You will see why I now call UTSL the hardest working group in show business. And as a bonus, the guys hung out afterwards for photos and to sign CDs and DVDs which were on sale, on site. Do you have a particular hope or goal as to where it will take you? Shonn: I think its also safe to say too, if I might add, when you look at television, and you look at how popular shows like Mad Men have been, theres a desire by the population and people looking for entertainment to go back to a simpler time. You always have things that youre shooting for, and thats part of the reason that we have this great team because they have very specific goals that they are shooting for, for us. See Full Cast & Crew. Other television appearances include Chicgao Med, The Tonight Show, Extra!, and Access Hollywood. Ingersoll left Under the Streelamp in March 2017 to pursue producing opportunities, according to Wiley. , One day about seven years ago, stubbletwo came home from school all excited. Funny, Michael, that you referred to the audience earlier as your fifth member, because that leads right into one of my questions: George Martin became known as the fifth Beatle. No, seriously I made a mistake when I graduated college, and went to New York. "With Under the Streetlamp, the audience gets an inside look at who we are," Wiley said. Well travel with our rhythm section, our quartet, and well pick up horns in each city, which will be a new experience for us. Glad you made it in on the ground floor to spend precious time with these future stars! Michael: Im going to just answer that question and say no, not a damned thing. Our agent, Beth Jones, spent seven years at William Morris Endeavor, basically the premier agency in the country, and shes now with Parallel 49, but shes a premier agent. I loved Michaels comment that they take the music very, very seriously, but not so much themselves!! So stubbletwo thought Shonn looked really young? So we have gone to our friends some who have been in the JB family, some who have not, and well conceive of doing a certain song and well know someones musical taste, and well think, Oh, so-and-so should do this chart, and So-and-so should do this chart. But we will typically have a point person. Stubbs: Are you taking the same group of musicians along on the whole tour or are you picking up new people in each town? Left to right, Brandon Wardell, Shonn Wiley, Eric Gutman and David Larsen make up Under the Streetlamp. The singing group Under the Streetlamp, a group made up of former cast members from Broadway's "Jersey Boys," features from left Christopher Kale Jones, Michael Ingersoll, Shonn Wiley and. We do it for them. Created by: John M Forte//Jenna Coker-Jones//Christopher Kale Jones. Under the Streetlamp, a concert featuring Jersey Boys stars Michael Ingersoll, Shonn Wiley, Michael Cunio and Christopher Kale Jones, will be filmed Aug. 20 at 8 PM at the Star Plaza Theater in . While his current pursuits keep him in Chicago, the group continues to tour around the US. I see a great future for UTSL and cant wait to see them in person. Jones, who grew up in Hawaii and earned a degree in theater at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., said Valli did say something that foreshadowed the formation of Under the. Shonn: Hey, were looking at this first tour as like summer camp. Its not the lights that are actually defective. It means accompanying, or coming along with) increase in groups that invoke the retro repertoire? Cunio: Like I said, you know the deal: we were moonlighting; this was something we did a couple times a month. Exuding the irresistible rapport of a modern day Rat Pack, Under the Streetlamp proves why retro never sounded so now! Youve also done TV spots on several morning news and talk shows. Kudos, Cunio! If the captivating songs "Only You," "Yakety Yak," "The Great Pretender," or "Ain't That a Shame" start people hand clapping and toe t Under the Streetlamp (TV Movie 2011) Christopher Kale Jones as Self. Cunio: Yeah, its one that I came up with. Not only did I love the show one friend who saw it with me the first time said he looked over at me during the show and it was as if I was injecting heroin into my arm but I was also very impressed and surprised afterwards at what a nice guy Chris was. And were seeing that now in our fans. Additionally, I've been privileged to appear in concert at such historical and eclectic venues as the Greek Theater and L.A. Live in LA, Wolf Trap in DC, and B.B. I give Ingy a lot of credit here. You see true, unadulterated joy and enthusiasm on their faces. Cunio: Its gonna be a really long traveling camp where we have to sing every