Rhapsody Players to Holiday Rock at RTC

By Dan Guarino

This Sunday, December 15, the Rhapsody Players will rock, roll and ring in the holidays with their “A Rockin’ Christmas” show at the Rockaway Theatre Company (RTC) John Gilleece Theater at Fort Tilden. Starting at 2 p.m. this outstanding vocal group, plus live onstage backing musicians, will serve up a full slate of holiday favorites old and new in this one-show only performance.

“We love performing,” the Rhapsody Players’ John Heffernan says, “and have an excellent band,” noting that Rockaway and the RTC Theatre are favorite venues.

The Players will be performing favorites like “Sleighride,” “White Christmas,” “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” “The Most Wonderful Time of The Year,” “Home For The Holidays,” “Snowman” and “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve.” They’ll also be bringing seasonal songs from Mariah Carey (“All I Want For Christmas Is You”), Sia, Tom Petty, John Lennon, the Phil Spector Christmas album featuring Darlene Love, and Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s “Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy.” Even the band takes the spotlight to add their own holiday trimming to the show with a few well-loved jazz infused selections from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and more. “It’s a mix of rock n roll, pop and classics,” Heffernan says.

The Rhapsody Players line-up includes Heffernan, Juliette Mallon, Samantha Caiati, Colleen O’Donnell, Kiernan Hamilton and Kevin Sweeney, all talented vocalists in their own right.

The “Fabulous Band” features Steve Athanail on guitar, Tim Bayliss playing piano and keyboards, bassist Peter Zaggare, Howard Alper on drums, flute and saxophone by Matt Koza and Scott Kulick on trumpet.

Founded in 2006, Heffernan explains the original members had been singing together for years in community theater productions as part of the Narrows Community Theater, the Rockaway Theatre Company, Samaha, and Bay Ridge’s St Patrick’s Church theater group, among others. Heffernan recalls he “started singing at age seven with member Kiernan Hamilton under the tutelage of Maestro Aldo Bruschi” and sang the lead in “Amahl and The Night Visitors” at age 11.

Coming together as the Rhapsody Players and becoming a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization along the way, he says, “We decided to pool our talents and provide communities with top notch entertainment whilst raising funds for worthy causes such as schools, churches, pediatric cancer, military postage, Caring Kind Alzheimer’s, the Boy Scouts of America and people in need.” Just a few years ago that he noted they had “raised close to a million dollars for charities.”

The Rhapsody Players can frequently be found playing fundraising benefit shows, such as for St. Patrick Church and its Catholic Academy school, and Bay Ridge Cares, as well as doing a variety of indoor gigs and outdoor shows at various parks, including as part of Brooklyn’s Shore Road Park’s Summer Concert series, and other venues. They’ll be bringing their holiday show next to St. Patrick Auditorium on December 21.

Many of the Players also have a particularly strong connection to the Rockaway Theatre Company. “Many of us have been performing at RTC for 20 years and love the theater, the audience and the members of this wonderful company,” notes Heffernan, who has starred in “La Cage Aux Folles” and other RTC productions. Likewise, Samantha Caiati shined in RTC’s “The Great Gatsby,” Kevin Sweeny has appeared in several shows, and Juliette Mallon has just finished a star turn in the sold-out run of “RENT,” and each has brought their acting, singing and other talents to the RTC stage in numerous other productions there.

Musicians Matt Koza and Scott Kulick and others also have been part of amazing band ensembles for many shows. “The group have fond memories of the theater and love returning to RTC. The setting and the audiences are fantastic!!!” Heffernan says.

About the Rhapsody Players overall sound, he notes, besides the mix of holiday tunes at their most recent shows, they are best known for their “focus on songs from the ‘50s through the ‘80s, but now have expanded to include some recent popular music. Motown songs and rock and soul seem to be some of our favored material.”

While engaging their audiences and turning on the Player’s tremendous stage presence, “We like to highlight our ladies with medleys and then guy medleys and then solos and ensembles,” Heffernan said. “We hear from our audiences how incredible the singers, harmonies and band sound better than some of the original recordings.”

“Oh my gosh,” said one Broad Channel resident who has caught the Rhapsody Players shows in Rockaway and elsewhere, “they’re great. The personalities, their voices, how they blend together—just terrific. And they really pull everybody in. You just can’t help joining in and singing along!”

So for those who want to sit back, put the holiday hustle and bustle aside for a little bit just before Christmas, relax and enjoy an energetic afternoon of musical talent, reservations can be requested by calling 646-335-2710 or emailing Broadwayjack@Earthlink.net. Or just come to the Rockaway Theatre Company’s John Gilleece Theater before showtime on Sunday, December 15. Tickets are $25 cash-only per person, to be paid at the door.

As the Rhapsody Players get ready to step up to the mikes and welcome their audience for a spirited holiday-inspired performance at the Rockaway Theatre Company, Heffernan sums up by saying, “We are grateful to be able to perform here!”