Almost Elton John and The Rocket Band will perform at CityStage in downtown Springfield for four-days beginning Wednesday.
"Almost Elton John and the Rocket Band" starring impersonator Craig A. MeyerCityStage will take a step back into the 1970s for four nights beginning on Wednesday, when multifaceted performer, Craig A. Meyer, brings his Almost Elton John and The Rocket Band show to Springfield.
“I’ll be banging the ivories. Audiences will experience a night with Elton sprinkled with all the feathers and beads and platform shoes and glasses….all the great stuff from his glam days,” said Meyer, who travels with an additional four musicians and three back-up singers.
Bearing a remarkable resemblance to the legendary star along with an uncanny ability to sound like the popular showman, Meyer will take audiences on a hit-filled journey through some of the singer-songwriter’s biggest hits including “Benny and the Jets,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Crocodile Rock,” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
“And for the real Eltonphiles, we also do a few deeper cuts like ‘Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding’ and ‘Candle in the Wind,’” said Meyer.
“I also have a padded suit, full wig and a different wardrobe for what I call the contemporary Elton,” he added.
A longtime entertainer before embarking on the road as Elton, it was never Meyer’s intent to someday join the ranks of the many tribute artists in the entertainment marketplace today.
“A very dear friend of mine named Melody Knighton, who actually impersonates Lucille Ball and Dolly Parton, first suggested that I perform as Elton John. At the time, Melody was attending my vocal coaching studio to work on her Dolly Parton. But, I wasn’t hip to the idea and said ‘no’ for two years,” said Meyer.
“Then, one day I was doing a benefit in Atlanta and performed a couple of Elton’s songs, not trying to be him. During intermission, people came up to me and said the moment they closed their eyes, they could have sworn they were listening to him. So, I gave it more thought, and told myself that Elton had a great catalog of music, and even if I was singing as him for the rest of my life, that wasn’t something so bad,” he added.
So, Meyer gave his friend a call and the two of them went shopping.
“I had a residual from a film I did. It was mailbox money, not part of my budget, so I used it to get the act together. I figured no harm, no foul, if it didn’t work out. I picked up the phone and called Melody and we went shopping for my costume, then she did my makeup and helped me to get a photo shoot and demo ready. I set up a website and knew many agents and planners from being in the business over the years, and now here I am three years later and the act has exploded and I’m traveling all over the world and it’s really, really great. And, if it wasn’t for Melody, I wouldn’t be enjoying the life I‘m leading today,” said Meyer.
Meyer has been in the entertainment industry for some 35 years, leaving his mark in almost every medium from theater to film and from television to music.
On Broadway, he created the role of Clinton Badger in MGM’s classic “Meet Me in St. Louis” and toured nationally in “Cats” as Skimbleshanks, as the Red Caboose in “Starlight Express,” and as Mike Nulty in “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.”
In music, Meyer has toured internationally and recorded with music legends Barry Manilow and Frankie Valli, and has headlined for Princess Cruises around the world.
In the world of television and film, Meyer has appeared on “Will & Grace,” “Good Morning Miami,” “Family Law,” “General Hospital,” and “Fernwood 2nite,” as well as working with Alan Menken on Disney’s “Aladdin” and with Tim Rice and Elton John on “The Lion King.” His film credits include “Leatherheads” with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger, and his most recent project “Joyful Noise” with Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah.
Meyer said he had the opportunity to see Elton John in concert about three weeks ago in Atlanta.
“He is amazing and still has this incredible stamina on stage performing for some three hours. And, he is still making amazing new music like his last album that he did along with Leon Russell. I would say his music is in the same league with Gershwin and Porter, and dare I say further that it will have the longevity of Mozart and Beethoven. People 100 years from now will still be covering his tunes,” said Meyer.
“Justin Bieber, not so much,” he added.
Tickets are $40.50 and $36 and are available by calling (413) 788-7033 or online at citystage.symphonyhall.com