Carlton stars’ songs drive Frank’s show
Carlton stars’ songs drive Frank’s show
Written by: Warren Gerds
Take thousands of songs from hundreds of stars who played over the span of almost eight years at a now-mythical showplace in Green Bay, distill them to what will work for Let Me Be Frank Productions, and you have “The Carlton West.”
The show is a flashback to 1977 to 1986, with quirky fictional characters, as Carlton workers, placed into situations where they break into song backstage.
The Carlton was a real place. The parade of stars was real. The hit songs in the show were (are) the stars.
But the show isn’t a lineup of star imitations. Songs are sung to the comfort level of the Frank’s singers.
Sample section: Four songs of Bobby Vinton are sung by Lisa Andre, Kelly Haddad, Emily Paulsen and vocal coach Amy Riemer. The women take turns singing lead, with the others adding color in harmonies. They dance. A light show plays. Feeding the action is the band – Heath Hermans, drums; Pat Hibbard, bass; Dennis Panneck, guitar; and Kent Paulsen, keyboards.
A Sha Na Na segment opens the show, with Paul Evansen, David Gusloff and Frank Hermans pouring out doo-wop and high harmonies.
Also in the show are songs of Tom Jones, The Kingston Trio, The Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Rivers, Anne Murray, Connie Stevens, Dionne Warwick, Paul Anka, The Lettermen, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Marie Osmond, Del Shannon, Peter Noone and others.
Frank Hermans plays Sandi, the Carlton bar manager, in one of his out-there characterizations. He wears a long, blond mullet wig, moves like a girl and speaks in effeminate ways.
Hibbard’s character has a secret and plays bass in the backstage band (a ridiculous setup for the sake of the singing). Near the end, the audience is treated to the re-creation of a routine of the comedian Gallagher, including playing around with the Veg-O-Matic bit with Tom Verbrick as a thick-as-a-brick roadie.
The show is crammed with stuff, most importantly, wonderful singing.
