"Elvis" concert at Strand aims to raise funds for Arc
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Asbury Park Press
BY ZACH PATBERG
STAFF WRITER
LAKEWOOD - For the moment, Ernest Gabriele's undivided attention was to a reporter asking him questions. He gave his age, 67, where he grew up, Philadelphia, and where he lives now, a home in New Jersey for the mentally disabled.
But then, seeing the man in black wearing shades and thick sideburns a few feet away, Gabriele - sporting his own red cape and jumpsuit - re-focused.
"Elvis!" he said and ran over to slap the sweating impersonator on the back. "What's up, partner? You look sharp, man."
Gabriele, who became a fan when his mother took him to see Elvis years ago, had come Saturday with a special-needs group called Special Vacation to the Strand Theatre for a repeat performance. He now was admiring the sideburns on this particular imitator of the King, Ruben Castillo.
"They real? I'm working on mine, here," he said, touching his temples.
Castillo had just finished singing a number. About six of his fellow impersonators - collars up, drenched in cologne - mingled in the theater lobby waiting for their turns on-stage.
The three-hour concert was a benefit to raise money for The Arc, a nonprofit agency that represents those with special needs. About 500 people bought tickets.
As Robin Collins, Arc's program coordinator for the Ocean County chapter, explained: "Our clients have an affinity for Elvis."
In fact, she said, this concert fundraiser began four years ago with one act from impersonator Andrew Howard before a small crowd of clients at the agency's main office on Cedar Bridge Road. It was so popular, they moved the show to the Toms River Elks Lodge. Packing the 300-person standing-room only club, Arc raised between $1,500 and $2,500.
When even that venue grew too small, the show moved to the luxurious Strand Theatre for Saturday.
This year, Arc also joined forces with Howard Enterprises, which held an Elvis convention at the theater an hour before the show. Arranged on the vendor tables was everything from Elvis comforters and dishware to a $12 box of Elvis cologne coupled with a cassette featuring "Come What May."
Samuel Formica, stage name Sammy J., stood by one table in his white checkerboard suit, a gold ring on each finger.
"I get more joy out of this than anything else I do," he said, of impersonating. "I like keeping Elvis' name alive. I like the fans' reactions. There's a certain adrenaline rush you get that you can only find maybe in skydiving."
Formica began performing seriously about five years ago when he sang karaoke as a joke at a bar on the 30th anniversary of the King's death.
"I just really liked it," said Formica.
It seems many of the impersonators more stumbled than intended on a side-career as an Elvis double. For Andrew Howard, it was Halloween night years ago when he dressed as the rocker. He now has run these conventions for six years.
His best impersonation, however, is Johnny Cash.
"He's the man," he said. "And there's only one Elvis."