night. Chris: They were so excited they were shouting and screaming, and the crowd of people who were maybe 50-plus were excited to see kids who were excited about it, and they got really excited. But the thing we like about Under The Streetlamp is, we consider it the humblest of spotlights. TV Shows. What does a purple light in a window mean? Itll be a surprise. (Cher has had at least 200 so far!!) UNDER THE STREETLAMP goes back to the music that has captivated audiences around the country! Aside from the fact he's actually in his forties (I say this because, the man has an energy which resembles that of a 22 year old college student) his vocal range and delightful stage presence bursts from the seams, and with an exceptional cast of Croswell favorites; Leah Fox, Sarah Nowak, Alan Gibson, Karl Kasischke, Ashley Fox, and John Stubbs: So Im going to be surprised with a new tune at the beginning of the second act at your concert? Part One Discover the transformative power of music to affect positive change in the lives of individuals and their communities. Flashback Video: Jersey Boys Opened on Broadway 12 Years AgoNovember 6, 2005! (Laughter). So although he may be known for being a Jersey boy, Wiley likens the male quartet Under the Streetlamp, of which he is a member, more to the Rat Pack. (Laughter). Dean Martin Cunio: We were joking about it one day. We choreographed Sh-Boom. And as Cunio said above, it is a great song. What a fantastic job he did with SNC! Stubbs: It accomplishes perfectly what you wanted it to. Ingersoll left Under the Streelamp in March 2017 to pursue producing opportunities, according to Wiley. Dead GIs and Germanshe expected thatbut why did cows have to . Expand. Michael: One thing that I will say about that, and you were kind of alluding to this earlier, Stubbs. So the more fun we can invite the audience to have, be it through the way we sing the songs, or the goofiness of some of the choreography, or just how we interact with each other thats really the experience were trying to create. Ingersoll was elbow to elbow with Chris when the first JB national tour began, so theres some irony that they now are embarking on their own first national tour. Stubbs: If I can interject for a moment, Michael, Chris is responsible for my becoming a big JB fan. The jumping off point for this was, that I was invited by a theater in Chicago that I had worked for before to do a solo cabaret, and I had never done it before. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. ( ORIGINS Cunio: Is world domination an option? Shonn Wiley: Shonn Wiley and the Five OClock Shadows. Did you consider any other names before deciding on Under The Streetlamp?. And hopefully this agent will keep em off the botox!! Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Stubbs, did you apply to Guinness to overtake War and Peace for the longest verbiage in literary history?? Both as a group and as soloists, and were also starting to talk about our Christmas album. And the same press agent as Cher? The funny thing is, is that when JB closed we had the opportunity to perform at the Paramount, just right outside of Chicago, in Aurora. Cunio: It changed the entire dynamic of the evening. Chris: Absolutely. Randall G. Mielke is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News. THE CREATIVE TEAM Is there a fifth UTSL member who writes your vocal arrangements, the musical accompaniments, the horn charts, and all that? We were sitting in Chris kitchen one day trying to figure out how exactly to categorize ourselves, and it was a very brief and very short-lived moment of inspiration (laughter) but it served us well. Stubbs: Id say you tutored them very well. Ingersoll left Under the Streelamp in March 2017 to pursue producing opportunities, according to Wiley. and Sammy Davis, Jr., among others) performed on stage. Chris: Its technically the second set; we still kind of refer to theater terms, but its the second set. Best of luck to Under The Streetlamp! When I started the piece about stubbletwos band, I figured youd be doing all the talking with the guys just nodding politely, but your interjections were insightful and really gave these fellows a wonderful platform. Shonn does stuff from the 30s and 40s, and we did get our feet wet in the 70s and the 80s , but its all stuff that you found on the radio during a certain time period. We thought, wed love some sort of just bare, a capella-ish thing to introduce everyone to who we are, and basically to say right from the beginning, this is where our brand of music started; this is where it began. Gutman was in the Chicago company of "Jersey Boys" and did the show on