Audience joins Under the Streetlamp at Strathmore

Audiences at Strathmore will have a chance to revisit that simpler time Saturday night when Under the Streetlamp performs in a doo-wop-inspired concert.

Named for the spot where doo-wop singers in urban communities would gather to make music, Under the Streetlamp was formed in 2009. Cunio, Ingersoll, Jones and Wiley are all former members of the Chicago cast of the Broadway hit, “Jersey Boys.” After their respective shows wrapped, all four men wanted to continue singing the sounds of doo-wop, Motown and old time rock ‘n’ roll.

After starring in Chicago’s first national tour of the musical from 2006 to 2010, which reveals the story behind the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Ingersoll started performing a cabaret show on his own in the Chicagoland area. Soon, he convinced some of his fellow “Jersey Boys” alumnus to join him for a few numbers toward the end of his show.

“Eventually, the show was less about me and more about the four of us,” Ingersoll said.“ ... We became really great friends and we wanted to keep doing that,” added Wiley.

After gaining some exposure in the Chicago area and filming a PBS special which aired last year, Under the Streetlamp is now touring the country.

Though now out on their own, the guys of Under the Streetlamp all said they owe their success as a group to “Jersey Boys,” the show that gave them a start.

“My career can basically be defined pre-‘Jersey Boys’ and post-‘Jersey Boys,’” Ingersoll said. “It provided the foundation for the music ‘Streetlamp’ would make.”

While the music Streetlamp makes is certainly an ode to the era of doo-wop, it’s also heavily influenced by the diverse musical backgrounds of its four members.

“We all have these stories and these experiences ... because of those experiences, we’re able to pull songs from different things,” Wiley said. “We’re four completely different performers from completely different backgrounds ... I’ll always have to probably put my tap shoes on and do a number like that.”

Wiley grew up in Adrian, Mich., and said it was his father, a dancer, who first introduced him to old movie musicals.

“ ... We watched them together,” Wiley said. “While most fathers and sons were talking sports, my father and I were talking dance.”

Cunio’s early training was primarily in singing. The Seattle native was a member of the prestigious Northwest Boys Choir which he said is “responsible for handing [him] the keys to [his] career.”

“That’s where everything traces back to,” Cunio said. “That really not only instilled a deep love for music, but it was really all about the discipline.”

While musical training started early for both Wiley and Cunio, Ingersoll said it wasn’t until high school that he began doing musical theater.

“ ... I kind of came about this late,” Ingersoll said. “[I] got into theater and choir late in my high school career.”

Unlike his band mates who all grew up in the Midwest, Jones was born and raised in Hawaii. Growing up, the Northwestern University graduate also had quite an eclectic taste in music.

“I remember growing up listening to Aretha Franklin and the soundtrack to ‘Camelot’ back to back,” Jones said.

Each member of Under the Streetlamp may hail from very different musical backgrounds, but one thing all four men had in common was the important role community played in their introduction to the arts.