PAST 2008 MEETINGS -

11/9 - Matt Stanley, Entertainer - Matt didn't just charm the audience - he CAPTIVATED them!!!! Matt didn't just sing . . . he threw himself into every song with his expressions and incredible voice. When he sang a la Tom Jones, electrifying the room and gyrating his hips, the crowd went wild!! Shirley Kaplan, Shelly Zandel Goldman, Harriet Gershman - and even Milt Pevner - threw their keys at Matt. At one point, Shelly Zandel Goldman tossed her white socks at him, in lieu of a you-know-what.

Matt not only sang from the stage, but pranced throughout the audience. While doing an awesome rendition of "Bi Mir Bist Du Shane," he allowed those who had talent to sing along with him. His song selections were current and included an impression of the Big Bopper singing "Chantilly Lace," which he also belted out on his harmonica. Matt's act was peppered with funny jokes that added to his warm and upbeat personality.

It was no surprise that Matt received a well deserved standing ovation and EVERYONE commented on his wonderful performance. We could have watched him perform endlessly and concluded that he was one of the smoothest, most dynamic song interpreters that we have ever had.



10/12 - Florence Seidelman - One of our best meetings in Philly Club history was when we had Florence Seidelman on our stage in October 2006. Writer and producer of the movie, "Boynton Beach Club", she regaled our members with entertaining stories relating to the production of the movie.

Returning in 2008, with high energy and humor, FLorence updated us on what's happened in the past two years, including widespread coverage and articles on Male/Female relationships in the MIAMI HERALD and other publications. She then discussed plans in the works for the BOYNTON BEACH CLUB: THE MUSICAL, now waiting for a large enough theater in Southeast Florida to have an opening for the required large cast of Broadway Dancers and Singers - 12 songs have been composed for the show, one of which Florence played for us.

She also introduced Elliot Taubenslag, writer of MILLIONS OF MILES, our February event at Delray Playhouse. Elliot, formerly of East Brunswick, NJ, and known to member Sheila Finkelstein for his work with Children's Theater programs, as well as adult, shared the evolution of this intriguing sounding play.

9/14 - Michael Fayer directed his exuberance to the Philadelphia Social Club by first shaking hands with club members while he performed an impersonation of Dean Martin singing “Mambo Beat.” He then moved smoothly singing the identical song a la Sammy Davis and Frank Sinatra. Amusing the audience further, Fayer interjected stories with vocalizations.

A broad range of impersonations followed that included Mick Jagger, Michael Bolton, Gordon Lighthouse, Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Jimmy Stewart, Louie Armstrong, Billy Lee Cyrus, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, Robert DiNero Clint Eastwood and Archie Bunker, to name a few.

Michael, a former Philadelphian, introduced his relatives seated in the audience. Included were his two daughters, his parents, Roslyn and Ervin Fayer (Philly Club members), and aunt and uncle, Norma and Marvin Fayer. Michael’s Dad was surprised by his son’s rendition of “Oh My Papa” as Michael’s daughters presented their grandfather with a candlelit birthday cake.

Dellie Rosen was surprised when Michael sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to her and then moved to Dottie Shandler, holding her hands as he concluded the selection. Michael adopted Elvis Presley’s mannerisms and voice style as he performed with a “toilet paper shawl” which he tore into pieces while singing to people in the audience.

We listened to Fayer’s rendition of Ray Charles singing “America” as the performance concluded with a patriotic thanks to the current troops and to all Veterans in commemoration of 9/11.

8/3 - Gwen Johnson took over the stage, belting out songs a la Pearl Bailey. She began with "Almost Like Being in Love," followed by "This Can't Be Love" and the Sinatra classic, "Summer Wind."

Ms. Johnson's segues consisted of repeated statements of how she was performing on adrenalin because of little sleep after a gig the previous evening. This, however, did not affect the quality of her clear and strong powerful voice. The Club listened to her crooning renditions of several Ella Fitzgerald standards and a medley of Al Joson's signature pieces. It has been a long while
since this audience has heard live renditions of Jolie's songs. Gwen delivered a superlative offering of Linda Ronstadt's, "Someone to Watch Over Me."

Gwen Johnson launched into one song after another with "It's All Right with Me," "Crazy," "Maybe This Time," "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart," "The Trolley Car Song," "What a Difference a Day Makes" and "Cabaret." Gwen concluded with her own
personal favorite, beautifully rendered, "You are the Wind Beneath My Wings."