Broadway. Michael: Yeah like on the bus, we cant laugh too much. So I just thought that that was kind of a cool thing, that he was the first one who ever mentioned that to me, that that was a possible career option, and planted that seed. Michael: Because Joann Doherty, our musical director, and her husband Ryan Bennett, and our baritone saxophone player, are all on the JB second national tour right now, we have had to rebuild our band. The performances will be in the Blizzard Theater located in Building H on the Spartan Drive Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. And I really think that that in a sense goes a long way in allowing all the other things to happen because we were all content with just making great music and making people happy. Everything Coming to and Leaving HBO and HBO Max . Latest News See All. Our press agent, Liz Rosenberg, has a very short list of clients including Madonna, Cher, Michael Buble, and Tony Bennett. When we were figuring out how to categorize our repertoire, one of my great mentors in life was a musician and an arranger and a conductor. 4.7K views, 351 likes, 151 loves, 75 comments, 120 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Under The Streetlamp: "Blue Moon" has been one our favorites to hear Christopher Kale Jones sing lead on since we. In addition, Christopher Kale Jones, a member of Under the Streetlamp since 2010,. I just want all the money and all the ladies in the world. Under the Streetlamp is buoyed by the talents of Michael Ingersoll, Christopher Kale Jones, Brandon Wardell and Shonn Wiley several of whom formerly performed in the hot musical Jersey Boys. Michael: Were really excited about that relationship because clearly hes an individual who knows how to arrange a tune. He also toured extensively with PBS retro-rock sensation Under the Streetlamp. Delivering harmonic versions of hit rock 'n' roll songs, Under the Streetlamp highlights the vocal prowess of, from left, Brandon Wardell, Christopher Kale Jones . So, while we are very proud of our product, we work very hard to make it the best it can be and hope it makes people happy, there have been some career professionals that have stepped in, and their expertise and guidance have absolutely accelerated our trajectory. But fitting newcomers into the group has been relatively easy. Aside from the solo that I did in Michaels cabaret, there was no dancing in the show. Watch as beloved retro quartet Under The Streetlamp - including members Shonn Wiley, Michael Ingersoll, Christopher Kale Jones, and Brandon Wardell, along with renowned musical director Dennis "Doc" Williams - coach singers as they vie for a chance to perform in concert with Under The Streetlamp at the legendary Star Plaza Theatre. Shonn Wiley. Shonn: Right. I started reading, assuming Id finish on my next cross-Atlantic flight, but I couldnt stop until I finished the last word! Its like, okay I need to have a plan, I need to know exactly what Im shooting for, if Im not on Broadway in five years I will have failed, and I need to go do something else that Im good at. So I put this concert together, and at the very end of it, I invited the other three guys who were performing with me (in Jersey Boys) in downtown Chicago at the time, and the audience reaction was so intense when the other three guys joined us, they were so happy and so surprised. Weve all enjoyed singing together in Jersey Boys; Michael had the idea of learning extra music while we were in Chicago, and we continued singing outside of the show, and when we got our closing notice, we all made the commitment to continue working together because we became great friends. concert at 7:30 p.m.. Im sure JB fans will find that story very interesting indeed. When we first got started we took advantage and when I say took advantage I mean in an incredibly positive way of the opportunities that JB had created for us. Were not talking about what those two new tunes are but. They stood under the streetlamps and created intricate, entertaining harmonies for friends, fans and passersby. We had an opportunity to capitalize on a if you want to call it a semi-celebrity in this area, and it gave us an opportunity to work with charities and not-for-profits, with arts education programs, to raise money for their organizations. Somebody who clearly knows what they are doing is doing a good job of bringing you all this attention. Cunio: It opens the second act. Its as if the music has freed him. Christopher Kale Jones is known for Chicago Med (2015), The Good Time Girls (2017) and Under the Streetlamp (2011). THE CONCERT The Three Desires. Learn more about Christopher Kale Jones - movies