Manalapan will unite for annual celebration
Micky Dolenz to headline event at recreation center
BY AMY ROSEN Staff Writer

MARK SCHOEN Micky Dolenz of the Monkees will perform at Manalapan Under the Stars, a community celebration to be held at the Manalapan Recreation Center, Route 522, on the evening of June 13.

MANALAPAN — In the mid-1960s at a time when people were going buggy over the Beatles, many teens were also going ape over a fictional television band called the Monkees.

Fans of the Monkees can have the opportunity to go bananas once again when Micky Dolenz, the Monkees' drummer who shared lead vocals with Davy Jones, takes the main stage at 8:15 p.m. June 13 during the town's annual Manalapan Day/Manalapan Under the Stars event.

Manalapan Under the Stars, presented by the Township Committee and the volunteer Heritage Committee, will be held from 4-10 p.m. June 13 at the Manalapan Recreation Center, Route 522 at Taylors Mills Road.

The community celebration will feature entertainment, exhibits, displays, vendors, strolling performers and characters, children's rides, amusements, games and a food court.

An organized sports center will welcome residents who want information about signing up for teams.

The evening will culminate with a fireworks finale beginning at 9:30 p.m.

The 16-member Heritage Committee, under the leadership of co-chairs Marty Gelfond and Hank Grassi, works hard all year to make Manalapan Day more successful each year. Gelfond's main focus is on fundraising, while Grassi coordinates the entertainment.

Gelfond has been involved with planning the event for six years and Grassi has been working on it for 10 years.

Township Committeewoman Susan Cohen, the governing body's liaison to the Heritage Committee said, "The wonderful volunteers of the Heritage Committee work very hard all year and put in a tremendous amount of time planning Manalapan Under

The Stars. Each year they strive to raise the bar a little higher to make it better. This year we are happy to have Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. We hope all residents come out and celebrate our wonderful town."

When Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith started "walking down the street" at the onset of their weekly TV show that ran from 1966-68, they not only "got the funniest looks" from everyone they'd meet, as the title song suggested, they also got the undivided attention of the many fans the show commanded.

Though viewers may not have always been able to follow the odd storylines, they enjoyed watching the Monkees' comic antics, knowing each show always led to a performance of songs composed by a multitude of successful composers specifically for the Monkees.

Many Monkees songs are among the most enduring musical pieces of that era. Songs like "Last Train to Clarksville," written for the Monkees by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, "Daydream Believer," com- posed by John Stewart, and "I'm a Believer," written by Neil Diamond, transformed this so-called fictional band into a reality when the talented performers were allowed to put their unique combination of voices and musicianship into the mix.

In a telephone interview with the News Transcript from his home in Los Angeles, Dolenz said that for his Manalapan Day performance he will perform many Monkees' favorites in their entirety as people remember them. He said he feels that is an important thing to do, but in addition he will honor the composers who gave the band life by singing some of the other songs they wrote as well.

"What I do is sort of dedicate the show to the songwriters I had, like Carole King, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Carol Bayer Sager, Diane Hildebrand (and others)," explained Dolenz. "We had amazing songwriters, so I talk about them and do their songs that they wrote for the Monkees and when I'm not doing a great big Monkees hit, I go back into my career and my life.

"For instance, I tell the story of my audition for the Monkees and I sing the song that I auditioned with, which was "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry. I tell stories about being invited to Abbey Road Studios for one of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper sessions and I'll sing one of the songs I heard the Beatles record at Abbey Road and stuff like that.

"I tell the story of Jimi Hendrix being the Monkees' opening act and do a bit of Hendrix. So if I'm not doing a big Monkees tune, I'm doing some song that has some sort of a connection to my life," he said.

Dolenz will have his sister, Coco Dolenz, at his side for the Manalapan Under the Stars performance. Coco, who has been singing with Dolenz for many years and even did some background vocals for the Monkees, will also be singing a duet with him on a new album coming out called "King for a Day," a tribute to Carole King.

King wrote many songs for the Monkees, including "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Sometime in the Morning," and one of Micky's favorites, "Porpoise Song," the theme from the Monkees' movie "Head."

