Review: TONY DANZA STANDARDS AND STORIES at Sarasota Opera House

Tony Danza was undeniably "The Boss" when he sang from his soul, entertained us with jokes, played the ukulele, and tap-danced his way into our hearts. And of all places, he performed this at the Sarasota Opera House, the house of Verdi.

Mr. Danza sang classics from the Great American Songbook, cabaret-style, hence the title of his show, STANDARDS AND STORIES. The art form of cabaret is know for its open forum where the entertainer often pauses from their repertoire and injects humorous jokes and anecdotes, tells personal stories, and gives the show a feel of intimacy and warmth.

Backed by his accomplished band lead by musical director John Otto on piano, upright bass, drums and guitar, Tony started his set list with Bobby Darin's happy composition "As Long As I'm Singing". Before his next number, Tony stopped to tell the audience he thought this was his first time performing in Sarasota but he performed here years ago with comedian Don Rickles. He admitted to Goggling the Opera House and learning more about our city. He walked across the John Ringling Bridge stating it was more challenging than he thought it would be but enjoyed the walk to Lido. He was thoughtful to mention the girl at the gift shop who gave him a "38% charge" when his cell phone ran out of juice. He was quick to compliment the Art Ovation Hotel stating he never stayed at a brand new hotel before and gave a shout out to the staff who were most accommodating. Tony Danza was talking about our town, our neighbors and places in our community. He made eye contact with the audience and wasn't talking to a focal point in the back of the house. He connected with us. And we connected with him.

It's obvious Danza pays deserved homage to standards that are not overdone, so his next song up, "How Little We Know", from the Bogey and Bacall movie TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, took me a minute to remember vixen Lauren Bacall singing this steamy number and flashing that sultry stare at Bogey, while accompanied by the great Hoagy Carmichael. Tony's repertoire will do that to you - take you somewhere in time when you first heard some of these iconic songs.

Danza is very Sinatra-like in his demeanor and approach to a song - smooth, self-assured and boyishly charming. When he smiles big, you can see a little Tony Bennett in there. Ballads and standards such as "It Was A Very Good Year", "How About You", "Angel Eyes", "The Second Time Around", "Please Be Kind", were delivered with that charm and peppered with humorous stories in between. He shared that Sammy Davis Jr. was like a father to him and talked about a holiday party he attended at lyricist Sammy Cahn's home where he met a host of Hollywood's elite such as Gregory Peck, Dean Martin and director Billy Wilder. He felt he made it pretty big to be in their company but his mother grounded him by stating until he could introduce her to Sinatra, he wasn't that big. He shared a sweet memory of when he was a boy how his mother would put Sinatra tunes on when she was cleaning the house. Young Tony would help her clean and developed a passion for Old Blue Eye's songs as well. Years later Sinatra appeared on an episode of WHO'S THE BOSS and Tony got to introduce his Mom to a very attentive Frank Sinatra. Tony finally got that star rating from his mom.

Danza speaks honestly about his age and jokes about getting older, "This is the 40th anniversary of TAXI and my 50th high school reunion". He is a performer, writer, and ex-fighter who is aging gracefully, takes care of himself and enjoys where he is in life at this time. He enjoys a good joke as well and told several. One that got a big laugh was poking fun of his Italian heritage. "Why don't Italians like Jehovah Witnesses", he asks. "Because we don't like no witnesses, ya know what I mean?" he laughs. Tony surprised the audience with singing a capella a portion of Fauré's Requiem and a rap song.

Tony recently received rave reviews for his performance in the Broadway musical comedy, HONEYMOON IN VEGAS. The New York Times said his performance was "sly genius," and a "career high". We were treated to a few songs from the show and "I Love Betsy" was a favorite. He even did a rap for us and strummed a few tunes on the ukulele. He really did make the ukulele work into the American Songbook!

Danza ended the evening with "If My Friends Could See Me Now". Receiving a long standing ovation we can say, your friends did see you, Tony. And we'd like to see you more often. Come back soon!

Tony just finished filming his latest role in the Netflix series THE GOOD COP, opposite Josh Groban. Written by the creator of MONK, his role in THE GOOD COP marks Danza's much buzzed about and anticipated return to television. He plays a street smart, rule-breaking, ex NYC cop who is the father of a straight laced rule-following cop, played by Groban. Watch for this series dropping sometime in the fall.

I want to give special thanks and kudos to the very forward-thinking Sarasota Opera House for bringing the art form of cabaret to the Opera House. This elegant venue is also the host for classic movies during the summer, offering community engagement and student education and outreach programs.

For more information on Sarasota Opera House visit www.sarasotaopera.org.

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