“Bandstand” Revisited: The Donny Nova Band At Birdland Jazz Club

11/27/2017-New York City— “The Donny Nova Band Featuring Julia Trojan” was the focus of the show “Bandstand”. Once brought together, Corey Cott (Donny Novitski/Donny Nova), Laura Osnes (Julia Trojan), Geoff Packard (Wayne Wright), Joe Carroll (Johnny Simpson), Joey Pero (Nick Radel), James Nathan Hopkins (Jimmy Campbell), Brandon J. Ellis (Davy Zlatic)  got to understand the show’s message, and enjoyed playing music from it.  To promote the show, they had made appearances outside of the stage show during its run.  The show closed on September 17^th, 2017; the show’s fans wondered where the cast would go next.

Fast forward nine weeks later. The Birdland Jazz Club, established 1949, played host to “The Donny Nova Band Featuring Julia Trojan”.  The night served as the “Bandstand” cast reunion. News of the event was spread via social media and Playbill’s website, and quickly sold out.  Looking around the room, you could see fans of the show, guests of the actors, “Bandstand” ensemble dancers, and some of the “Bandstand” creative team.

The Birdland club has a history you could see on its walls, and  you could get lost in.  After he got everyone’s attention, Jim Caruso (the event’s emcee) welcomed those gathered and introduced Corey Cott and James Nathan Hopkins to the stage.  Cott and Hopkins took time to address the audience who may have -or may not have- seen “Bandstand” before. The response was mixed, prompting Cott to comment: “This will be a weird 70 minutes for you then…”.

To introduce the rest of “The Donny Nova Band”, Corey Cott and James Nathan Hopkins used the song “I Know A Guy” from their show; they referenced a different actor in each verse.  As each person appeared, they quickly caught up with everyone before singing about the next one.  This in-between banter got more and more amusing, and Laura Osnes was finally announced as the final person in this band.

As they had on stage nine weeks ago, “The Donny Nova Band Featuring Julia Trojan” picked up where they left off: with the songs they played on stage, and bantering amongst themselves.   As they played “First Steps First”, the actors paused to admit times they forgot their lines.  During “Ain’t We Proud”, they related to the audience that “Bandstand” received the status of “Got Your 6” certification-an honor awarded for portraying the soldiers’ stories accurately and responsibly.   They were enjoying re-visiting the show and talking about it.

There were surprises in this show that delighted the crowd. Laura Osnes and Corey Cott mentioned that “Bandstand” cut some material from the Broadway production. The duo introduced and performed two songs that had been edited out: “Worth It” (one of the original contest entry songs) and “Give Me A Reason” (Donny’s Act 2 song). Laura Osnes also performed an extended version of one of the songs in the production.

Besides bringing up “Bandstand” stories, the cast performed standards and original songs.  For his part, Joey Pero played a piece he wrote.  James Nathan Hopkins went over to the piano to play one of his favorite Jazz pieces.  Brandon J. Ellis stepped away from his stand-up bass to sing “My Funny Valentine”; Hopkins took Ellis’ place on bass for this song. Joe Carroll and Geoff Packard sang about their actor-musician challenges to the tune of “Agony” from musical “Into the Woods”.

“Nobody”, a high-energy musical number from “Bandstand”, closed out the show.  People in the audience applauded the finale, expecting an encore.  Corey Cott sensed this and began crooning “I’m Dreaming of White Christmas”.

For one night on November 27^th, 2017, the cast of “Bandstand” re-united at the Birdland Jazz Club.  Audience and actor alike had a good time.  This show was sold out, and generated interest regarding additional encores.  The response to this interest was quick: The Birdland Jazz Club will have “The Donny Nova Band Featuring Julia Trojan” back for a return engagement in March.           

Christmas Concert Season: Celtic Thunder at the Grand Theater at Foxwoods Casino

12/2/2017-Connecticut—Irish singing group Celtic Thunder returned to Foxwoods Casino for their “Symphony Tour 2017”. Backed by an orchestra, their set list consisted of songs from their new album “Inspirational”, Christmas classics, and their well-known hits.  The stage was adorned with a winter theme in mind: a snowy landscape with snowflakes hanging above the stage.

1^st Segment: The first part focused on the new album “Inspirational” for the most part.  The quintet (Damian McGinty, Ryan Kelly, Neil Byrne, Emmet Cahill and Michael O’Dwyer) walked out in suits as the orchestra kicked off the show and got the concert off to a good start. Celtic Thunder conveyed the tone of their recent recordings through songs like “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (from the musical “Carousel”). “Take Me Home” sounded really good when backed by an orchestra.

Solos in the First Half Included: Ryan Kelly’s cover of “The House of the Rising Sun”….Michael O’Dwyer’s version of the Elvis song “If I Can Dream”…Emmet Cahill’s rendition of  “Jekyll and Hyde”musical highlight  “This Is The Moment” …Damian’s performance of “Feels Like Home”

2^nd Segment: After an intermission, the show resumed with the holiday themed-set.  Celtic Thunder’s version of “Carol of the Bells” started the segment. Also, there was a medley of holiday tunes that displayed their ability to play off each other amusingly; their dancing at this point in the show was later referenced by Ryan Kelly as a casual remark. They addressed the audience, expressing their warmest holiday wishes before preparing for their strong finale “Ireland’s Call”.  The finale was a perfect song to end the evening.

Solos in the Second Half Included:  Neil’s performance of “Mary, Did You Know?” … Emmet’s version of “O Holy Night”…Damian’s joyous cover of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”… Michael’s beautifully sung version of “Hallelujah”

This concert was memorable.  Besides this being my first Celtic Thunder show, The “Symphony 2017 Tour” was a nice evening out.  Celtic Thunder’s vocals were great.  The orchestra backing them up enriched the experience for the listener.  Like the album title says, the concert was “inspirational”.