Jersey Tenors cross over from doo wop to opera at FST

From doo wop to opera, the vocal group The Jersey Tenors covers a wide range of hit music in a unique style.

The Tenors, a quartet of singers who open Florida Studio Theatre’s summer cabaret season this weekend, grew out of a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute band.

“We have broadened our horizons and gave birth to the Jersey Tenors, a rock/opera crossover show with music from all over the world,” said founder and creative director Brian Noonan.“It’s an unexpected array of songs and we share our musical experiences on the stage.”

The cast members all have Broadway credits. Noonan himself spent about 17 years performing in such shows as “Les Miserables,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

“Originally, we were all a bunch of ‘Les Miz’ Broadway vets. That’s how we started,” said the singer, whose brother Patrick Noonan, has starred in several shows at FST. Brian Noonan is joined by Danny Calvert, Cameron Johnson and Vaden Thurgood, accompanied by keyboardist and conductor Melissa Yanchak.

Noonan and Johnson lead the operatic selections, while Vaden and Danny bring rock ’n’ roll chops to the stage.

“But we are all classically trained. We put together two legit tenors and two more rock tenors who have that range and we’re mashing it together. We found a sound that just really works. It’s hard to explain, but when the blend is there, we know it’s something special,” he said.

In addition to Frankie Valli hits, the show touches on songs by such iconic performers and groups as Elton John, Frank Sinatra and Queen.

“We’ll take a piece like a Frank Sinatra medley and throw in a very classical or jazz harmonic way of producing the sound, so each song and each genre has its own style,” Noonan said.

The group has performed frequently for corporate events, which Noon describes as “the most wonderful training ground for going into any theater big or small. We can immediately know what works and doesn’t work.”

Audiences have been responding to the variety of music and the performers’ personalities.

“We have a very tongue in cheek, wise-guy type of motif. We give them Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and work our way through classic rock and then work in opera and show the legit side of ourselves. The audiences don’t see it coming and they just go crazy.”

“The Jersey Tenors” perform through July 16 in Florida Studio Theatre’s Court Cabaret, 1247 First St., Sarasota. For ticket information; 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org