The Center for the Arts at Monmouth University has announced that tickets are on sale now for an October 26, 2017 appearance by The Doo Wop Project, presented as part of the 2017-18 Performing Arts Series at Monmouth.
 
Hosted inside the refurbished Pollak Theatre, the 7:30 p.m. event transforms the flagship stage at Monmouth into a street corner in “the old neighborhood” – those magical, mythical places in the boroughs of New York, the working-class cities of New Jersey, and beyond; where a generation of passionate young singers put aside their differences, raised their voices in harmony, and gave birth to an exhilaratingly human sound called Doo Wop.
 
Grounded in the gospel and folk traditions; jazzed by rhythm and blues; the songs of Doo Wop’s golden age served as one of the primary building blocks of a new thing called rock and roll – but even while hits like “Sixteen Candles” and “A Teenager in Love” serve to pinpoint a specific moment on the pop-cultural timeline, there’s a timeless quality to classic vocal soul that resonates throughout the pop music of the 21st century. That’s where The Doo Wop Project comes in.
 
The five vocalists of The Doo Wop Project weren’t on the scene when groups like The Del Vikings, The Capris and The Belmonts ruled the radio airwaves – but as cast members of some of the most popular jukebox musicals of all time, the quintet of young Broadway veterans cut their teeth on the brand of exciting, immediate music that was directly inspired by that first generation of street-lamp serenaders.
 
Reuniting in The Doo Wop Project are three former “Jersey Boys” – Dominic Scaglione Jr. (Frankie Valli in the Broadway, Vegas and Chicago companies), Russell Fischer (Joe Pesci on Broadway), and Dominic Nolfi, seen most recently as an original cast member of “A Bronx Tale: The Musical.” Nolfi, who was also featured in the original cast of “Motown: The Musical,” joins two fellow veterans of that troupe – including Charl Brown (a Tony nominee in the role of Smokey Robinson), and, as the group’s “Mr. Bass Man,” the multitalented actor, singer, producer and comedy writer Dwayne Cooper.
 
Together with music director Sonny Paladino, the men from DWP boast enough star-wattage talent to light every street lamp “From Here to Eternity.” When they hit the Pollak stage on October 26, they’ll be taking the audience on a thrilling musical adventure that ranges from spot-on recreations of vintage hits (Dion’s ” I Wonder Why,” The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You”), to doo-wop reimaginings of songs from the 1980s (Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”) and the new millennium (Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie,” Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”) – a musical history lesson with an awe-inspiring appeal that’s truly off the charts.
 
Tickets, priced at $25 and $35 with a Gold Circle seating option of $50, can be reserved right now for the October 26 concert by the Doo Wop Project, by calling the Monmouth University Performing Arts Box Office at 732-263-6889, or visiting www.monmouth.edu/mca. Stay tuned for news on other upcoming events in the Performing Arts Series, including the return of CSN Songs: A Tribute to Crosby, Stills and Nash (February 3, 2018).