By any measure, Hadden Tomes 2019 was a huge success. Unlike Gold Racquets, Tuxedo’s annual formal event focused on high-quality court tennis, Hadden Tomes is about dressing up, having fun and playing a bit of court tennis. Last year the theme was James Bond; this year guests got to dress up as their favorite music idol or band. The fun began Friday night, with Rich Mueller, Tuxedo’s highly talented guitar player, leading a multi-hour Karaoke session in the Greevy Room at the Tennis House. Multiple participants eagerly performed crowd-pleasing renditions of songs such as Take It Easy, Free Falling, Dancing Days and Hotel California. The passionate singing may have caused a few double faults on the court. There was a general consensus that Friday-night Karaoke should be seriously considered as a permanent addition to future Hadden Tomes’ weekends.
The Karaoke performances proved to be an excellent warm-up for Saturday night’s lip-synching contest. In typical Tuxedo fashion, guests and The Tuxedo Club staff went all out to dress up. Each “celebrity” received their VIP pass, then proceeded to a transformed dining room where a performance stage was the main focus. The Tuxedo Club’s General Manager (Randy St. John) and Clubhouse Manager (Dan Britts) set the tone and standard by teaming up as Wayne’s World characters Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar (see photo below).
A stage full of Slashs and Axl Roses kicked off the singing with Welcome to the Jungle. The Group included Barbara and Peter Regna, Rich Mueller, Aileen, and Chris Bruner, along with Ashley and Edward Hargroves. Many excellent performances followed, including in no particular order Robert Palmer (Steve Hellman) with back-up singers (Kathy Hsu and friends), Garth Brooks (Ernie Sink), Devo (guests from Chicago including John Iole and Ela and Jonathan Lewis), Joan Jett (Rowena Scherer), Prince (Denise Tavani), Mick Jagger (Dave Christiansen), Keith Richards (Marc Lewinstein, Todd Yannuzzi), George Michael (Josh Scherer), Midnight Oil (Charles de Casteja and friends), and many others. The closing act was an astounding performance of Bohemian Rhapsody by Will Quie (guest of the Sinks) who everyone agreed was the star of the night (see a performance here: https://youtu.be/HGZL77q6sJs).
This weekend requires the coordination and hard work of many. A huge thank you to Randy St. John and his team, including Dan Britts and Donna Blair as well as Ulysses, Blake, and Mauro. Also, many thanks to the Hadden Tome’s Committee, consisting of Kim Kilgore, Laura Tillsley and Charlie Michele. At the Tennis House, thanks to Tim Chisholm (who is still recovering from his second knee surgery this year), Conor Medlow from Chicago, Nick Jones from Seacourt and The Tuxedo Club’s most recent addition, Leon Smart, Dan Britts, and Randy St. John.
All the players competed in 12 game handicapped round-robin matches with hopes of making it into the top 16 point earners, which earned a spot in one of the (4) Finals Flights. The results are below.
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Rich Mueller, Dan Laukitis (subbing for Chris Heffernan), Josh Scherer & Leo Murphy.
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Rich Mueller & Lisa Laukitis
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Dan Britts and Randy St. John
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Dianne Christensen, Bob Wang, Jake McFadden & Chris Bruner
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Ernie Sink
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Brinkley Field and Charlie Michele
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Celebrity photos
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Serena Mueller & Marc Lewinstein
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Josh Scherer
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Rich Mueller, Chris Heffernan and David McFadden
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Dan Laukitis, George Handy, John Beam & Nick Jones
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Alexandre Gallo, Todd Yannuzzi, Arthur Tillsley, Dianne Christensen, Bob Wang, Jake McFadden & Chris Bruner Laura Tillsley & Edward Hargroves
