Right now on Broadway, you can see a fake Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons or ersatz versions of Motown’s Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye.
Or, you can see the former Young Rascals — the real ones.
They’re not kids anymore — they dropped the “Young” by 1968 — but they sound as great as ever. Marking their first public performances together in more than four decades are Felix Cavaliere (vocals, keyboards), Gene Cornish (guitar), Dino Danelli (drums) and singer Eddie Brigati, whose “The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream” opened last night on Broadway. Lovingly written and co-directed by E Street Band member and “Sopranos” star Steven Van Zandt, it had delirious baby boomers literally dancing in their seats.
The original quartet imploded in 1970 when Brigati left the band. But not before they produced “Groovin’,” “Good Lovin’,” “How Can I Be Sure,” “I’ve Been Lonely Too Long,” “A Beautiful Morning” and “People Got To Be Free,” which dominated the charts through the ’60s — New Jersey’s answer to the British invasion.
Though it features 28 (uncut) songs,“The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream” is more than a concert. It’s also a theatrical piece that tells the band’s story using filmed interviews, archival footage and cinematic re-creations with actors playing the bandmates’ younger selves. That last part is a bit cheesy; not so the trippy projections by Marc Brickman, who once did Pink Floyd’s.
The fun begins with a preshow announcement telling us to feel free to take pictures, use cellphones and generally “do whatever the f – – k you want.” When the band takes the stage, with Cavaliere and Danelli on risers, the image is both exhilarating and jarring — exhilarating because no one thought they would ever perform together in public again, jarring because, well, they look far from young.
But any reservations end when the music begins. Cavaliere’s voice has lost none of its soul, and Cornish’s blistering guitar solos sound ripped from a garage band. Danelli pounds his drums with swinging precision, while Brigati sings and dances like a blissed-out teenager.
Why did they break up? They themselves don’t really know. But here they are, decades later — virtually the only band of their stature with its membership intact. If you grew up with the Rascals, this is a show you can’t miss.