Spend a Romantic Valentine's Night at The Marblehead Little Theatre

MLT’s Valentine Celebration includes dancing to a live band led by
jazz drummer Charlie Vaughn

Marblehead Little Theatre’s Valentine celebration on Saturday, February 14, beginning at 7:30 p.m., offers a full evening of musical entertainment including “The Diary of Adam and Eve,” the first act of The Apple Tree by Jerry Brock and Sheldon Harnick, followed by dancing to a live band featuring jazz drummer Charlie Vaughn.

An Evening of Eden, Drinking and Dancing is the vision of the show’s director Betty Lautner to offer the audience a Valentine evening to remember. And thanks to jazz drummer and Marblehead native Charlie Vaughn and his fellow musicians, the dancing portion of the night will include classical music, swing, pop, and Dixieland.

Vaughn is well-recognized in the North Shore area. “He’s always busy playing a gig,” observed Andrew Barnett, the event’s co-producer.

Vaughn knew he wanted to be a drummer when he was 11 years old. A friend had begun taking lessons and ultimately Vaughn started taking lessons from the same teacher — Billy Flanagan, a drummer in Jimmy Dorsey’s band. Flanagan taught Vaughn how to read and appreciate music starting with the classics. But when Vaughn asked Flanagan to teach him to play jazz, Flanagan told him jazz can’t be taught - it has to come from within.

Vaughn had his own band when he was 14, played in the pit for the high school musicals and with the marching band. But he wanted more.

He followed all the big bands when they came to Roseland Ballroom in Taunton, Fieldston Ballroom in Marshfield, Wonderland in Revere, and Hampton Beach Casino. He saw Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and his favorite Stan Kenton whose drummer was Shelly Manne.

“I’d dress up in my suit and tie and they’d let me in even though I was underage,” Vaughn recounts. “I learned how to play jazz during Sunday afternoon jam sessions where I wasn’t supposed to be!” He sat in with Lou Columbo on trumpet, pianist Jack Quigley who became the musical director for Johnny Mathis, and Hoss Shurtleff whom Vaughn credits with actually teaching him to play jazz drums.

Vaughn studied with Flanagan until joining the Air Force. And, although he did audition for the Air Force Band and was selected, he decided he had signed up to be a soldier and that was what he was going to do.

In an interesting turn of events, just after basic training and before going to intelligence school, Vaughn was home on leave and was invited to sit in with Johnny Williams on piano, Jerry Mulligan and Bobby Brookmeyer. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” Vaughn said. To top it off, the musicians were getting ready for a 35-city tour across America and needed a drummer. They asked Vaughn if he’d join them. He explained that he was just home on leave. But he did get to play with them that entire week. He says, “That proved to me that I was a good jazz musician.”
Vaughn quickly realized he couldn’t afford to support his wife and family as a musician. So after the Air Force, he pursued a career in business. In all those years, he only played on two very rare occasions.

After his retirement, Vaughn was flipping through a newspaper and saw that a community orchestra was looking for musicians. He took up the sticks again and started playing with civic orchestras, swing bands and Dixieland groups.

Several years ago, when MLT was looking for a drummer for Places on Broadway, a friend recommended Vaughn. That’s when Vaughn first met Betty Lautner. She and Anne Lucas were in the audience and liked his treatment of “Bali Hai” by Oscar and Hammerstein. They asked him to join them for Irving Berlin Loves America. Since then, Vaughn has been a regular with MLT’s reviews and celebrations.

Tickets for Marblehead Little Theatre’s Valentine celebration — An Evening of Eden, Drinking and Dancing — are $45 each and can be purchased on-line at mltlive.org or in person at the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore. For more information, call the show’s producers: Andrew Barnett at 781-910-0222 and Jessica Barnett at 781-639-0624.