On March 7, 138 people were treated to a show in our community center called “Frank & Dean … and Then Some!”
(Courtesy of Marty Rubenstein)
It is a Vegas-style show based in Cleveland, and they tour the Gulf coast of Florida from mid-February through early April.
Scott Brotherton — who played Dean Martin — and Damion Fontaine, who played Frank Sinatra, put on one heck of a performance. They included several antics and facial expressions that are so very familiar in the three-hour show.
Dean (Scott) was dressed in a tuxedo with a black bow tie and a cummerbund, while Frank (Damion) had on a dark jacket and trousers with a black bow tie and donned a white straw hat. The show started off with Damion singing, “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You,” “Fly With Me” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”
A walk through the community center and down the aisles added to the show as Scott and Damion mingled with the audience.
They also both did their share of jokes, and were real funny. There was one particular joke that was quite cute. It pertained to an “Aunt Judy” who was 95 years of age and the doctor says that she had the body of a 30-year-old. The punch line had everyone laughing.
Some of the other songs that Damion sung were such hits as “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Young at Heart,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” and so much more. When Scott got up to perform, we noticed that Damion was taking pictures of people in the audience.
Scott performed such hits as “The Lady is a Tramp,” “As Time Goes By” from Casablanca, and “Something’s Gotta Give,” a song usually sung by Sammy Davis Jr. They also performed many hits such as “King of the Road,” which was written and originally recorded by Roger Miller, and “Blueberry Hill,” which is best remembered as a rock ‘n’ roll hit by Fats Domino in the 1950s. We were laughing so hard at certain points in this song as Scott reversed the hat the other way on Damion’s head, and that is when Damion changed his voice with the sounds of Fats Domino or Louis Armstrong.
Damion also performed “L-O-V-E,” a Nat King Cole song, and did a very good job at it. Scott performed the hit by Marty Robbins called “A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation” with backup by Damion.
Damion performed a lovely song called “Summer Wind” and did an excellent job. Both Damion and Scott performed the song “The Best is Yet to Come,” and everyone enjoyed it.
This marked the end of the first set, and the people from Grand Horizons were treated to other performances by some residents. Loris Weber played the piano in a tribute to servicemen. She did a fine job, and then Mim Gardner did a recitation for the beginning of “God Bless America.” This was followed by Jim Leitzke leading us in “God Bless America,” and then Andy Gisondi did a lovely performance of “Taps” on his trumpet.
The second segment started off with a fine rendition of “Luck Be a Lady Tonight” performed by both Scott and Damion. There was a sing-a-long when Scott performed “Volare,” and of course, arms were swaying and toes were tapping. Several Elvis Presley songs were performed with all the shaking and other movements. During this segment, several couples got up to dance.
The song by Nat King Cole, “When I Fall in Love,” was performed beautifully. Several Neil Diamond songs were sung such as “Forever in Blue Jeans” and “Sweet Caroline.” Of course, this resulted in more dancing and arms swaying. It was nice to see some couples take advantage of the dance floor.
Both entertainers sang, “How Lucky Can One Person Be,” and Scott sang, “Ain’t That a Kick In the Head,” plus “Beyond the Sea,” a Bobby Darin hit. He then went on to some Johnny Cash hits such as “Ring of Fire” and “Folsom Prison Blues.”
We weren’t through yet as they went on to some Alabama hits such as “Play Me Some Mountain Music,” along with some dance steps by Scott. Damion and Scott then did an imitation of the Blues Brothers where they were dancing and singing while sporting the signature sideburns and sunglasses.
They ended up going full circle by performing what they started with, a Dean Martin song called “That’s Amore” and a Frank Sinatra tune called “I Did It My Way.”
The show ended with both singing “New York, New York.” This marked the end of a very enjoyable evening and it seems that the shows are getting better and better. Thanks goes out to Terry Gardner for one terrific performance.
Also at Grand Horizons, we started a craft club. Several residents from Grand Horizons met at our community center March 11. The coordinator of this event was Cheryl Leone, and from what I understand, about 20 people attended.
By Helene Rubenstein
Published April 2, 2014
