Sounds of Swing on Long Island
Is there good entertainment in Nassau and Suffolk? You bet there is!
Last Saturday evening, Lorraine and I were introduced to a new venue for professional, first-class shows. With two friends, Joyce and Alan Tobkes, we traveled out to the Dix Hills Performing Arts Center at Five Towns College at exit 50 of the LIE. This theater moved from the South Shore and never quite changed its name.
In the past, we have seen wonderful shows at the Hofstra Cultural Center that provided both student and professional actors. This year they are doing opera with the Bronx Opera Company’s Hansel and Gretel.
The Tilles Center at C.W. Post has top talent from Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera. Their prices are just a bit more than the schools of Hofstra, Adelphi and the Five Towns College. This show was $30 a seat. In Dix Hills we saw a show called The Sounds of Sinatra. It was performed by Lou Moneta, a smooth stylist of Sinatra’s singing, and his partner Gayle Scott. They sang along with a nine-piece orchestra that captured the Nelson Riddle arrangements perfectly. The trumpets, guitar, piano, bass fiddle and trumpets and saxophones really belted out the feeling and style of Sinatra. High energy and musical sophistication stirred the audience.
There was a huge New York Police Department presence in the audience. Lou was and is a former police officer and his pals came to see him perform. We all felt very safe!
Some of the selections that were performed were: One For My Baby and One More For The Road, and I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Cole Porter. New York, New York had the audience going wild; Come Fly With Me also got the audience hopping; Nice and Easy took the pace down a bit; You Make Me Feel So Young was a favorite of the middle-aged audience; Fly Me To The Moon also!
A hit of the evening came when Gayle Scott did a fabulous version of the Etta James song, At Last. As Lou Moneto claimed, “I am not trying to imitate Frank because no one can; I am just singing his songs.” Every once in a while the voice of Sinatra came through.
This Dix Hills Center is a wonderful spot to enjoy a show. The auditorium is not too large. Exit 50 on the LIE is just far enough.
A wonderful night of class entertainment!
Their CD is called The Sounds of Swing.