7/6 - New star Edie DiCaro - Singer/comedienne Edie DiCaro described herself as someone currently from Tamarac, “the land of the dead and newly wed.” She sang some parodies set to familiar tunes and then delivered a straight version of “Dance with Me.” She quickly followed with the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Edie invited the audience to clap with her as she rendered a strong version of “Cabaret.”

Edie then left the stage to croon to the men in the audience, starting with singing, “My Heart Belongs to Freddy,” to Fred Zemble as she mimicked running her fingers through the “hair” on Fred’s bald head. Ms. DiCaro made an attempt to be provocative and apologized for not being able to be near each man in the audience.

“Chana from Havana,” an upbeat Barry Sisters old time vocal, was rendered in a combination of English, Spanish and Yiddish.

Edie then spoke about her favorite song stylist, Barbra Streisand, and offered her own version of “Second Hand Rose.” She quickly followed with “All of Me,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” and a medley of truly vintage favorites that included “Somebody Stole My Gal,” "Yes Sir, That’s My Baby,” “Charlie My Boy,” “I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover,” “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” “Wait ‘Til The Sun Shines Nellie,” and the Al Jolson standard “California, Here I Come.”

Edie’s finale included “This Land Is mine” from the movie, “Exodus." She delivered a few stories and ended with “Those were The Days” and “Orange Colored Sky.”

6/8 - General Meeting- our 2nd Annual Free BINGO where, rather than our usual entertainment, we do something a little bit different and fun. Each member (and guests) received free Bingo cards and the winners took home CASH prizes.

The meeting went quite well and was most enjoyed by all. A total of $300 was awarded, with Arlene Dailey being the $100 winner of the last game - the cover-all.Additional cards were sold to those wishing to play more than three cards at a time. It was one hour of fun, especially for the winners.Our thanks to Richie Cerota who called out the numbers, Gil Sobel who helped him cover the big board, and to Jerry DeLaFuente who checked the winners' cards. Additional thanks to Richie Cerota for organizing and setting up the Bingo. Right before the big cover-all game, we had an added surprise. Two gals from Rita's Water Ice dropped in and scooped delicious cherry and chocolate water ice into cups for everyone. It might have been difficult to eat water ice and punch numbers simultaneously, but everyone managed and had a great time.

5/4 - Lou Villano, Entertainer - opened his performance with a toe tapping rendition of “A Foggy Day in London Town,” enhanced by his preppy attire of blazer, loafers, and blue button down shirt.We found ourselves clapping to a Latin beat of “Save Your Last Dance for Me.” Lou delivered a brief tutorial outlining the utilization of current electronics delivering recorded music in place of a live orchestral accompanist as he segued into ”I’m Still in Love with You” and “Some One to Watch Over Me.”Lou captivated his audience’s interest and attention with interesting tidbits about performers who made selections their signature pieces. He delivered a powerful vocalization of Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” and the songs of the legendary bad boys of entertainment, the “Rat Pack.” We were informed that Dean Martin’s styling prop of a drink was always apple juice, as Lou launched into the crooning mood of Dino’s “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime“ and quickly switched tempos to “That's Amore” with audience participation. Lively drums and trumpet vibes underscored his Sammy Davis, Jr. impersonations as Lou delivered a traditional Sammy arrangement of “That Old Black Magic." Lou was given a standing ovation following “My Way," an ultimate of Frank Sinatra‘s signature songs.Additional Philadelphia audience American Bandstand crowd pleasers were “Dream Lover” and “Why must I Be a Teenager in Love?” Lou Villano’s finale was “Oh, What a Night.“ Feet were tapping, hands were moving and bodies were swaying as we were transported to earlier times in our lives.

