Bob Hope named him TonyBennett. Frank Sinatra called himthe best singer in the business. Judy Garland proclaimed the world needs him. Because of his charity work, he’s been renamed “Tony Benefit.”Born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the son of a grocer and a seamstress, he isalmost as well known as a painter, using his birth name Benedetto, as he is afamous crooner of tunes.
Music Theatre of Connecticutin Westport is paying splendid tributeto Tony Bennett, the man and the music, weekends until Sunday, May 6 with theDavid Grapes and Todd Olson show “I Left My Heart….”
A trio of dapper and debonairgentlemen – Christopher De Rosa, Johnny Orenberg and Jordan Wolfe – willserenade you with all his greatest hits and a few lesser known numbers as wellas share stories of the man in anecdotes and personal tales.
A three piece jazz combo will guarantee there is smoothsailing as the men of the moment, clad in tailored tuxedo perfection, go “Steppin’Out With My Baby,” encourage you to “Come Fly With Me,” croon you a “Lullaby ofBroadway,” fiddle with
That Old Black Magic,” try to “Make Someone Happy” and promise to be there “As Time Goes By.”
With polish and pizzazz, theyhopscotch across the six decades of Bennett’s career and touch on more thanthree dozen hits from his one hundred albums to share the best of this Americanicon’s songbook. From “Boulevardof Broken Dreams” to “Because of You,” “Stranger in Paradise” to “CrazyRhythm,” these classy gents help us remember why Tony Bennett has endured andis clearly “a classic.”
In honor of his 85thbirthday, in September 2011, he released “Duets II,” debuting at number one onthe Billboard 200, making Bennett the oldest living artist to reach that topspot. New generations arecontinually discovering him and the music of Cole Porter, Gershwin and JohnnyMercer that he made memorable.
Kevin Connors directs thiswonderful musical salute that ends with Bennett’s signature song, “I Left My Heartin San Francisco.” He first sang it at the Fairmount Hotel in 1961 in that cityby the bay and it has been his song ever since. Bennett claimed “That song helped make me a world citizen. It allowed me to live, work and sing inany city on the globe. It changedmy whole life.”
For tickets ($30-45), callMTC, 246 Post Road East, lower level, Westport at Colonial Green at203-454-3883 or online at www.musictheatreofct.com. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m.,Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
Jump aboard that little cablecar and “Make Someone Happy” by climbing halfway to the stars…when the goldensun will shine for you.
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