* BOARDWALK

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Boardwalk provides a joyous return to the glorious sound of doo-wop music of the 50s and 60s. Sh-Boom, Duke Of Earl, At The Hop And Stand By Me…

Anyone who's a fan of fifties doo-wop music will love Boardwalk. A musical group, Boardwalk is also a smash musical, in demand and on tour.

Composer, writer and performer, Randy Vancourt, has been writing original music and scripts for television, theatre and film, performing throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe for 3 decades. He has had series on PBS, Family Channel, CBC, YTV, Radio Canada and TV Ontario. As a singer and entertainer, Randy performs dozens of concert and shows a year.

The musical Boardwalk is set in 1976, as three men meet on the beach and reminisce about 20 years earlier when, in their teens, they sang the doo-wop hits on the boardwalk, in a fictitious Ontario resort. While Chuck (Stephen Sparks) and Owen (Brendan Wall) have left town and moved on with their lives, Ron (Randy Vancourt) still lives there, and apparently dwells on the good old days. He calls them together when he learns that the Crystal Ballroom on the beach is being torn down, and predictably, they sneak in to perform.

All three performers are wonderful singers, their voices blending in harmony in the a cappella numbers, and they also show their talent with keyboards and guitars. Vancourt has done a great job of pulling together a wide assortment of songs from that era. Just three fellows talking about the action.

In the second act, with the addition of humour. Vancourt does some magic tricks, (or as Ron stresses “illusions”) showing off his improv skills as a Second City alumnus with some hilarious audience interaction. The cast offers a long list of hit song titles, such as “I'll never get over you, Darling, so get up and answer the phone” which is greeted with great laughter.

All the doo-wop songs are good. Two standouts deviate from the doo-wop theme: Peace in the Valley, where a number the characters recall singing in the church choir, and the old war song Nightingales in Barkley Square.

Performing as the group, Boardwalk or as the full-fledged musical stage production Boardwalk!, they provide a sing-along trip down memory lane – at least for some of us …

Clients Comments

“Anyone who’s a fan of fifties doo-wop music will love Boardwalk”
– Mary Alderson for Theatre in London

“Boardwalk is joyous celebration of those great doo-wop melodies of the 50s as three talented singer/actor/musicians tell their story through the beautiful soulful rhythms of a kinder, gentler era. A Musical Journey Down Musical Lane!”
– Robert More, Artistic Director, Victoria Playhouse