Eddie Mekka Returns to Naples, 3/25

Award-winning actor, singer, dancer and comedian Eddie Mekka, who is famously recognized for his role as "Carmine 'the big Ragu' Ragusa" from the ABC-TV sitcom Laverne and Shirley, returns to Naples, Sunday, March 24 to headline TheatreZone's fundraiser Eddie Mekka...with a little Ragoo on the Side.

This lyrical, theatrical, dancing Broadway and television star captivated TheatreZone audiences as the crafty Roman slave Pseudolus in the season opening production of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum and returns to perform his nightclub act, singing with a live seven piece band songs by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, Louis Prima and many more.

Actor Eddie Mekka grew up in Worcester, Mass., and was known locally as a star gymnast, until he performed in the chorus of "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Worcester County Light Opera Company. The role led to training at the Boston Conservatory under the guidance of famed choreographer Phil Black. After that, he gave up gymnastics and moved to New York to pursue his dreams in theater.

"I taught jazz and tap and voice, and to pay the bills, I drove a cab and sold candy at Radio City Music Hall," Eddie recalls. "Three of the (Radio City) dancers had been my students. Talk about a deflating ego."

Eddie would get his Broadway break in "The Lieutenant," in the title role of Lt. Calley, earning a Drama Desk and Tony award nominations for Best Actor in a Musical along with actors Joel Grey, Robert Preston, Raul Julia, and John Cullum.

"I was 22, and at the bar at Sardi's with Angela Lansbury and Diana Rigg. I was having a Coke, and Angela Lansbury, who had been nominated for the eighth time, bought me a martini," he reminisces.

Ms. Lansbury won that year, but Eddie didn't (the Tony went to John Cullum for "Shenendoah"). "I waited for the phone to ring off the hook after the nomination, but nothing happened," he said. "I decided to pack my bags and head for Hollywood."

Three days after he landed in California, he bagged the part of Carmine in a new pilot of a "Happy Days" spin-off called "Laverne & Shirley." The show shot to No. 1 -- the "Modern Family" of its day.

The show ran eight years. On the final episode, Carmine rides off into the sunset, having achieved his dream of dancing on Broadway in "Hair." Eddie also returned to the stage from dinner theater and Broadway to film and TV (including appearances on "ER" and "24").

Broadway credits include Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers," "The Magic Show" with Doug Henning, "Damn Yankees" with Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston, and starred as Vince Fontaine in the musical "Grease."

Eddie played father to his daughter Mia onstage and off when Mia appeared with him in 2003 as Tevye's youngest daughter in "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Bucks County and Pocono Playhouses in Pennsylvania. He reunited with his "Laverne & Shirley" co-star Cindy Williams in the Broadway comedy play "It Had to Be You" in 2008.

Since July 2010 he has been appearing in a Long Island production of "Fiddler on the Roof" (his favorite role) and recently, acted Off Broadway in a one man show "My Mother's Italian My Father's Jewish And I'm In Therapy," where he plays 15 characters.

But Eddie's days as 'The Big Ragu' are never far behind. Fans still ask for him to sing the "Laverne & Shirley" theme song: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!" and he teaches the Hand Jive, a much-loved part of his "Grease" experience.

Tax-deductible show tickets are available for $150 each, which includes an open bar and a variety of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, small bites and gourmet carving stations. A pre-show reception and silent auction featuring an array of Broadway and theatre related items, including celebrity signed scripts from Laverne & Shirley and private drum lessons with TheatreZone artistic director Mark Danni that include personalized drum sticks, begins with at 5 pm followed by Mr. Mekka's two-set show at 6 pm. A live auction highlighting a walk-on acting role in TheatreZone's May production of 110 in the Shade will take place between sets.

To purchase tickets, call TheatreZone at 1-888-ZONE-FLA, 1-888-966-3352, visit on-site Box Office Wednesdays from 10 am until 12 noon or purchase tickets online at:www.theatrezone-florida.com.

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