and shows, full bio, photos, videos, and more at TV Guide . Hes put on a few decades and maybe a few pounds, and he may have a bit less hair, but the way hes reacting to the music clapping and singing along hes fifteen again for that couple of hours. Their latest PBS special, wrapped in 2016, is now airing Nation Wide. We have been graced with an entire team of people who have felt that this project a good idea and that it made people happy. Turns out its the covering that has worn off and needs to be replaced. Follow the nationally lauded singing group Under the Streetlamp as they launch a singing competition to find talented vocalists with compelling stories to share. Or perhaps I should say, is about to be. Stubbs: Well its obvious theyre doing a great job. Theyre most common in February, which is American Heart Month. Lots of activities were going on, whether it was dominoes or stickball, and musicians would congregate underneath the streetlamp, and they didnt have a lot of money for instruments, and so their voices became instruments, whether it was the percussive nature of the shoo-bee-doo-wahs, and then the lead singers and that, and I think Cunio sums it up the best which is . (I know, Im showing my age with that one). Shonn: And just to add to that, for us when we first started out, it was about the music and it was about making people happy, and it didnt matter if we were playing a multi-purpose room at a high school , or we were playing the Chicago Theatre, or the Paramount Theatre, some big theater like that. I had a chance to talk to both of them, and they were very excited for us. . The Four Cunios. And I remember him talking specifically about that experience, about how there was a time where it was just one FM radio station and you were really in the hands of a deejay. Thats kind of my biggest goal right now. So Chris was the last piece of the puzzle, so to speak. They had heard what was going on, and I said to them, you know, we as an organization owe a lot to you, because at any given time, you thought of one of us, and its because you brought us in front of these creative people who brought us into this show, which gave us the opportunity to meet and thats when we talk about the whole universe just acting in whatever way its supposed to act, in order to kind of throw us all in the same pot. Michael Ingersoll. And in addition to that, at a lot of these gigs weve flown in to perform, weve been able to partner with some high schools, so we could go and have actual talkbacks with students who want to be performers in some way, whether it be in acting, or singing, or becoming a musician, and well get these groups of kids to come out, and well just talk to them, and tell them about our experiences. Who are the members of under the streetlamp? (By the way, Cunio goes by his last name not so much because there are two Michaels in the group, but because growing up he was surrounded by Michaels, and using surnames made it easier to distinguish among peers. More on DARIN: Pieced together with charismatic storytelling that goes behind the veil of Bobby's fame and brash public life,Darinflows from the poignant to the celebratory, all while delivering hit after hit. Under the Streetlamp's background. He emodies all the pluses of Tommy DeVito, leaving the minuses behind. You have permission to edit this article. Thats awesome. Ingersoll left Under the Streelamp in March 2017 to pursue producing opportunities, according to Wiley. With irresistible charm and rapport, Under the Streetlamp offers audiences the opportunity to get to know four critically acclaimed stars of stage and screen, Eric Gutman, Christopher Kale Jones, Shonn Wiley , and Brandon Wardell, the latter, a local Charlestonian. Here in Chicago, Ive been fortunate to work at theaters I used to dream about collaborating with: Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, and The Goodman Theatre to name just a few. Christopher Kale Jones: best skin regimen. Cunio: This is something we like to say too one of the fun things for us about these shows is, the people who grew up with this music, they come to see our show, and they dont know the words to just a few songs they know the words to all of them, and thats why. The show was nothing short of spectacular. Is it you yourselves, or do you have someone doing that for you? Artists Lounge Live. The idea of traveling from venue to venue, and playing top theaters in large markets this is the first time that weve ever had that opportunity. It just kind of had an exponential result. Jones - movies and shows, full bio, photos, videos, Access. 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