From “September” to “December ’63,” Queensborough Performing Arts Center will spend two Sundays in October turning back the clock with tribute shows celebrating two of music’s most enduring acts.
“Fantasy: The Earth, Wind & Fire Experience” will take the stage Sunday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m., followed one week later by “Tribute to Frankie Valli and More!” featuring Lights Out on Sunday, Oct. 11, also at 3 p.m.
The two concerts will bring the sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to QPAC, located at Queensborough Community College, at 222-05 56 Ave. in Oakland Gardens.
Admission for each show ranges from $55 to $75. For tickets and more information, one may visit qpac.qcc.cuny.edu.
“Fantasy” is billed as an immersive, theatrically staged multimedia concert designed to recreate the energy of an Earth, Wind & Fire performance. Produced by Nigel Holland, the show features 11 musicians, powerhouse vocals, choreography and the tight horn arrangements that helped define the group’s unmistakable sound.
The set includes staples such as “September,” “Shining Star,” “Boogie Wonderland” and “Let’s Groove,” giving audiences a chance to revisit the infectious mix of funk, soul, pop and R&B associated with Earth, Wind & Fire.
The production also leans into the themes of love, diversity and positivity connected with the group and its music.
With its large ensemble and theatrical staging, “Fantasy” aims to offer more than a collection of familiar songs, recreating the feel of a full-scale concert and giving generations of fans an opportunity to experience the music together.
QPAC Interim Executive Director Mark Amsterdam told the Chronicle that the producers of “Fantasy” were the same ones who brought the showstopping Electric Light Orchestra to QPAC last year.
A week later, QPAC will shift from “Boogie Wonderland” to “Sherry” and “December ’63” with Lights Out, a four-member vocal group that pays tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
The group began as four college friends singing together in their dorm rooms before taking its act from city to city around the country. Its current show combines tight harmonies, soaring falsetto vocals, choreography, comedy and audience participation.
The production is billed as a “journey through musical time,” incorporating not only the music made famous by Valli and the Four Seasons but songs that inspired Valli and music influenced by his career.
Among the hits on the program are “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “My Eyes Adored You,” “Let’s Hang On” and “December ’63,” songs built around the vocal harmonies and high falsetto that became trademarks of Valli’s sound.
Amsterdam said the Valli tribute was shaped in part by feedback from QPAC patrons.
“This is something that they really wanted,” he said, adding that he expects the performance to connect strongly with longtime fans.
“I know a lot of people are going to be singing along with every one of their hits,” Amsterdam said.
For Amsterdam, bringing productions such as the two tribute concerts to the borough is also part of a larger effort to strengthen QPAC’s role as a cultural destination in Queens. He has been promoting the center beyond its campus, recently taping a segment for PIX11’s “New York Living” about QPAC and its programming, part of his effort to draw greater attention to the caliber of live performances available without leaving Queens.
He described the center as “the real quintessential community theater,” noting that, in addition to its public performance schedule, QPAC rents its theater to outside groups and organizations.
“It’s become a mecca in this part of Queens, and we service over 100,000 people a year here,” Amsterdam said.