Scouts in Derby ready 90th annual 'Gang Show'

Valley tradition continues

Scout Endmen or joke tellers, performing “MOTHER” as a Mother’s Day tribute during the 2013 Scout Gang Show.  / Contributed photo

DERBY -  Housatonic BSA Cub Scout Pack 3, Boy Scout Troop 3 and Venture Crew 33 Scouts are preparing for their 90th Annual Scout Gang Show at 7:30 p.m. May 9 and 10 at the Derby Methodist Church Fellowship Hall.

The church is located at the corner of  Fifth and Elizabeth Streets, near the Derby Green.

The show is part old-time minstrel, part variety show and part Gang Show, in the English Scouting tradition.

Longest-running gang show in the world
First performed in 1922, and annually except for two years during World War II, the Derby Scout Gang Show has the distinction of being the longest-running show of its kind in the world. 

The late local Scouting pioneer and Derby Hall of Fame member Edmund D. Strang had several friends involved in English Scout Gang Shows and he would attend the shows when visiting there. He eventually merged the minstrel and Gang Show concepts into an unique version of the Scout Gang Show, and the rest as they say, is history.

Derby’s Scout Gang Show has been written up in Yankee and Scouting Magazines and in 1999, it was also featured on National Public Radio’s “Lost and Found Sounds” program. 
When honoring Strang and the longevity of the show in 1985, President Ronald Reagan referred to the Gang Show as “Connecticut’s finest example of controlled chaos.”

The term Gang Show goes back to 1932 when Ralph Reader was directing a Scout show in London as a way to raise money for the local Scout camp swimming pool.  

According to Reader, “One night during rehearsals word was brought to me that the title of the show had to be decided that evening so that posters could be got ready for the initial announcements to the public. We had just broken for coffee. Then 1 told one of the boys to call the cast back to continue rehearsals. As they all crowded back into the room I said to the youngster, "Are they all back?" 
He looked at me and in a Cockney voice said, "Aye, aye, Skip; the gang's all here." I stood rooted to the spot. "The gang's all here!" "THE GANG'S ALL HERE!' That's it! That was the title we had been looking for. We were a Gang and the Gang was all here. Yes sir, I thought, that's IT.”  

Gang Shows immediately took off all over the United Kingdom, and Australia and some even in the U.S. Although shows are still performed by Scouts throughout the United Kingdom and former British colonies, the Derby Scout Gang Show is the only show of its kind still being performed in the U.S.

Strang was the Gang Show director, Interlocutor and driving force for 70 years.
Troop 3 Scoutmaster Randy Ritter has been directing the show for 20 years. 
Ritter said, “The annual show allows our Cub Pack, Scout Troop and Venturer Crew to work together towards a common goal, the Scouts gain self confidence performing while learning traditional songs and we raise funds to support our Scouting activities.”

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School Senior Jeremey Lombard will be accompanying the Scout soloists and chorus as the pianist and Troop 3 Scout Matthew Moran will serve as Chorus Director.  
The "endmen" or fun men, who will be telling jokes for the show are: Michael McMahon, Steven Tracz, Dominic Livoti, Billy Kowarik, Andrew Devine, Colby McLiverty, Anthony Bartholomew, Justin Patten and Joseph Szewczyk. 

More than 100 Scouts, leaders and parents will be performing. Rodman Kneen Jr. has been directing the "stooges" who perform one-line run on gags, for more than 60 years. Kneen, whose first performance in the show was as a Cub Scout in 1932, is celebrating a remarkable 82 years in Scouting. 
Stooges in this year’s show include Crew 33 Venture Scouts Joshua Moscato, Caine Jimmo, Adam Sroka, Matthew Edwards, and Ben Grasso. It is the Stooges who will perform an ongoing gag bringing up an ever growing tree sapling throughout the show, searching for its owner, Mrs. Jones.

