Review - The Rascals: Once Upon A Dream

Ya gotta love those 60s bands with their matching outfits. The Beatles had their buttoned up suits and ties and Paul Revere and The Raiders wore mod colonial getups, but perhaps the craziest rocker look ever broadcast into American homes was the schoolboy ensemble worn by a band then known as The Young Rascals.

Wearing dark knickers, white round-collar shirts with floppy bows and caps, they were a quartet of Little Lord Fauntleroys with attitude, blasting The Ed Sullivan Show with the sexual charged rhythms of what was then called "blue-eyed soul" with their first big hit, "Good Lovin'".

The costumes were eventually ditched, their name was shortened to The Rascals and the boys followed up with some of the most fondly remembered hits of the late 60s; most famously "Groovin'", "People Got To Be Free" and "A Beautiful Morning". But conflicting ambitions and other issues led to the breakup of the band in the early 70s, despite the addition of new members to the group.

So when The Rascals take the stage for their Broadway concert Once Upon A Dream for two hours worth of songs like "How Can I Be Sure?", "I've Been Lonely Too Long", "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" and, of course, the title tune, it is the first time in over 40 years (save for a brief tryout engagement this past December) that the four of them have played a full show together.

Jersey boys Felix Cavaliere (keyboard/vocals), Eddie Brigati (tambourines and vocals), Dino Danelli (percussion) and Gene Cornish (guitar) are all inching their way toward 70, but the joyful energy they bring to their nostalgia trip is both heartwarming and exciting. Brigati spends much of the evening with a big smile on his face, merrily dancing about the stage and banging his tambourines together. The deadpan Cornish occasionally struts downstage to show off some fancy licks for cell phone photographers and to toss guitar picks out into the crowd.

They're joined on stage by Mark Alexander (keyboard), Mark Prentice (music director/bass) and vocalists Sharon Bryant, Angela Clemmons and Dennis Collins.

The reunion concert is the brainchild of Steven Van Zandt, who co-produces, co-directs and has scripted video moments where band members talk about the group's rise and fall and actors representing the boys in their younger days play out scenes of key events. (Like the time in a recording studio when someone suggests they do a cover of that Olympics song, "Good Lovin'".) The acted out moments come off stilted and a little silly and while the clips of the actual guys give you a nice overview of their history and influence in the growth of rock music (They felt so strongly about the civil rights movement that they insisted at least one black act opened for them at each concert.) the sentiments expressed tend to come off as the generic reactions of a group of regular guys caught up in the excitement of an explosive scene. Co-director Marc Brickman's video contributions are more pleasing when flashing up vintage film clips and photos or psychedelic backgrounds.

But as long as The Rascals are making their music, the evening is nothing short of groovin'.

Photo by George Rodriguez.

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