Holiday Concerts at Suffolk Theater Invoke Frank Sinatra and Billy Joel

The Suffolk Theater in Riverhead will host two Holiday Christmas concerts in the coming weeks, one inspired by Frank Sinatra and the other by Billy Joel.

On Saturday, December 17, the 19-piece New Millennium Jazz Band will host Sinatra’s Birthday Bash, celebrating the music icon’s December 12th birthday, with a mix of classic and holiday songs thrown in. Then, on Friday, December 23, The Lords of 52nd Street, a group consisting of members of Billy Joel’s band, will take the stage for their “Miracle on 52nd Street” show.

Along with the music, there will be wine, appetizers and desserts available for purchase at both Suffolk Theater shows, and most importantly, the dance floor will be open.

Normally, said Steve Perrillo, band leader of New Millennium Jazz Band, the orchestra relies heavily on the Great American Songbook in its performances, while also featuring the music of both Sinatra and Dean Martin.

“We’re leaning on Sinatra,” Perrillo said of the upcoming show at The Suffolk. “That’s what we do, we do Sinatra, but because this is his birthday, we’re probably leaning pretty close to 100 percent Sinatra.”

On vocals for the orchestra will be Jim Altamore and Laura Laureano. Altamore was the voice of Sinatra in the Broadway play “A Bronx Tale,” and recently was on a full tour in France. Laureano has been featured in “Shrek the Musical” on Broadway and at Feinstein’s 54 Below in New York City. You may have spotted her in “Evita,” “Ghost” and “Dreamgirls” in Long Island theater productions as well.

Perrillo said 27-year-old Laureano is “one of the best vocalists on Long Island because of her technical abilities,” with a range that goes from Sinatra to top 40 Rock ’n’ Roll.

“She can do any single thing I ask her to do,” said Perrillo “It blows me away.”

Perrillo deemed Laureano “Long Island’s Lady Gaga,” noting her arrangements with Altamore remind him of the Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett duet special.

“Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” and “Sleigh Ride” are among the Christmas ballads on the band’s set list.

“Our goal is for everybody just to have a good time, just to relax,” said Perrillo. “We do love it when people get up to dance.”

Altamore said he performed a show with the group in 2019, before the pandemic, and is looking forward to joining the band again.

“It’s a fun evening,” said Altamore, “People can dance, they can eat and drink, and so we try to make it enjoyable for them. That’s the main objective.”

Altamore added that the set list has been designed with a focus on encouraging people to get up and dance as much as possible.

“It’s about just as a group … ensuring that the audience has a nice evening,” he said. “And the theater is great. I mean, it’s an old theater. It’s got that old school charm.”

Perrillo explained that the band launched in 2010 and has been playing Suffolk Theater since 2014. The musicians were asked to start a larger band for another theater, but eventually parted ways. From there, the New Millennium Jazz Band was born. While keeping a 19-person band running is difficult, Perrillo said he always keeps top-notch talent rotating in and out. The band even once included the late saxophonist Leo Ursini among its members. Ursini, who died in January 2020 at age 82, had performed with Sinatra himself.

“He would tell me stories about going on the road with Sinatra, and about specific songs,” Perrillo said. “I’d start a song off and he would say ‘no, let’s slow it down or speed it up’ or he would help me out in the very beginning with a very accurate presentation. So we all miss Leo. Everybody knows Leo.”

Other band members perform with Wynton Marsalis’s jazz band in Manhattan.

“My point is we do have solid top-shelf players. We look forward to this show,” said Perrillo, adding that the musicians love playing Suffolk Theater because of how well they are treated by its staff, which provides food during both the two-hour rehearsal and the show.

Most importantly, said Perrillo, is the quality of the theater’s crew, specifically those who handle sound.

“The sound equipment is awesome,” Perrillo said. “So you’re hearing us really at the top of our game and of course, the technology is up to date. When we walk in they just push a button that says New Millennium Jazz Band and all the dials move. They were all preset. So yeah, it works out well.”

The New Millennium Jazz Band performs at Suffolk Theater at 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 17, and will run two 50-minute sets, with a 20-minute intermission. Tickets are $45 to $55, depending on seating. Doors open at 7 p.m.

On December 23, The Lords of 52nd Street will take the stage for their “Miracle on 52nd Street” show. Band members Richie Cannata, Liberty DeVitto and Russell Javors, were all members of the band that recorded Billy Joel’s original albums.

Hits from “The Stranger,” “52nd Street,” “Glass Houses,” “Turnstiles,” and many more albums will be showcased. “An Italian Restaurant,” “Moving Out” and “Only The Good Die Young” are among the songs that the band will play.

“We do a regular show, plus throw some Christmas songs in there and the place is going to be decorated for Christmas and it’ll be great,” said DeVitto.

DeVitto, the group’s drummer, played with Joel for 13 years. The experience grants him the ability to play a wide range of Joel’s classics.

“I played on 11 Billy Joel albums so our setlist is quite large,” he said.

DeVitto looks forward to playing the show at the Suffolk Theater each year. In years past, Santa has made an appearance, and he hopes Saint Nick will show up again.

“It’s gonna be an exciting show,” he said. “We always play those songs like they were played in the ’70s when we started with Billy, so it’ll be an energy-packed night.”

The Lords of 52nd Street perform “Miracle on 52nd Street” at Suffolk Theater on Friday, December 23, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $49 to $59.

Tickets for both shows can be purchased at suffolktheater.com. Suffolk Theater is at 118 East Main Street, Riverhead.