The theme for the show is "Ain’t We Got Fun" and will feature hit songs from the show through the years. Highlights include the Endmen with a medley of “baby” songs, Cub Scout Jackson Kellogg performing “Dennis the Menace”, Scout Michael Szewczyk singing “Carolina in the Morning” and Venture Scout Michael Shea singing “Minnie the Moocher.”
In addition, the Scouts will be performing traditional Scout Gang Show classics such as “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “Hey Good Lookin’” and “When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin’ Along.” Special guests include former Derby Mayor and current Town/City Clerk Marc Garofalo and Sarah Beth Widomski.

In addition to Garofalo, Center Stage director Gary Scarpa, former Ansonia Mayor Bill Menna, and Shelton Aldermanic President John Anglace all performed in the show as youths. 

The show's most famous alumnus is TV, stage, and movie actor Brian Dennehy, who performed "Be A Good Scout" on the same Derby Methodist Church stage in the 1948 show.

Pack 3 Webelos Scouts and Boy Scout Billy Smith, left, perform Elvis Presley’s 'Love Me Tender.'/ Contributed photo

Tickets for the show are $8 and are available from any Pack 3, Troop 3 or Crew 33 Scout or by calling 203-732-0343. 

A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. 
Proceeds help send Scouts to summer camp at Ed Strang Scout Reservation, Cub Scout Day camp and the Scouts’ upcoming three-week cross-country camping trek.

This is a press release from Troop 3 Scoutmaster Randy Ritter.

Scouts to stage 89th annual gang show in Derby

 

In 2012 Scout Gang Show Cub Scouts from Pack 3 Derby performed “It’s a Small World” with Troop 3 Scout Joe Szewczyk. / Contributed photo

DERBY - The more than 100 members of Housatonic Council Cub Scout Pack 3, Boy Scout Troop 3 and Venture Crew 33 will present their 89th Annual Scout Gang Show at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Derby United Methodist Church.

The historic church is at the corner of Fifth and Elizabeth streets, across from the Green.


Part old-time minstrel, vaudeville, and variety show, the world’s longest running show of its kind has been performed by the Derby scouts annually since 1922 (shows weren’t performed for two years during World War II).
Although the Derby show is the only one performed in the United States, Scout Gang

Shows are performed by Scout groups throughout the United Kingdom and former British colonies. The Glasgow, Scotland Scout Gang Show has been performed since 1936.

Highlights of this year’s “That’s Entertainment” themed show include “Willkommen” by Troop 3 Senior Patrol Leader and chorus director Matthew Moran, “Make Em Laugh” by Cub Jackson Kellogg and “Born to Be Wild” by Scout James Chopak.
Director and interlocutor for the show is Troop 3 Scoutmaster Randy Ritter and piano accompaniment is provided by Jeremey Lombard.
Lighting and sound are under the direction of Assistant Scoutmaster John Spinetti.

“The Scout Gang Show strengthens the relationship between our pack, troop and crew families and continues to give our scouts the opportunity to gain self confidence while learning the music from America’s past,” said Ritter, who has been directing the show for 19 years.

Award-winning stage and screen performer Brian Dennehy and Center Stage director Gary Scarpa of Shelton are among the Scouting alumni who performed in the show as youths under the direction of the late Scouting pioneer Edmund D. Strang.

The “Endmen” or joke tellers for the show include Troop 3 and Crew 33 members Neeraj Madivala, Steven Tracz, Andrew Devine, Billy Kowarik, Michael McMahon, Dominic Livoti, Aron Zamfino and Colby McLiverty.
“Stooges” performing run-on skits for the show are David Ahearn, Mike Neuendorf, John Murray, Matt Edwards and Justin Patton.
The Stooges are under the direction of Rodman Kneen, Sr. who has been involved with the show for 81 years, having first performed as a Cub in the 1932 show.

Special guests include Sarah Widomski, Derby High School student and “Derby Idol” winner Sara Poppa, and Troop 3 Committeeman and former Mayor of Derby, Marc Garofalo.

Tickets are available for $7 from Pack 3, Troop 3 and Crew 33 Scouts, or by calling 203-732-0343. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

Proceeds from the show assist Sscouts in attending Housatonic Cub Scout Day Camp, Boy Scout Summer Camp at the Edmund D. Strang Scout Reservation in Goshen and Housatonic Council Scouts attending the 2013 National Scout Jamboree.


 This post is taken from a press release.