For a group of children at the Broadway Boys & Girls Club in Cleveland, the name of the facility where they gather most days is about to take on a whole new meaning.
Two weeks before the holiday, they’ll receive an early Christmas present not in the form of a toy or video game but rather a few minutes in the spotlight alongside Broadway star Daniel Reichard, a member of the original cast of “Jersey Boys.”
The Cleveland native is back home performing “Christmas in Cleveland” at Music Box Supper Club, and he’s invited 12 lucky members of the youth club’s music program to join him during the show in a rousing song called “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” complete with choreography.
“This is an amazing opportunity for them,” said Kim Shemo, music program manager for Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio.
“A lot of times we hear ‘Broadway’ and we think New York or Times Square, but there’s no real-life connection to it. I believe this marries what they’ve heard with what they’ve experienced and what they know.”
Music figures prominently in programming at Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio (BGCNEO). Citing data showing the many educational, social and economic benefits of studying music, the clubs in recent years have worked hard to offer training and exposure to the art.
“Christmas in Cleveland,” though, is in a class by itself. This is no field trip to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, no concert by a symphony orchestra. This is an active, hands-on experience in which they’ll perform for a real, ticket-buying audience. In rehearsal, Reichard treated the children like young professionals. He led off with a serious vocal warmup and progressed to a focused run-through of the number.
“This teaches them a sense of ownership,” Shemo noted. “They’re working together and working with [Reichard] and learning not only a song but also the choreography. That’s a really, really great opportunity for our club youth.”
Club youth are indeed the primary beneficiaries of this theatrical partnership, but they’re not the only ones gaining from it. In fact, Reichard’s “Christmas in Cleveland” is a win on multiple fronts.
By sharing the Supper Club stage, Reichard is also generating awareness of BGCNEO itself. He came to admire the organization during an appearance at a different location and talks with a friend who serves as the group’s director of corporate relations. Like many nonprofits today, BGCNEO is in need of funding beyond federal sources.
“More people need to know about the Boys & Girls Clubs,” Reichard said, moments after rehearsing with the children. “It’s so clear how valuable it is. When we talk about investing in our future, this is the perfect organization to support.”
Reichard comes out ahead, too. Not only does involving Boys & Girls Club youth attract attention to his show. It also serves as a welcome dash of Christmas spice to a production worthy of special treatment.
Reichard has been performing some version of his Christmas show – a revue featuring traditional, sacred and holiday pop music – since 2006. He launched the program as an alternative to his demanding schedule in “Jersey Boys,” a hit musical from 2005 based on the real-life rock group The Four Seasons. (He originated the role of songwriter Bob Gaudio, the group’s keyboardist.) At the time, he had no idea it would be so popular, or endure so long.
The show has been a mainstay in New York City, where Reichard lives, but he’s also taken it on the road. Several years ago, in fact, he staged it at Music Box Supper Club. He grew up in a large family in Rocky River, attended St. Ignatius High School and still has many relatives in the area.
This time around, Reichard wanted to do something different. Something truly special. “I wanted to take the tradition I’ve built and share it with the hometown crowd,” he said. Hence his choice to bolster the show with a five-piece backup band, a group including drums, winds and brass.
For that reason, too, he quickly took up his friend’s offer to connect him to the BGCNEO. “I really didn’t even hesitate,” Reichard said. “I think it’s just so fun and different. For me, the goal is to have every moment be different from the next, and this seemed like such a fresh idea.”
Reichard, for one, is having a blast. The 12 young stars in his group are “so hilarious,” he said. “They’re all completely different. It’s insane how quickly kids learn.”
Now it’s just a matter of sharing that spirit with the audience, a process that shouldn’t be too difficult, now that he’s got a showstopper up his sleeve and a heartwarming new tale to tell.
If ever a holiday concert were going to hit its mark, Reichard said, it’s this edition of “Christmas in Cleveland.”
“When you do a nightclub show,” he said, “the goal is to share a sense of your life and inspire the audience to think about their own lives, to create a relationship. That’s what’s special about live entertainment, and what makes this a special moment.”
To support BGCNEO, go to donate.bgcneo.org.
What: “Daniel Reichard: Christmas in Cleveland”
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10
Where: Music Box Supper Club, 1148 Main Ave., Cleveland
Tickets: $40-$60, musicboxcle.com
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