4/6 - The DooWop Kids, Vinnie & Pauli, had us clapping, tapping and moving to the songs from the 50s and 60s. This dynamic duo brought us back to an earlier and less complicated time, beginning with The Platters tune, "The Great Pretender." It was the Philadelphia sound of the "Nifty Fifties" and Dick Clark, telecasting from the Arena under the shadow of the "El." It was Philadelphia Bandstand once again. Vinnie and Paulie saw a sea of raised hands when they questioned who had actually danced on American Bandstand. The DooWop Kids' rendition of another Bandstand and Platters hit, "Only You" brought back memories of proms, hops, bobby socks, and poodle skirts!The room rocked with Dion's "Run Around Sue," followed by The Dupree's classics, "Have You Heard?" and "You Belong to Me." Bodies were swaying in their seats as most of the audience mouthed the words to truly classical lyrics. The DooWops continued with Tom Jones' "To All the Girls I Loved Before," and Louie Primo's "Just a Gigolo." "In the Still of the Night" and "Earth Angel," numbers one and two on the Golden Oldies List, brought smiles to the faces of the audience that told the full story of the impact of the music. "At My Front Door" (Crazy Momma) and "Once in a While" were followed by "Yes, It's True" in a true Johnny Maestro-like rendition. "The Bristol Stomp"(and yes, some of our group are from Bristol) and "At the Hop" had everyone really moving and not just in their seats. Bob and Shelly Zandel-Goldman, Marlene Gurst, Lois Madanick, Myra Olshansky, Bunny Shull and her guest, came out of their chairs to rock and roll with the music!The morning culminated with Rose and Ed Spector dancing to Sinatra's "Summer Breeze," and Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea," "Hey Venus," and Jay Black’s classic, “Cara Mia mine.”
It was a joyous event.

3/2 - Michael Rapposelli - Singer & Comedic Impressionist at the
ANNUAL PAID-UP MEMBERSHIP BREAKFAST
All who attended this meeting were treated to a sensation of the senses. The breakfast, a bounty catered by the Florida Culinary Institute, included bagels, blintzes, eggs, bacon, quiche, potatoes, danish, lox, etc. etc. What a delicious way to begin the day!Michael Rapposelli, singer and comedic impressionist, more than fulfilled expectations. His charismatic stage presence certainly filled the room, as did his powerful voice. Michael began with his dramatic interpretation of "What Kind of Fool Am I?" He followed rapidly with a great imitation of Arnold Schwarzenegger. In rapid succession, Rapposelli presented "I Want to Live 'Til I Die," "What I Did for Love," and "It Had to Be You."Michael's comedic talent was showcased in his interpretation of Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion if portrayed by John Travolta, Marlon Brando, Robert DiNero, and others. He continued with singing "What a Wonderful World," imitating the voices and body movements of Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday, Satchmo Armstrong, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Jackie Mason in a most hilarious manner. A highlight of the performance was Michael's interpretation of "Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables" which he blended into "Bring Them Home" about the troops in Iraq. The audience responded enthusiastically.Michael Rapposelli concluded to thunderous applause with his operatic rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from the opera "Turandot," a Pavarotti favorite. The standing ovation from the audience demonstrated the group's appreciation of an outstanding performance from a superbly talented artist, a native South Philadelphian from 17th and Oregan Avenue. What an exquisite morning!
Review written by Joanruth Hirshman

2/3 - Vocalist Lenny King, Philadelphia native son and South Philadelphia High School alum, displayed his consummate professionalism at this general meeting.

This distinguished showman also educated our large audience with the backgrounds of the artists who popularized the selections. Lenny started with Stevie Wonder’s “Once in My Life", and continued with Robert Goulet‘s “My Love, Forgive Me". The tempo was increased with a sing-a-long of “That‘s Amore". It was obvious by the audience reactions that all were able to recognize musical selections that were not only familiar, but special favorites of those assembled. “A Portrait of My love”, “All of Me", “Route 66", “If”, “The Wonder of You", and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin" were followed by a very special vocalization. Bobbie Cerota, a Philadelphia Social Club Director, had tears in her eyes as she and hubby Richie listened to their requested song, “They Tried to Tell Us We’re Too Young". It was obvious that each
musical selection sparked emotional responses of special times in our lives. The program sped to its too rapid conclusion with “I‘ve Got You Under My Skin", “Love is a Many Splendored Thing", and Irving Berlin’s unforgettable, “They Say That Falling in Love is Wonderful". All of those gathered honored Lenny King with a standing ovation.
Review written by Joanruth Hirshman

1/13 - Frankie Mann - Comic and impressionist, Frankie Mann, entertained at the meeting of the Philadelphia Social Club on January 13, 2008 and what a funny man he was! Everyone laughed hysterically as he demonstrated his versatility and professional comedic timing with his portrayals of Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Jerry Colona, Red Buttons, Rodney Dangerfield and Jackie Mason, among others.

Frankie Man went on to sing the familiar ballads of Frank Sinatra, which included “I’ll Never Smile Again” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.” He concluded with his imitation of “Satchmo Armstrong’s “Hello Dolly,” complete with face wiping handkerchief followed by his own voice singing, “What a Wonderful World.” It was unanimous that this was indeed one of our best shows to date, and of course Frankie received a standing ovation at the conclusion of his act.
Review written by Joanruth Hirshman