When asked if he ever imagined the longlasting implications of the effect of the Monkees' TV show more than 40 years after it aired, Dolenz said that being the child of show business parents and a child star in a series called "Circus Boy," he understood the potential of the long-lasting effects that a successful show could have.

However, he did not realize the impact the show had on the American cultural landscape until he returned to the United States after spending 15 years in England working as a director and producer of television shows.

Dolenz noted, "It's not just me or just the four of us or just the songwriters or just the producers or the directors. It's a case of the whole becoming greater than the sum of its parts. And it's not something you can sort of preordain, you just do your best and you never know. If we knew in advance there would never be a flop of anything."

He said he is occasionally in touch with the other members of the Monkees, but they have all gone in separate directions. They have gotten together several times over the years for reunion tours.

Dolenz said he does not look at the Monkees as a band.

"I was playing the part of a wacky drummer on this television show about an imaginary band who lived in an imaginary house and had all these adventures," he said. "Having said that, we did go on the road, on to play and perform, and continued recording at times, but not continuously; just when someone asks if we want to get together for a reunion, and I say, 'Yeah, sure.'"

He said there are no plans at this time for another Monkees reunion. He mentioned that Peter Tork recently went through an operation for cancer and is recovering. He said the Monkees are optimistic about his recovery.

Dolenz has kept busy producing and directing over the years. He also enjoyed doing a successful radio show in 2005 on WCBSFM before the station's format was changed on the day of his 100th show and, to Dolenz' surprise, his show was canceled.

Over the years Dolenz has stayed in the public eye at many special events and through television and theater. He was featured on TV's "American Idol Gives Back" episode and recently participated on CMT's "Gone Country," which Dolenz said was not hard for him to do since his mother was from Texas and he grew up on country music.

Dolenz is currently touring with his solo show and recently kicked off a "Teen Idols Volume 2" tour with musicians Mark Lindsey, formerly of Paul Revere and the Raiders, and Peter Noone, formerly of Herman's Hermits.

Noone performed to record-breaking crowds at Manalapan Under the Stars two years ago.

Dolenz has passed the family acting torch down to the oldest of his four daughters, Ami, and his youngest, Georgia, who are both actresses.

His advice to aspiring entertainers is to "get a good lawyer, it's a tough business," he joked with his warm and catchy laugh.

Speaking of aspiring entertainers, additional Manalapan Under the Stars entertainmentwill feature local bands Speed Limit and the BJ Adams Orchestra.

Performers from Rising Stars School of Dance and Performing Arts and ICON Dance Complex will entertain on the Main Stage as well as on the Future Stars Stage, where demonstrations by Bryan Klein's taekwondo students and dancers from the Gallery of Dance will also perform.

Local radio personality Tommy G will be the master of ceremonies for the event.

Attendees are encouraged to bring donations of nonperishable foods and supplies for the local Samaritan Center.

Parking for the event will be available at the Manalapan municipal complex, Route 522; Manalapan High School, Church Lane; the Manalapan Recreation Center, Route 522; and Temple Beth Shalom, Route 522.

Shuttle buses will run from 4 p.m. until 30 minutes after the conclusion of the fireworks from the Symmes Drive commuter parking lot and the Covered Bridge adult community.

The rain date for Manalapan Under the Stars will be June 20, but Micky Dolenz will perform indoors on June 13 at Manalapan High School if it should rain. Admission will be limited to the capacity of the auditorium and will be cut off when full.

Manalapan Mayor Richard Klauber said, "The Township Committee is thrilled to be able to present its annual Manalapan Under the Stars celebration for the residents of town. I would like to thank the volunteers of our Heritage Committee for their tireless efforts to make Manalapan Day possible.

"This is a wonderful event where we can all put aside the stress and pressures of our everyday lives and come out to enjoy a good time with friends and neighbors," he continued. "This year we are pleased to have Micky Dolenz of the Monkees headlining our show and are looking forward to hearing some alltime classic hits. So come on out, have some fun and join us in our town's celebration."