CORAL SPRINGS CENTER FOR THE ARTS
CORAL SPRINGS, FL
DECEMBER 13, 2008
The last time the Tenors were here in South Florida was November 2005
at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. You can now understand how
excited I was to hear they were coming to my neighborhood. I ordered
my tickets as soon as they went on sale and was very happy to be in the
fourth row. I invited a friend from work who has heard me singing The
Irish Tenor’s praises for years. Ann and I met up with Lynette, Sharyl
and Judy form Northern Florida for a nice meal and chat at Ruby Tuesdays
Restaurant near the venue. We had a fantastic time remembering other
concerts and letting Ann know what a treat she was in for. The time
finally arrived for us to leave for the Venue. We got there just after 7PM
and the show was to start at 8PM. Sharyl needed to stop at will call to
pick up her tickets and I decided to check to see if the boutonnieres and
gifts had arrived. I am so glad that I stopped, because they had not yet
taken the flowers and gifts to the back. That done we all went inside
and said hello Karen Randall. Once inside I was glad to know that Sue
Owen was right behind me. I was speaking to one of the ushers and said
that as far as she knew we were allowed to take pictures because they
sold cameras in the lobby. Someone mentioned that we could not use
flashes, so I was in trouble because my camera just does not take good
pictures without a flash. I decided that I would just try for a couple of
pictures if my flash did not bother anyone. I just mentioned to the
usher that if she got any complaints to just tap me on the shoulder
and I would put my camera away.
Well the time finally arrived and the Maestro Eric Stern came out to start.
There were quite a few empty seats but we were there and the Tenors
were there so I was a happy camper. The guys came out and did their
first number and I was a goner from then on. They looked and sounded
fantastic. The songs were the same as on the other reviews. Most of
them were my personal favorites. This was the first time that I saw Karl
and he is a welcomed member of the group. He has a fantastic voice and
he is very funny too. I was very glad to hear LOVE ME TENDER. The guys
sang it at the first TENOR show that I attended. They did a great job with it.
Finbar as always did a fantastic job with HOW GREAT THOU ART and
I don't think anyone could ever top Anthony’s AVE MARIA. Karl on the
other hand was very good both in the singing and swaying department
with I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.
During the intermission most of us opted to move down to the empty
seats in the front and my friend and I ended up in the front row right in
front of the guys. My friend was in seventh heaven. She could
not believe how powerful their voices were. I thought my flash might
bother the Tenors, so I decided not to chance any more pictures.
Well we thought that it just could not get any better than this when it
in fact it did. The second act was even more fantastic than the first.
Imagine that. It seems that the show just started and Finbar was wishing
us a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and it was time for the encore.
JINGLE BELL ROCK/ WHITE CHRISTMAS/ JINGLE BELLS MEDLEY
was unbelievable and SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN was very humorous.
All in all The Irish Tenors were as always a joy to watch.
Sometimes I think we take certain things for granted, but at the end
of this day I had a great feeling deep down inside. I was very privileged
to meet some new friends, hook up with some old friends and see a
fantastic show by my favorite singing friends. It just does not get any better than that.
Patti Hagan
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
