers were all phenomenal and the band was fantastic.”
Confessing, “I was dancing all during the show,” Cherie reveals, “As I was listening, I just said to myself, ‘I’ve got to move, so I’m going to just enjoy this,’ and I did!”
Lastly, we chat with Keira, age 11, from Boca Raton, and her grandmother, Mary Jane, from Brick.
Remarks Keira, “This whole show was so entertaining — it had so much positive energy,” explaining, “My grandparents play this kind of music, so I know it.”
Adds grandmother Mary Jane, “This was our first time seeing The Doo Wop Project. They are fabulous,” before declaring, “Doo wop music is so great — especially because I know all the words!”
Inside the Paramount Theatre lobby, we also take a moment to chat with several members of The Doo Wop Project.
States Russell Fischer, “Having my parents in the audience tonight and performing in my home state made tonight special. It’s always such a pleasure to perform this music — and especially for an audience which knows it best.”
Continuing, “One of the most important things we do is evoke a time in people’s lives when this music was everything to them,” Fischer explains, “For so many of our listeners, this was during their youth, so there becomes this symbiotic relationship between us and the audience — it’s magical.”
Remarks Dominic Nolte, “For years, we’ve been looking forward to performing here at the Jersey Shore,” exclaiming, “This is Doo Wop Country! It’s just an honor to be here.”
When we ask Nolte’s daughter Vivienne, to reveal the identify of her favorite member of The Doo Wop Project, she firmly states, “Daddy is the best singer in the group.”
Jesse Nager declares, “Being a part of The Doo Wop Project is a blast! They’re like brothers, and it’s a joy to perform with them.”
Lastly, we chat with Dwayne Cooper who says about this evening’s Jersey crowd, “The audience tonight was so receptive — they made it fun!”
Noting, “With every show we always get to travel down Memory Lane,” Cooper concludes by exclaiming, “and that always feels like a party to me! ”
To learn more about The Doo Wop Project — including information about their upcoming performance at New York City’s Town Hall on Sept. 13 — please go to thedoowopproject.com. To learn more about upcoming shows at the Axelrod Arts Center in Deal Park, NJ — including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which runs from July 11 to July 28, and Remember Jones presents Tommy on Sept. 7 and 8 — please go to axelrodartscenter.com. For information on future performances at The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ — notably Jon Anderson of Yes on August 2, and singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie on Sept. 28 — please click on asburyparkhall.com/paramount-theatre.
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