The four crooners belt it out early in the show.

The Crooners Satisfies Mill Mountain Audience

Mill Mountain Theatre's latest concert event, Music of the Crooners, was met with enthusiasm by a mostly-older, surprisingly large crowd as it opened a three-performance last night on its main stage.

Musical standards that were originally sung by some of America's greatest singers were the fare, presented by four singers who have performed on the Mill Mountain Stage before, one of whom, Leonela Hernandez, is now the MMT's Education Associate.

The other signers include Devin Altizer, a native of this area, who has been in previous MMT musical productions; Nick Walker Jones, who has been in three full-length musical productions at the theatre in the past; and Maddie Mae, a former member of MMT's Apprentice Company.

The singers and their pickup band (Michael Havens, Seth Davis, musical director, and Taylor Cobb of Roanoke) brought considerable enthusiasm to a long list of songs, some from most of the five or six decades before the turn of the century. 

They were joined at one point by MMT Business Manager Larry Kufel, a man old enough to have heard most of the tunes performed when they were originally released. His smooth delivery and stage presence brought the house down. That was followed by a lovely rendition of "At Last," the Etta James classic, sung by Ms. Hernandez.

The classics included songs from Bobby Darin, Doris Day, Harry Connick, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Mel Torme and Neil Diamond, Paul Anka, Peggy Lee, Tom Jones and Vic Damone. The definition of "crooner" (i.e. "a signer, typically male, who sings sentimental songs in a soft, low voice") was less than strict, allowing some good songs by the women and some belt-it-out blues ("At Last") to be included.

It was an appreciative crowd enjoying an end-of-warm-seasons evening, masked and content.

Tickets are available today at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. by calling 540-342-5748 at $18 to $25.