By Alexis Algazy
When Caracella competes in Morristown Onstage, the trio won’t just be singing for the hundreds of fans in the Mayo Performing Arts Center.
Cara Ann DePeri, the Lady Gaga of the trio, is dedicating her performance of Shallow by Gaga and Bradley Cooper to her mother, Carol Ann Cella, who she lost to cancer in 2020.
The band is named after DePeri’s grandfather, Lawrence Cella (Carol Ann’s dad), who was a silent film actor even though his family discouraged his career choice.
But DePeri said she got nothing but support from her mom. “She would have been so proud of me for doing this,” she said.
DePeri will be backed on vocals and guitar by Tony Terracciano. Drummer Drew Munns, aiming for an acoustic sound, will play cajon, a wooden box on which he uses his hands, palms, and fingertips to create the beat.
Caracella was founded by DePeri in 2013-2014, with different bandmates. The current group clicked almost immediately. We would “offer to jam, and 1, 2, 3, we just started to play together,” said Terracciano.
On Feb. 23, 2022, the ensemble will compete against a dozen other acts for cash prizes and local fame. Now in its 15th year, Morristown Onstage is a fundraiser for the Morris Educational Foundation that showcases amateur performers who live, work or attend schools in Morristown, Morris Township or Morris Plains.
Vocalist and guitarist Terracciano, 27, is a Morristown resident who works as a long term elementary school substitute teacher. Munns, the 42-year-old drummer, lives in Kinnelon and is an office manager for the South Orange recreation department.
“We’re like family,” said DePeri, 42, of Caldwell. She is a guidance counselor at Cedar Grove High School.
Terracciano elaborated that his bandmates “trust each other on stage.”
Munns agreed. The band can “look at each other and know where we are going with the performance.”
Two more band members, Rob Prusso and John Murphy, won’t be performing at MPAC. They had been unavailable for the December 2021 audition.
DePeri’s mother, who taught her daughter to sing, always had wanted her to perform Shallow for an audience. When this opportunity came up, DePeri quickly said: “Let’s do it.”
MORE COVERAGE OF MORRISTOWN ONSTAGE 2022
The Morris Educational Foundation presents the 15th anniversary edition of Morristown Onstage, a benefit for the Morris School District, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on Feb. 23, 2022. Tickets are $35-$85. New this year: A raffle with $30,000 in cash prizes.
