A Gary boy’s musical journey along radio airwaves provides the premise for a stage production that salutes a city’s tuneful legacy.
“The Signal: A Doo Wop Rhapsody” tells the story of concert producer Henry Farag and his lifelong love affair with vintage rhythm and blues.
Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday shows at Munster’s Theatre at the Center, “The Signal: A Doo Wop Rhapsody” doles out fare by the Spaniels and Jackson 5 — native sons of Gary.
Known for the legendary doo-wop ballad “Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite,” the Spaniels recorded for Gary-born Vee Jay Records, which — in early 1963 — released the first Beatles record in America, “Please Please Me.”
A black-owned label, Vee Jay is often considered the forerunner of Motown Records.
“We’re doing a lot of Vee Jay stuff,” Farag said.
His show also dishes 1969’s “I Want You Back” — the first hit for Michael Jackson and his brothers.
Set for 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, “The Signal” has been honed on the road. “We’re just moving it everywhere we can at this point, and building a little fire under it,” said Farag, owner of Merrillville-based Canterbury Productions.
Aside from Michigan, “The Signal” has been beamed to other states. “We played it in Minnesota; we played it in Ohio,” Farag noted.
Billed as a “jukebox musical” with more than 20 retro tunes, the production springs from Farag’s experiences with a rudimentary crystal radio in the mid-1950s. The signal he picked up as a preteen was the radio voice of Gary’s Vivian Carter, a pioneering black female disc jockey during that era.
She and her husband James Bracken founded Vee Jay Records, which bloomed from a small record shop in the Steel City. Vee Jay released music by stellar blues singers, R&B artists and gospel groups, while also launching the career of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
“They had John Lee Hooker,” noted Gary’s Wilton Crump, who sings with the current version of the Spaniels. “Vee Jay was important in the history of contemporary music.” The label gave exposure to the early recordings of Gladys Knight and Jerry Butler, while likewise serving up the music of blues great Jimmy Reed.
Crump — who will play guitar during the Munster engagement — is scheduled to perform Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me to Do.”
A shooting star, Vee Jay Records launched in 1953, but was bankrupt 13 years later. However, it enjoyed commercial success along the way, releasing Gene Chandler’s chart-topping “Duke of Earl,” which will be heard at performances of “The Signal.”
Besides Gary-related memories, “The Signal” will remember classic soul from Sam Cooke, who grew up in the Windy City. Audiences will hear two of his signature songs, “Chain Gang” and “A Change is Gonna Come.”
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Performing “A Change is Gonna Come” will be Willie Rogers, an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame through his membership in the Soul Stirrers, an iconic purveyor of gospel music. The Grammy-winning Rogers performed with Cooke, whose career got started in the Soul Stirrers.
Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance writer.
‘The Signal: A Doo Wop Rhapsody’
Where: Theatre at the Center in The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster
When: 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $30; students $20
Information: 219-836-3258; www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com