Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing ‘Oh What A Night’ performer George Solomon. George was chatting to me from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he was visiting his old neighbourhood to celebrate his birthday with his mum, brothers and sisters.
I chatted to this fellow Cancerian about his upcoming tour of Australia, the third in so many years and looking to be an annual event, such is its popularity. The show has been well received by Australian audiences even though George initially thought Aussie audiences would be reserved!
Unfortunately, due to the constrictions of performances and sound checks, George and the guys don’t get a chance to explore the cities they visit as much as they would like.
‘Oh What A Night’ is a tribute to The Four Seasons, a band gaining new fans by way of the Jersey Boys stage show and it’s recent movie adaptation.
George tells me ‘Oh What A Night’ is a’ fun show’ and the audience is ‘loving’ its mix of comedy, music and dancing.
Even people who can’t speak English appreciate the melodic, familiar quality of the songs and tell the guys so ,in their own language!.
George stresses this tribute is not a biography, with each actor playing a Four Season, so no actor gets more stage time than another and the audience is able to establish a relationship with each actor.
The show is continually evolving and freshened up by excellent research which sees not only The Four Seasons superb repertoire but has the addition of songs inspired by The Four Seasons or songs that people thought they performed. An example of the former is the inclusion of Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’, which was a tribute to The Four Seasons.
A treat at the end of the show is when cast members meet the fans and encourage audience members to have a photo with the guys and so become ‘The Fifth season’
George has high praise for the promoters who he says treat he and the guys ‘like family’.
The show is family friendly with a lack of bad language and so may be embraced by all ages.
George himself is the triple threat plus more…he can sing, dance and act and in addition is a great comedy performer in his own right including his impersonation of Diana Ross’ (who he calls a magnificent woman) but that’s another story….. and perhaps another tour.
You can see ‘Oh What A Night’ at Wrest Point Entertainment Centre Thursday 28th August.
Paula Xiberras
