Announcing our first all-acappella doo wop concert in West Chester, PA (outside of Philly) for Saturday night, June 23, 2018, and it’s a great one. This concert is in coordination with “Soul Harmony,” the fabulous new musical about Deborah Chessler, Sonny Til & the Orioles, both being held at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, 226 N. High Street, West Chester, PA. Of course you don’t have to attend both, but we’ll bet many of you will want to. Keep reading and you’ll find some special incentives to do so. First our Extreme Doo Wop Acappella Concert.
Date, Time and Location
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Concert Starts 7 PM. Meet & Greet for Gold Ticket Holders, 5:30 PM.
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center
226 N. High Street, West Chester, PA
The Line Up
* De’Sean Dooley backed by Quiet Storm. This concert celebrates doo wop acappella with six phenomenal acts, beginning with De’Sean Dooley, whose grandfather, Sonny Til, led the forerunners of all Rhythm & Blues vocal groups, the Orioles. De’Sean will sing songs his grandfather made famous with the Orioles like “It’s Too Soon To Know” and “Crying In The Chapel”. He’ll be backed vocally by one of the area’s top acappella groups, Quiet Storm. Concurrently, De’Sean will be playing the part of his grandfather in the award-winning musical, “Soul Harmony: The Story of Deborah Chessler, Sonny Til & the Orioles” running at the Uptown! Knauer PAC from June 20 to July 1.
* Quiet Storm. Besides backing De’Sean Dooley, Quiet Storm will be performing their own set of superb acappella. Beginning their eleventh year of singing, Quiet Storm is one of the top vocal groups on the East Coast.
* Deborah Charleston. Backed by Quiet Storm, Deborah Charleston brought the house down at Doo Wop Explosion 3. She’s back with us in West Chester PA.
* Reunion, the Jersey Shores’ most popular acappella group for more than 30 years, will be making a comeback after several years of inactivity. Their new lead, Frank Lafaro, a Philadelphia doo wop legend, is also known for leading Frankie & the Fashions. Reunion is again sounding fabulous.
* JT Morgan. Look for a guest appearance by JT Morgan, star of the PBS Doo Wop Generations TV special. JT will be backed by Reunion.
* A Perfect Blend. Philly’s own A Perfect Blend will leave you spellbound with their soulful harmonies. This group has been singing for more than 30 years and are still real show-stoppers!
* The Copians. Made up of members of some of Philly’s greatest acappella groups of past years, like Neighbor’s Complaint, Street Corner 5, A Moment’s Pleasure, the Blendtones, the Illusions, the Sound Masters and others. The Copians bring more than a hundred years of experience to their singing.
* Joel Katz & The Dynamics. Joel Katz is known as “The Voice of Jersey Doo Wop” for good reason. He’s sung lead for and recorded with groups like the Autumns, Joel & the Conchords, Joel & the Connotations, Twilight, the Wizards, the Cliftonaires. Joel & the Dymensions and Joel & the Dynamics. At one time or another, he’s also led the Emotions, the Five Discs, the Impalas, Brooklyn Bridge and many others. He now returns with his standout acappella group, The Dynamics.
Emcees: This concert is being produced and emceed by Classic Urban Harmony’s Pam & Charlie Horner.
The Venue
The Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center is located at 226 N. High Street, West Chester, PA. West Chester is a charming college town, located about 20 minutes southwest of Philadelphia, in the heart of the Brandywine Valley. The Uptown Knauer PAC is in the center of town, surrounded by shops and many restaurants. The theatre just opened in January 2017 after a $5 million renovation of a previous armory. Recommended parking is the multi-story Bicentennial Parking garage at 20 S. High Street, an easy walk to the theatre. There are more than 65 eateries in downtown West Chester. We enjoyed the Iron Hill Brewery (corner of High and Gay Streets), but there are many great restaurants we haven’t yet tried.
Ticket Info
Tickets are $40 and $55 (Gold Seats). Gold Seat ticket holders come with an invitation to a private pre-show “meet & greet” reception with the singers. The can be obtained on line from the link on this site or buy calling the Box Office during business hours at 610-356-2787. When attending this concert, why not stay over in West Chester that Saturday night and catch the Sunday 2 PM matinee of “Soul Harmony” the next day? Read on for special rewards for those who attend both shows.
“Soul Harmony”
The Musical about Deborah Chessler, Sonny Til & the Orioles
“Soul Harmony” is the story of how our music all began. The Orioles “Crying in The Chapel soared up the charts in 1953 becoming an unforgettable #1 hit and just one piece to an unforgettable story. In the late ‘40s a young Jewish woman, Deborah Chessler partnered with a dynamic black vocal group, The Orioles. Their history making hit “It’s Too Soon to Know” gave birth to a new genre of music that ignited a generation and still does today, Rhythm and Blues. Deborah, Sonny and The Orioles, Tommy Gaither, Johnny Reed, Alex Sharp and George Nelson were ahead of their time. They were trailblazers of modern music and of a larger movement that confronted a divided country. “Soul Harmony” not only chronicles The Orioles’ rise to music nobility, but reveals the role they and their music played in challenging segregation and Jim Crow, and ultimately in bringing people together all across America. Click Soul Harmony for more details.
Featuring Classic R&B Songs by Deborah Chessler
Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael Allen Harrison, Alan Berg and Janet Mouser.
Staring Monica Rodrigues as Deborah Chessler, and PAMTA Award winner De’Sean Dooley as his Grandfather Sonny Til.
Featuring Julianne Johnson Weiss
Directed and Choreography by Terence Kelley
Musical Direction, Conducted and Piano By Michael Allen Harrison.
“Soul Harmony runs for 10 days at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, from June 20 until July 1, 2018. For more information click the link at the top of this page to purchase tickets.
Special Combined Ticket Offers
For those wishing to stay over Saturday night after our June 23, Extreme Doo Wop Acappella Concert, there will be a 2 PM June 24 Sunday Matinee performance of “Soul Harmony”. There’ll also be a special reception with the cast members after the performance. Just show your ticket stubs from both performances to get in.
LIMITED TIME ONLY! ROCKTOBER SOUL HARMONY ADVANCE TICKET SALE. Order 4 tickets to any performance of Soul Harmony (June 20 – July 1) and receive a GUEST ticket to Charlie and Pam Horner’s explosive show Extreme Doo Wop Means Acappella on our very stage on June 23 featuring our star De’Sean Dooley and DooWop masters Quiet Storm. Buy 6 Soul Harmony tickets and get 2 Extreme Doo Wop tickets. After buying your Soul Harmony tickets, contact Alan at [email protected] . He will confirm your purchase and tell you how you’ll be reimbursed for concert tickets. This is a LIMITED TIME OFFER.
Hotel Info
For those staying over there are at least three nice hotels close to the theatre. As it gets closer to June, we’ll try to block off hotel rooms at discounted rates.
Hotel Warner, 120 N. High Street, West Chester. Highest rated – a block from the theatre. Rate approx. $160 includes breakfast.
Quality Inn West Chester, 943 S. High Street, West Chester – about 10 blocks from the theatre. Rate approx. $108 includes breakfast.
Holiday Inn Express West Chester. 1310 Wilmington Pike, West Chester. about 4 miles from theatre. Rate approx. $140 includes breakfast.
Videos of Some Acappella Groups on Extreme Doo Wop Concert
Some Scenes From Soul Harmony
