Lee Shapiro, Gerry Polci, Jimmy Ryan, Larry Gates and Russ Velazquez, were all members of various musical groups from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. These bands included Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Critters and even more bands and artists.
At Luhrs Performing Arts Center on April 18, these five men came together, under the name, The Hit Men and did what their name implied; they played the hits from these bands and artists.
The theater was filled — barely a seat was open as the lights went down. The night started off with a short video, naming each of the band members and explaining that this was not a tribute band, but artists and musicians coming together to play the music they loved.
After the screen went up, Shapiro took the keyboard to the far left of the stage, Polci walked up to the drums, Ryan and Gates picked up their electric guitars while Velazquez started playing on the keyboard to the far right of the stage.
Shapiro, who would turn out to be the main announcer for the band, said they were excited to be here playing and wished the audience to have a good night.
They started off by playing “Who Loves You” by the Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, already making the crowd sway.
Shapiro then said how he and Polci were a part of The Four Seasons and both were extremely excited to play the song. Ryan then said that through a college buddy of his, he got in touch with Jim Croce and played for Croce for a while. This led into the next song by Croce, titled, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”
The show followed this setup for the rest of the night. All members would have their own story to tell before they sang another song.
The stories ranged from what it was like to perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” with Tommy James to what it was like to start off a career with The Critters. Ryan even said how he got pranked into thinking he was working with Reggie Dwight. At the time he did not know it was Elton John’s real name.  Ryan also told how he got to perform with Carly Simon for a time.
 From these stories, the songs that followed were, “You’re So Vain” by Simon, “I Think We’re Alone Now” by James and “Saturday Night’s Alright” by Elton John.
After an intermission, another video was played that set the mood for the rest of the night. This video brought a sense of nostalgia to the crowd as the video described what it was like to listen to an old record player while hearing “Let’s Hang On” by The Four Seasons. The band then went into the song, making the crowd sway once more and several members of the audience could be heard singing along.
After a few more stories and songs, the band played “Grease” by Frankie Valli. In the middle of the song Polci took center stage as the screen behind flashed different colors and shapes with his drum solo. For several minutes he entranced the crowd with his playing, only to have the band come back on and finish the song.
The band then performed “Silence Is Golden” by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and “Runaround Sue” by Dion DiMucci. These songs were set apart for the fact they were performed a cappella.
Several songs later, the night came to a close with “Sherry Baby” by Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. The crowd led them off stage with a standing ovation while The Hit Men went into the lobby to sign autographs.
 Lee Shapiro, the man who had been announcing most of the night, said after the show that part of the reason the band got together was to be a reunion with each other as well as the audience that grew up listening to the music. He also said that, while they are in their fifth year, they do not have plans to quite.
“We’ll keep doing it till it’s not fun.” Shapiro said.

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