Don't touch that dial! Concert group opens with 'Stayed Tuned'

By Journal staff | Thursday, October 09, 2008

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The Rapid City Concert Association opens its season Tuesday with a nod to the early days of television.

“Stay Tuned,” presented by the musical group Five By Design, will take the audience on a musical journey through American culture from 1950 to 1966.

“It’s a retrospective of the ‘50s and ‘60s, with a television show and commercials,” said John Ellyson, president of the RCCA.

“Stay Tuned” draws upon the songs of Rosemary Clooney, Bobby Darin and Henry Mancini and TV variety shows such as “The Dinah Shore Show,” “Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall” and “Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theater.”

Songs such as “Sh Boom,” “Hey There,” “Papa Love Mambo” and “Mr. Sandman,” along with the theme music from “Father Knows Best,” “Batman,” “Gunsmoke” and “My Three Sons,” bring the small screen to life.

Five By Design, based in Minnesota, brought renewed interest in swing music with the success of its flagship production, “Radio Days,” which the group performed at the Kennedy Center. Its second production, “Club Swing,” follows the rise and fall of the big band era from 1937 to 1955.

The group has appeared on National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition-Sunday” and “Swingin’ Down the Lane.”

For more information, go to www.fivebydesign.com.

If you go

What: “Stay Tuned” television variety show musical

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30

Where: Rushmore Plaza Civic Center theater

Tickets: Individual passes are $20 for adults or $10 for students. Season tickets are $60 for adults, $25 for students; family packages are $70 for one adult with children or $130 for two adults with children; available at the civic center box office or at the door.