Photos: Tony Danza Brings STANDARDS AND STORIES to Café Carlyle

If you had to pick a celebrity that exemplifies the history and entertainment eminence of Café Carlyle, Tony Danza, who just began his engagement ( May 2-6) in the legendary supper club would surely be high on your list.

Last night Tony, weaved his way through tables filled with adoring fans toward the intimate stage, looking every inch the handsome seasoned star he is, wearing a perfectly tailored tuxedo he began his night's work. Danza makes it look easy, but his well honed performance is the result of years of TV, Stage, Film, and nightclub experiences. With a personality that recalls (to me) the likability of Perry Como, the edginess of Sinatra, coolness of Dean Martin, and physicality of Cagney.... it was all eyes on Danza for the 80 minutes of classic nightclub virtuosity. Tony is the personification of the word "entertainment" He crooned through some of the Greatest tunes of the American Songbook, recanted fascinating show biz stories, played his ukulele, and did a bit of tap and soft shoe while backed by his superb 4 piece band. On opening night Tony's friend Peter Cincotti joined Tony for a tune. Peter is next up at the Cafe May 9-11 and Anthony Nunziata who was in the audience makes his Cafe Carlyle debut May 12-13. Check out the photos below...

Tony Danza is also a concerned New Yorker and has always been involved with mentoring young people. He has a new venture....

From Tony.....

In over 10 years of working with New York City's teenagers, first, in association with the All-Stars Project and then, for the last eight years with the Police Athletic League, better known as Pal, our teen acting program has interacted with over 5,000 teenagers, helping them to see a bright and different future for themselves. Now it is time for us to go out on our own.

We are very excited to announce that we have applied for and received our 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit organization, "The Stars of Tomorrow Project," a teen acting program. We have received support from Mr. Danny DeVito, Mr. James L. Brooks and The Eugene M. Lang Foundation, among others. We hope you will join them in supporting us.

We have developed solid relationships with a number of universities and colleges, including SUNY Purchase, Coppin State, among others. These colleges have been helpful in placing our kids in their schools, helping them with financing and orientation. And when our kids are accepted, our main focus is to try to make sure they graduate.

Many of you have supported our efforts through the years and we hope that you will continue that support. We must engage our young people. They so need something else to think about and get interested in. This program provides that! The proliferation of guns among our young people is epidemic. This is what we're up against and our program offers hope. We attract the kids with free acting, dance and voice, but then, we also teach them about life. Hence our slogan, "When you teach a kid how to act, you teach a kid how to act!" We intend to make stars for many stages.

We will soon be announcing our first benefit show in New York City, which will showcase the incredible talent that we find and are developing.

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff

To post a comment, you must register and login.