Within 10 days, two performances at Windber’s Arcadia Theater will go from the classic country of Johnny Cash to the instantly recognizable pop hits of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
A Johnny Cash Tribute Show featuring Terry Lee Goffee will be performed at 8 p.m. Aug. 18, and “Oh What a Night!” Tribute to the Jersey Boys will be onstage at 8 p.m. Aug. 28 at the theater, 1418 Graham Ave., Windber.
Rather than standing on stage singing Cash’s best-loved songs, Goffee will portray the “Man in Black” in first person.
“I wanted to make my show a little different and unique,” Goffee said. “Like an actor in a play, I literally become my character – in this case, Johnny Cash – from the moment I walk onstage until the end of the show.”
Goffee has been a fan of Cash since he was 8 years old.
“Cash’s songs addressed a lot of issues common to a lot of people, whether it was sensitive social issues or just some slice of life the average person could relate to,” Goffee said.
Among the 34 songs included in the tribute are Cash classics such as “A Boy Named Sue,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “I Walk The Line,” “Ring Of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Hurt.”
When Goffee performed his tribute, called “Train of Love: A Tribute to Johnny Cash” in Nashville in 2003, he received high praise from Cash’s brother and sister and a boost to his career.
“ ‘Train of Love’ ” sprang from my appreciation and love not only for the music of Johnny Cash but for the man himself,” Goffee said. “He was a champion of the underdog, a voice for those who often have none and an outlaw before it became fashionable. If you come away from this presentation with a better understanding of who Johnny Cash was, I will have succeeded in my vision.”
Goffee has taken his Cash tribute across the U.S. and Canada and to Ireland and the UK.
In 2009, he was selected to provide the moves for the Johnny Cash character in Guitar Hero 5.
“He looks, sounds and moves like Johnny Cash,” said Frank Cunsolo, Arcadia programming director. “This show is amazing, and the crowd response should be overwhelming.”
A three-peat
This will be the third time the group paying tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons has appeared at the Arcadia.
Previous appearances were in 2010 and 2011, with last year a sellout.
“I had requests to bring it back this year,” Cunsolo said. “I think we can expect a wonderful response.”
Classic hits such as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Can't Take My Eyes Off You,” “My Eyes Adored You,” “Working My Way Back To You,” “Let’s Hang On” and “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night!)” will be featured.
“This is a fast-paced show with tune after tune,” Cunsolo said. “These are talented, young individuals.”
Between all the recognizable tunes, the cast will deliver informative and often hilarious banter about the group.
Members of the cast do their jobs so well, audiences have to be reminded they are singing live and not lip-syncing.
They stay true to the original recordings without trying to mimic or impersonate the original group.
The Four Seasons’ story is told in “Jersey Boys,” the Broadway musical that follows the rags-to-riches tale of four blue-collar boys working their way from the streets of Newark, N.J., to the heights of stardom.
“Jersey Boys” won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2006.
This concert will feature all the original hits of “Jersey Boys” as well as several Top 10 releases not used in the show, including Frankie Valli’s biggest solo hit “Grease.”
Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
That’s entertainment
What: Johnny Cash Tribute Show featuring Terry Lee Goffee.
Where: Arcadia Theater, 1418 Graham Ave., Windber.
When: 8 p.m. Aug. 18.
Tickets: $29, $35 and $38.
Information: 467-9070 or www.arcadiatheater.net.
-- -- --
What: “Oh What a Night!” Tribute to the Jersey Boys.
Where: Arcadia Theater, 1418 Graham Ave., Windber.
When: 8 p.m. Aug. 28.
Tickets: $29, $35 and $37.
Information: 467-9070 or www.arcadiatheater.net.
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