Springsteen ’78 Capitol Theatre marquee to be displayed in Asbury Park

The marquee made for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s shows at the Capitol Theatre in 1978 will be displayed at Where Music Lives in Asbury Park later this month, and in December.

When Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band brought their Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour to the Capitol Theatre in Passaic in September 1978, for three shows, it was such a big deal that promoter John Scher had a special marquee made for the occasion.

That marquee will be displayed at the Where Music Lives Exhbit and Performance Center in Asbury Park from Nov. 14 to Dec. 17, as part of the exhibit, “John Scher: From the Boardwalk to the Capitol,” which will include memorabilia related to Scher’s work as the Capitol and in Asbury Park in the ’70s and ’80s.

The marquee, which is more than 9 feet wide and three feet high (including its wood frame), was designed by Arlen Schumer and displayed at the Asbury Park Rock & Roll Museum in the ’80s. In 1991, after the museum closed, it was sold to Springsteen fan and collector Marty Venturo of Cranford, who is loaning it to Where Music Lives for the exhibit.

The marquee at one of the 1978 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows at the Capitol Theatre.

Scher will give a talk at Where Music Lives, Nov. 14, to celebrate the exhibit’s opening. I will be the moderator, and disc jockeys Dan Neer and Jim Monaghan — both formerly of WNEW-FM and now at Sirius XM satellite radio and WDHA-FM, respectively — will be among the panelists sharing memories.

Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Asbury Park Music Foundation.

Among the other items to be shown are photos and artwork by Bob Leafe, David McGough, Moyssi, Kevin Papa, Ebet Roberts and Joe Streno.

Scher, whose career dates back to the late ’60s, still promotes shows in New Jersey and New York through his company, Metropolitan Entertainment.