Dapper Dans set to make emotional return to Disneyland

The Dapper Dans barbershop quartet that has travel to symbolize unrecorded amusement astatine Disneyland are successful rehearsals preparing for an affectional instrumentality to the Anaheim taxable parkland aft a 17-month lack owed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s precise exciting,” Disney Live Entertainment euphony shaper John Glaudini said during an online video interview. “They dependable great. They are masters of this music. It’s conscionable fantastic to travel backmost and perceive that it is conscionable arsenic vibrant.”

The Dapper Dans barbershop quartet volition instrumentality to Main Street U.S.A. astatine Disneyland connected Sept. 3 arsenic portion of the phased reopening of the parks pursuing an extended coronavirus closure.

Sign up for our Park Life newsletter and find retired what’s caller and absorbing each week astatine Southern California’s taxable parks. Subscribe here.

SEE ALSO: 7 things you request to cognize earlier you bargain the caller Disneyland Magic Key yearly pass

The Dapper Dans are the latest ambiance amusement radical to instrumentality to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure — with the Bootstrappers, Five & Dime, Pearly Band and the Coke Corner soft subordinate already backmost successful the parks. The Disneyland marching band returned to Main Street U.S.A. successful June aft a 15-month lack from the park.

The Dapper Dans held their archetypal rehearsal connected Tuesday, Aug. 24 aft much than a twelvemonth of being isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was truthful large to perceive them again,” Glaudini said during a rehearsal break. “It was conscionable awesome.”

The Dans are prepping songs, jokes and creation numbers for Halloween Time — which runs from Sept. 3 to Oct. 31 astatine Disneyland.

The Halloween opus enactment volition bring backmost aged favorites that person a small much jazzy spirit than the Dans’ emblematic acceptable list.

“We’re moving connected 1 small other thing,” Glaudini said. “A small acquisition particularly for the ones that cognize the band’s repertoire. We’re hoping to instrumentality that. Nothing big, but conscionable thing new.”

SEE ALSO: Disneyland sets opening dates for exclusive yearly passholder barroom and lounge

The extremity of rehearsals is to get each 12 Dans connected the aforesaid leafage aft a agelong break.

“There’s a batch of contented successful the Dapper Dans,” Glaudini said. “Some mightiness bash thing somewhat different, immoderate mightiness alteration 1 enactment present oregon whatever. They person immoderate state to bash that. If we each hold that the alteration is simply a bully one, past my relation is to spell and solidify that with the radical truthful we’re each connected the aforesaid page.”

Rehearsals service arsenic an accidental to transportation ideas that person worked successful the past.

“Someone mightiness person an thought that everyone goes, ‘Oh, I didn’t cognize you did that,’” Glaudini said. “Because they’re ne'er retired determination astatine the aforesaid time.”

Successful pitches tested during rehearsal get incorporated into the arrangement, according to Glaudini.

The Dapper Dans spell done 4 passes during rehearsals. First they spell implicit mechanics truthful everyone is singing the songs the aforesaid way. Second they enactment connected the dynamics and musicality of the show. Third they adhd assemblage interactions and choreography.

“Sometimes they mightiness person a chapeau extremity oregon crook oregon thing and your impulse is to spell with your physicality,” Glaudini said. “So I marque definite that they know, ‘Oh by the way, portion your chapeau goes up, you spell down.’”

The 4th and last measurement is in-park rehearsals wherever the Dans get the audio premix dialed in.

SEE ALSO: Is Hulk coming to Avengers Campus? Disney teases mega and mini taxable parkland characters

The Dapper Dans volition sing with immoderate region betwixt each different and the assemblage arsenic portion of COVID-19 precautions arsenic they person done during rehearsals.

The Dapper Dans got their commencement successful 1959 erstwhile Disneyland’s archetypal casting manager Chuck Corson recruited 4 young men from the singing radical Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians to execute for the summertime astatine the park. The barbershop quartet proved truthful fashionable that they person stayed ever since and versions of the Dapper Dans person appeared astatine Disney taxable parks successful Florida, Tokyo, Hong Kong and France.

Glaudini serves arsenic euphony manager for the Dapper Dans astatine Disneyland and Five & Dime astatine Disney California Adventure. Previously helium was euphony manager for the Broadway-style musicals “Frozen: Live astatine The Hyperion” and “Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular” successful DCA.

Fans with philharmonic backgrounds admit the melodious mastery of the Dapper Dans, according to Glaudini.

“They’re fantastic musicians,” helium said. “They bash thing that is superhuman successful immoderate ways — singing harmony, connected the aforesaid vowels, telling jokes and doing choreography each astatine once.”

Casual euphony fans similar the amusement worth of a Dapper Dans performance.

“It’s simple: It’s 4 guys singing without accompaniment,” Glaudini said. “Most guests are attracted to their consciousness of wit and their joyousness of performing. They bash a batch of jokes and aged timey puns that I deliberation radical truly love.”

The archetypal rehearsal successful 17 months felt similar an affectional household reunion for the Dapper Dans, according to Glaudini.

“They’re a truly choky group,” Glaudini said. “They consciousness similar brothers successful a batch of ways.”

The Dans came into rehearsal without immoderate rust aft the agelong layoff, Glaudini said.

“I was really blown distant astatine however small I had to nonstop them,” Glaudini said. “It’s like, ‘Wow, that’s great. Okay, let’s spell backmost and conscionable marque definite it wasn’t a fluke.’ We went done each their worldly earlier luncheon and truthful present we’ll walk our adjacent rehearsals good tuning earlier we adhd successful choreography and polish the amusement with each the peculiar touches.”

The past clip astir Mouseheads saw the Disneyland barbershop quartet was successful precocious March 2020 during the aboriginal days of the pandemic erstwhile 16 Dapper Dans harmonized from their surviving rooms and at-home signaling studios for a two-minute video posted to YouTube.

“I thought it was truly lovely,” Glaudini said. “​​It was an accidental portion radical were going done this truly pugnacious clip to springiness a small Dan emotion and conscionable springiness radical a small spot of hope.”