CONCERT PREVIEW Song-and-dance man Danza to hit stage at Stambaugh
The former TV star calls his act 'a variety show in the true sense of the word.'
By MOLLY SHERIDAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
If you're feeling nostalgic for the days when Frank, Dean, and Sammy sang and bantered for the crowd at The Sands, Tony Danza will be in town Thursday to offer his own take on the classic variety format and open The Monday Musical Club season at Stambaugh Auditorium.
"I've always wanted to do a live act like the way some of my heroes did -- the Sammy Davises, the Dean Martins, the Frank Sinatras, so I decided to try it," said Danza recently by phone from his Los Angeles home. A stage show was something the actor had hoped to add to his repertoire for a long time. When a serious skiing accident 10 years ago left him re-evaluating his life and career, he realized the time had come.
Though Danza has achieved pop icon status for his roles in television sitcoms such as "Taxi" and "Who's the Boss?," his r & eacute;sum & eacute; also boasts a number of lesser-known film projects, Broadway appearances (including critical acclaim garnered for his performance in the Broadway revival of O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh"), and a debut album, "The House I Live In," released in 2002.
To those credits he has added headlining a live song and dance show.
About the act
Backed by a four-piece quartet, Danza explained that his act is "a variety show in the true sense of the word. We dance. We sing. We play a couple of instruments. We tell stories. We get some laughs. It's just an enjoyable evening."
Dance? Sing? Tony Danza? "I'm really a late-in-life-endeavor guy. I never took any music lessons or anything like that [as a kid]," Danza admits. But after a brush with tap dancing while filming "Taxi," he was hooked and started studying seriously. "Tap dancing has really been the license that allowed me to do this [show]. Because I really figure that I'm a mediocre singer and I can tell a joke, but at least I can dance." A few voice lessons and onstage experience have polished his act. "I've been on the stage now for eight years doing it live, so give me the mic," he said with a laugh.
When the show opened in 1995, Danza said, costume changes, multiple sets, big production numbers and videotape from his television appearances weighed it down.
"It was a real march down memory lane," he explained, "but as I become better at it I don't need the trappings as much."
Looking ahead
The success of the show has been personal as well as professional. "I'm really proud of it. To see it work the way it does is very exciting to me," Danza said.
Ever looking for a new challenge, Danza has already started planning his next CD for which he may even pen an original tune. "I'm even fooling around with the ukulele now, but I'm not ready to unveil it yet."