For Valentine’s Day, A Romantic Mix of Big Band Music and Delco Crooners
With his extensive career in musical theater, Jeffrey Coon of Springfield is a theater favorite who has appeared in over 100 productions and has been nominated for ten Barrymore awards .
For his upcoming performance on Valentine’s Day, Coon will show a new side of his talent. He’ll be part of an evening of romantic songs blended with big band music. The program, titled “The Summer Club: A Big Band Valentine’s Day,” is presented by the Philadelphia Theatre Company on its Center City stage. .
The Summer Club was founded by Coon as a way to showcase the era of big band music performed in supper clubs. The Summer Club members - singers and band players - will present a program of this music but especially tailored to Valentine’s Day only on Feb. 14.
A live 17 piece band led by Larry Lees will play 22 big band favorites, including “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “It Had To Be You.” Coon will be one of four male singers, all of them in white dinner jackets true to the tradition of clubs.
“And we may break out our red bow ties and cummerbunds,” he said.
Also in the line up of vocalists is Rebecca Robbins, another musical theater favorite, making her debut with the Summer Club.
Of special interest, three of the five vocalists are Delco residents. Besides Coon, they are J.P. Dunphy from Broomall and Robbins from Drexel Hill. Band leader Lees is from Springfield.
They are all eager to present a program that will be a unique experience for the audience.
“We want people to feel like they’re experiencing an event, not just another show,” said Coon. “We’ll give them a night of live music and entertainment that makes them feel like they’re a member of the Club.”
That entertainment includes free dance lessons before the show offered by Take the Lead Dance Project. After the performance, audience members can meet the singers during a special meet and greet.
The heart of the evening will be the music. The vocalists will do solos, duets, and quartets, with emphasis on romantic favorites, accompanied by Lees and his big band.
A duet by Coon and Robbins, “There Once Was a Man,” from “Pajama Game” will surely be one highlight. All four male crooners will perform “Standing on the Corner.”
Solos will be another highlight. One of them will be Coon’s performance of “Too Close for Comfort.”
“It’s a great Valentine’s Day theme and one of my favorite songs to perform,.” said Coon.
He will also sing “All of Me” with a special arrangement by music director Lees.
“I love what he did with it,” said Coon. “It’s a fantastic fit for a Valentine’s Day show.”
Still another solo will be performed by Fran Prisco, who will croon “One For My Baby.”
“It’s a great heartbreak torch song,” said Coon. “And the way he sings it is amazing.”
Coon and Prisco share a longstanding enthusiasm for big band music.
“Twenty-five years ago, when we met, we realized we had this great love of big band music- the kind of songs performed by Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett,” said Coon.
But both had busy careers in theater, so they never thought about pursuing this enthusiasm. Then, four years ago, Coon met another fan of swing music, actor and singer J. P. Dunphy.
That led to a brainstorming session, and soon, the idea of the Summer Club- although as yet unnamedtook shape. “This dream had been lying around for 25 years, and we finally realized we could make it work,” said Coon.
Yhey chose a name appropriate to their purpose. ‘Club’ suggests the era of supper club, and ‘Summer” because their first performances were in Cape May, where Coon had held summer jobs and Dunphy had roots.
Their debut was in July of 2014 at the Cape May Convention Center.
Coon, Frisco, and Dunphy were the performers (Michael Philip O’Brien joined later) Of course they did not yet have a full repertoire but five of their songs were fully orchestrated and presented with the big band.
“This was the first time we’d done anything like this, and we weren’t sure we could make it work,” said Coon.
Audience reaction removed all doubt.
“It was kind of overwhelming,” said Coon about the enthusiastic response. “One person said, ‘It’s the best show I’ve ever seen!’ It was really gratifying.”
It’s been that way ever since. The Summer Club presents a different show every time they perform. They’ve done more shows in Cape May and performed elsewhere, too, including several benefits in Delco. They’re already booked for shows in Avalon and Cape May this summer.
With all that Coon has done as a performer, creating the Summer Club has been among his most gratifying experiences. “What’s so satisfying is that we as a group put this together ourselves,” he said. “It’s different from being onstage in a theater production because this is ours, something we created. .”
Now he’s eagerly looking forward to the new show created for Valentine’s Day and presented in a new venue in Center City.
“This is an opportunity to share our show with a new audience,” said Coon., “I’m very excited about that.”