Happy Holidays and Here's What's Next...

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and looking forward to a Healthy Happy New Year!

Our next show that's open to the public is at Visani Dinner Theater in Port Charlotte on Tuesday, January 5 at 7:30 pm, and Wednesday, January 6 matinee (doors open 11 am and we do our show at 1 pm after the meal.)

We love doing our shows there because, well it's just ideal. The food is great, the service is wonderful, the room is perfect, the stage is just right. We perform there on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of every month through April. Check our schedule page on the web site for the reservation number.

We've been busy adding more LOUIS PRIMA songs. Angelina-Zooma Zooma, Buona Sera, and of course, Oh Marie. (Or as Louis says, "Way Marie") Louis Prima was the ultimate Vegas Italian Guy entertainer that all the other stars, including Sinatra and Dean Martin, went to see after they finished their own shows. We're having a lot of fun with these songs, and we're glad so many people asked for them. It inspired us to get busy. We're really enjoying our new segment, "Jokes from the E-mail" where we read the best jokes that people have sent us. There are some real side-splitters. (We don't bother with the groaners, and we can't include the X-rated ones!) We've got a great Connie Francis medley too. And "Mama" in Italian. Not a dry eye, including mine.

We've also returned to one of our favorite traditions. We've been ending the show with our musical Tribute to the Armed Forces.

Hope to see you soon. (They say laughter burns calories, and I don't know about you, but after all the Christmas goodies we could stand to burn a few!)

Lemon Bay Playhouse . WE HAVE A FAN CLUB!!

What a weekend at Lemon Bay Playhouse in Englewood! We performed our Holiday Show there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and had great audiences all three nights.

It's such a treat to perform on the Playhouse stage in a real theater setting. We loved every minute, but the BEST moment was on Sunday when several of our "fans" (translated; "friends") showed up in their OFFICIAL 'DIVA AND THE ITALIAN GUY' T-SHIRTS. We were absolutely overwhelmed. We couldn't believe they had gone to all the trouble of going out and buying t-shirts, downloading our photos from our web site, and somehow getting them on the shirts. Then they all showed up wearing them. What a surprise. I just can't say enough. We are absolutely humbled by the effort and devotion that went into this project. So thank you again and again to Regina (whose idea it was), Karen (who transferred the photos to the shirts), Star (who graciously traded earrings with me by the way, because hers went so nicely with the necklace I was wearing. Then the dear heart let me keep them!), Dell & Pat (who have a perfect attendance record at our LBP shows) and our upstairs neighbor, Ali. God Bless you all. You REALLY made our day, our week, and probably our whole year.

Many thanks to all at Lemon Bay Playhouse who make our experience there such a joy. To Executive Director Jim Hanushek at the helm (and he always comes up with such glowing words about us too), to his wife Ann (whose generosity never fails as she offers up SINFUL BROWNIES AND TO-DIE-FOR OATMEAL COOKIES), and of course, many thanks to Bob LaSalle, Production Manager whose help is SO appreciated during the show, and during our set-up and tear-down.

We can't wait till next time. But it can't possibly top this magical weekend.

BE SURE AND GO TO THE LEMON BAY PLAYHOUSE WEBSITE AND SEE WHAT'S COMING UP. Their theater productions are not to be missed.

http://www.lemonbayplayhouse.com/

More Fun at Visani

Well, we completed our first Holiday Shows of the season. We performed at Visani Dinner Theater in Port Charlotte, FL last Tuesday night, and again on Wednesday afternoon for a matinee.

It was great to see friends Barbara and Frank Kelleher, (I forgot to take their picture....darn it!)owners of Turtles Restaurant on Little Sarasota Bay, where we entertained for 15 years! They also were the best man and matron of honor at our wedding in 1994. (Or as Frank, likes to say, "We were the 'best people' at their wedding.") They came to the Tuesday night show, along with many other friends and supporters.

Wednesday afternoon we had two motor coaches and several other groups represented, including the Park Hill Red Hats, Advantage Seniors, H2U (which means "health & happines to you"), Blake Hospital, and the Telephone Retirees. (I loved doing Ernestine the telephone operator for them.) And our very special guests, Nick and his mom Dee (with me in the photo above) who are our neighbors.

A great time was had by all, and I especially enjoyed singing a few holiday songs, like "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (Buddy has some special props for that one....) and "White Christmas". I think the biggest hit of the show was "Nana's Twelve Meals of Christmas" (think 'twelve days of Christmas') especially when we came around to "FIVE BIG MEATBALLS!" . Ah the holiday season has begun.

Next up, we will perform Sunday for the folks at Jamaica Bay community in Fort Myers. We look forward to seeing them again. Then on December 11, 12, and 13 we will perform our show at Lemon Bay Playhouse in Englewood. This is our fourth time at the Playhouse and we hope there will be many many more. We love those people!

So, keep your blood pressure low this holiday season, and by all means remember to have a little fun every day.