‘Let’s Go to the Hop’ Sunday afternoon with The Alley Cats

Published 4:47 am Friday, March 20, 2009

RAYMOND, Wash. – The year 1951 was perhaps the year doo-wop consistently broke into the mainstream music scene. Hit songs that year included “My Reverie,” by The Larks; “I Will Wait,” by the Four Buddies; and “Will You Be Mine?” by The Swallows. By 1956, The Teenagers had become a teen pop sensation with songs such as “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” But many doo-wop enthusiasts still consider the Five Satins’ hit, “In the Still of the Night,” to be the quintessential doo-wop recording of all time.

Sunday Afternoon Live patrons will have the opportunity to hear some of that music as The Alley Cats, America’s premier doo-wop group, headlines “Let’s Go to the Hop” at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 22, at the Raymond Theatre, 323 Third St.

A satisfying blend of musical talent and comic timing, The Alley Cats interact with audiences to give each show a different flair and excitement. Bringing their own contemporary style to the great songs of the ’50s and ’60s, their extraordinary talent and fresh approach truly make them “the Cats’ meow!”

The original group came together while they were studying music at Fullerton College, and they began their musical journey in 1987 as a featured act in Disneyland’s “Blast to the Past,” a salute to the 1950s. The Disney relationship took them to New York City and a spot in the animated film “Hercules.” They have performed across the country at corporate events, trade shows, major festivals and performing arts centers, as well as on television, in radio jingles, and at thousands of live stage performances.

Heading up the “Hop” at the Raymond performance will be four of the 20 or so musicians who form The Alley Cats’ touring groups. Tim Foust has brightened stages from New York to Los Angeles, as well as internationally. His credits include many lead roles in musicals as diverse as “Phantom of the Opera” and the “Will Rogers Follies.”

Toby Donnelly is an accomplished singer, composer, arranger and performer who has appeared with the vocal group Cadence and sung with award-winning Canadian recording artist Rita Mcneil and international recording artist Shania Twain.

Philip Tesoro has been involved with music all his life, although he didn’t start to sing until he was a freshman in high school. He juggled playing the tuba, water polo and singing in the choir until music won out. Tesoro is also the voice of Aladdin at Disney’s California Adventure.

Todd Dixon is one of the group’s founding members and has performed with them for more than 20 years. He is a pastor of music and worship at a church in Southern California, a freelance arranger and copyist for Barry Manilow, Disney, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and others.

The Sunday performance is being sponsored by Security State Bank and WESTAF (Western States Arts Commission supported by the National Endowment for the Arts). A Friend of SAL is the sound sponsor.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at South Bend Pharmacy and Sandra’s Art & Frame in South Bend, Sagen’s Pharmacy and the Raymond Theatre in Raymond, by calling (360) 875-5381, e-mailing sundayafternoonlive@comcast.com or sending a check or money order to SAL with a SASE to Box 41, South Bend, WA 98586.

A special event is scheduled for Monday morning, March 23, when The Alley Cats will present two assemblies at the Raymond Theatre for the tri-district’s 7th- through 12th-graders. Guest lecturer Heidi Bale of Raymond will fill the students in on the history of doo-wop. These assemblies will be sponsored by Sunday Afternoon Live, WESTAF, the Heritage Foundation for the Arts, H.U.G.S. and contributions from the Raymond, South Bend and Willapa Valley school districts.

Ann Mergens contributed to this story for Sunday Afternoon Live