Telepeer

Laguna Woods seniors live out their rock ’n’ roll fantasies

March 10, 2025

“Here come the jesters, one, two, three

It’s all part of my fantasy

I love the music and I love to see the crowd

Dancing in the aisles and singin’ out loud.”

Those lyrics are from Bad Company’s 1979 hit “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy.”

In Laguna Woods retirement community, 19 residents got to live out their own rock ‘n’ roll fantasy at the Sing With the Band concert Feb. 20 at Clubhouse 5, put on by the Theatre Guild.

Sure, there’s karaoke and open mic – who hasn’t done that?

But this was different.

The 19 singers auditioned to be part of the show (and apparently no one was turned down). They rehearsed with the band – Laguna Woods’ own Rock of Ages. And they got star billing when they performed on stage, with the musicians in the background (OK, so RoA lead singer Jeff Sinclair helped out with the vocals a bit). Some even came dressed for the part.

And the crowd went wild – yup, dancing in the aisles and singin’ out loud, clapping and cheering, even high-fiving the singers.

It could have been any tribute band playing at a club’s monthly dance.

Gregory Anderson belts out Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” at the Laguna Woods Theatre Guild’s Sing with the Band concert Feb. 20, 2025, in Clubhouse 5. Playing guitar are Mark Hardy, left, and Joe Ritkes of the Laguna Woods band Rock of Ages.
(Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer)

1 of 9

Expand

“There was great energy – the band and the audience,” said Madelyn Enright, who crooned “Blue Bayou,” Linda Ronstadt’s signature song. “It was a great experience to sing with a live band. The energy was just so special.”

Jeff Weissberg was a hit channeling Mick Jagger in his red sequined jacket and belting out the Rolling Stones classic “Miss You.”

“It was exhilarating,” he said.

Exhilarating, thrilling, energizing – all words used by the singers when they came off stage.

But before they hit the spotlight, many admitted to being nervous and worried about forgetting the words. Though some said they had sung karaoke in bars, this time there was no machine displaying the lyrics on a screen.

“God, I tried to remember the words! I’m so glad it’s over,” said Jean Madigan, who just turned 89 and sang Chuck Berry’s rockin’ and rollin’ “Johnny B. Goode.”

Jean Reitz was nervous before she took the stage to sing Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” (the one about thunder only happening when it rains). “I had to let go and just do it,” she said.

And she did it just fine.

“I loved it,” Reitz said. “It was very energizing and fun, especially the support from the band and the audience, ready to rock.”

Here’s what the pro had to say:

“If you don’t have experience performing in front of an audience, it certainly takes a lot of courage,” said Sinclair. “It takes chutzpah to get up and do that. If you hit a sour note, you don’t want to be known for that. I thought it was very brave of them to do it.”

Some of those who sang said they had some show biz experience under their belts

Kathleen Kernohan, who crooned “Crazy,” by Patsy Cline, said she was a professional backup singer for Robert Goulet in the 1970s and also toured with Lawrence Welk.

Penny Hanold, who also sang “Dreams,” was a professional singer in the ’80s and ’90s, she said, performing country rock and with a jazz pianist.

Stan Levin is a veteran of bands in Laguna Woods and of jam sessions outside the gates. He got the crowd moving with some swamp rock in “Green River,” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and he played a mean harmonica, too.

Gregory Anderson, a seasoned thespian, got the heavy metal thunder rolling with Steppenwolf’s classic “Born to Be Wild” (who can forget “Easy Rider”?). He’s got some Vegas experience: He said he’s been known to sing karaoke at an Irish pub in Sin City. Plus he has experience singing in his car, he said.

“It was a rush,” Anderson said of performing with Rock of Ages. “As the band started, I immediately got into the groove, and boom! I felt the music, felt the song and gave it everything I had.

“I was in somewhat of a daze, but I could see the crowd up front was enjoying it, which gave me more confidence to really deliver.”

Lou Reinitz, who just turned 88, sang the Eagles’ “Peaceful Easy Feeling.” He said he sang R&B professionally, and he still sings in church every week.

He wasn’t nervous, he said, or worried about forgetting the lyrics.

“The hardest part was walking out on stage without my cane,” Reinitz said. “And I wasn’t gonna sing a rock song with a cane.”

Looking mighty non-nervous and just like a rock star, Victoria Herbert came all decked out, from the pink feathers in her hair down to her fluffy pink house slippers. In fact, she was so not nervous, she sang two songs.

The first was the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There,” except Herbert tweaked the lyrics: Instead of singing, “I saw HER standing there,” she sang, “I saw HIM standing there” (what starry-eyed girl didn’t do that back in the day, and, heck, she probably still does that).

And instead of the line “she was just 17,” Herbert sang “he was just 70” (gotta know your audience, right?).

Herbert’s second song was the great Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee.”

“I hope to channel Janis,” she said. “She’s got a lot of soul and she sings with a lot of heart, and I hope I do too.” And, boy, did she ever.

The experience on stage “totally brought out my inner rock star,” Herbert said. “It was a dream come true.”

Singing with a live band is “kind of a bucket list thing for a lot of people,” Sinclair said. “It’s not something they do – it’s just something they always wanted to try.”

And did the pro have a favorite singer?

Yeah, sure, but we’ll leave him with his diplomatic response: “I enjoyed every singer for the courage it took to get up and do that. It’s not an easy thing to do.”

Think you got the guts to sing with the band? Sinclair and Barbara Powell of the Theatre Guild, who produced the show, are hoping to repeat the experience in the fall.

Laguna Woods seniors live out their rock ’n’ roll fantasies Orange County Register

News Details

Laguna Woods seniors live out their rock ’n’ roll fantasies

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS