Monongahela native finds time in busy schedule to perform in town
George Solomon, second from right, and the other stars of “Oh What a Night!”
George Solomon
If you look closely at George Solomon’s performance schedule, you might wonder how he manages to fit everything in.
When the Monongahela native isn’t entertaining cruise ship audiences with his one-man show, an energetic, playful mix of Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley and Tom Jones tunes, he’s touring the country and world with “Oh What a Night!”, a musical tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
The 1975 Ringgold High School graduate spent six weeks touring Australia with the Frankie Valli show in February and March, and barely had time to catch his breath before he was off on Norwegian Line cruises to Costa Rica and the Caribbean.
From Sunday to June 18, he’ll be on board the Norwegian Pearl on an Alaskan cruise, but he’ll still have time to fly back home to Monongahela in time for a performance of “Oh What a Night!” at the Aquatorium at 7:30 p.m. June 23 as part of the Italian Festival.
“It’s always exciting to play my hometown because all my old friends come out to see me,” he said in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles.
Despite his active schedule, Solomon said he manages to fly back home once a month to see Mary Solomon Acton, his 95-year-old mother, and revisit his roots.
While attending Ringgold High, he said he had the lead in every musical the school staged. He credits his drama teacher, Louise Anderson, and chorus teacher, Esther Spadaro, for making his high school teacher experience a happy and educational one.
After graduating, Solomon moved directly to New York, where he studied for three years at the Neighborhood Playhouse and managed to land roles in shows like “Damn Yankees” and “Come Blow Your Horn,” for which he won a Drama Critics Award for Best Actor.
“I was very fortunate living in New York in that I was working all the time,” he said.
Another stroke of good fortune came his way when an ABC executive saw him in “Come Blow Your Horn” and suggested he move to Los Angeles. There he landed a lead role in “Stars on 45,” which went on to be filmed and released by Universal MCA.
While performing a solo show in 2008, his director, Michael Chapman, suggested he turn it into a Frankie Valli tribute, which Solomon subsequently wrote.
“‘Oh What a Night!’ happened just about the same time as ‘Jersey Boys’ hit the stage and became a hit,” Solomon said. “However, it in no way influenced my show. I hadn’t seen it and didn’t want to see it back then. “In contrast to ‘Jersey Boys,’ which has some darker tones, ours is upbeat and funny.”
With choreography by Paul Holmquist, “Oh What a Night!” has been going strong since 2008. On any one night, it might be playing at four or five venues around the world according to Solomon.
The musical tribute is divided into two, 45-minute segments with loads of Four Seasons hits as well as narrative about the group.
“People usually can’t believe how many hits they really had,” Solomon said.
On June 24, Solomon will take to the Aquatorium stage once more, this time as the emcee of “Four By Four,” a tribute to the music of the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Bee Gees and Motown – four of the most iconic musical styles in pop music history.
“‘Oh What a Night!’ has been part of the Aquatorium concert season twice before,” said Claudia Williams, event spokeswoman. “While tickets for the concerts in our series are $10, the concerts that are part of our Italian Festival are free.”
In addition to lots of food, including many homemade Italian favorites along with hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, snow cones and desserts by Honey Bee Bakery, the festival also has games for kids and recorded Italian music.
The doors open at 4 p.m. on both June 23 and 24. While the Aquatorium seats 3,800, seating for the evening concerts is on a first come, first served basis.
“Monongahela has a big Italian community, which is one of the reasons we decided to stage the festival,” Williams said. “Over the two-day event, we’ve had as many as 6,000 people in attendance.”