Oh, what a night for St. Brigid’s Church

“Oh what a night”– indeed!

Those are the opening words to “December 1963,” one of many hits recorded by music legends Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. However, the line also best describes the recent St. Brigid’s Church Fundraiser that filled every chair at the Santa Maria DiPrata Society Hall in Cranston.

People like Mel Steppo and Rich Boehm will tell you it was an event extraordinaire featuring Johnston’s own Michael Panarello, who grew up one house from St. Brigid’s Church where he used to listen to Valli’s music for hours on end and now puts on tribute show replete with the same type of falsetto voice that made Francesco Stephen Castelluccio famous.

“Michael was amazing tonight,” said Louissa Iannotti, a long-time St. Brigid’s parishioner who co-chaired the event with Cindy Pagliaro. “It’s no wonder he is in demand and has played in places like Las Vegas, New York and Cape Cod. He is becoming more and more in demand and you can see why.”

One clear sign during the recent fundraiser, as Iannotti pointed out, was “the audience participating in any way they could. The club had to flicker the lights because people just would not leave and so many wanted to talk to Michael and congratulate him.”

During Panarello’s Tribute to Frankie Valli there was a common query, “Where is he performing next?”

From the time Panarello opened his 90-minute plus show, which featured just about every hit Frankie Valli – who is still singing today at age 83 – recorded en route to his well-deserved induction into the prestigious Music Hall of Fame.

Even staffers from Ralph’s Catering, which is also a home base for the famed Johnston catering company, were amazed with Panarello’s performance and offered time-and-again how impressive he was in hitting all the high notes like Valli did when his group was first call The Four Lovers back in 1960.

Perhaps even more impressive is that Panarello – who is a foreman with the Johnston Department of Public Works – never had to check his notes during a song and as people said “this man knows every single word of every single song he’s doing here tonight.”

Panarello, who was backed by music that became The Four Seasons trademark as well as Valli’s falsetto voice, even had the legendary singer’s left hand, body movements and bows down to a science.

After all, he told the enthusiastic audience at the outset of his spectacular show: “I used to sit in my parent’s house and listen to his songs and music for six and seven hours; I have lots of memories of Frankie Valli as a young boy.”

So does Iannotti, whose sisters Barbara and Pasty came from West Warwick to take in the special show, and Pagliaro who created a Jersey Boys atmosphere on each table top for the show and even had poster – with records attached to them – printed and displayed in the St. Brigid’s Church foyer.

Even the one-sheet playbill was special.

In keeping with tradition, the even included a 60/40 split the pot that featured the line “Let’s Hang on to What You’ve Got” which is the title of another Valli hit that Panarello did during the show. Likewise, a second line read: “So that Big Girls Don’t Cry”we have a second prize.

“Cindy and I could not of been happier with the results,” Iannotti, who has headed many events for St. Brigid’s Church, said. “People are calling us saying how much they enjoyed the show and that it was worth every penny!”

She even said St. Brigid’s officials have received calls complimenting “the delicious and generous stations that Ralph’s Catering gave us. Their waiters also did a tremendous job.”

Yet another example of “Oh, What a Night” and it was in 2017, not December 1963.