"Copacabana" dances way into Naples' TheatreZone this month
The lyrics tell the story in the song that Barry Manilow decided to turn into a play.
"Copacabana" — which the legendary singer-songwriter released in 1978 — was a hit that years later became a popular musical.
It reaches Southwest Florida starting Thursday night, in the latest TheatreZone production on the campus of The Community School of Naples.
“It’s a fun little vehicle for a story, to take this song that already had this story in it we all knew if you grew up in the '70s and listened to AM radio,” said Mark Danni, TheatreZone's artistic director.
For those who grew up after 1978, or never heard "Copacabana," it begins like this:
Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star
Tony always tended bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked from eight til four
Alex Jorth plays Tony, and Stephen, a songwriter struggling to write a musical. The Boynton Beach resident — who also performed in TheatreZone's "The Secret Garden" earlier this year — said he's up for the challenge of playing two characters.
The premise of the play is a guy, Stephen, trying to write a hit musical. It follows his thoughts to the late 1940s, as Stephen essentially builds on the original song's lyrics into a full-out production.
“It was a treat to get offered the roll," he said. "It’s a great musical show. The show is all about the music, celebrating Barry Manilow’s great songs.”
Manilow created an entire score for the play, so those "Fanilows" expecting to hear "Mandy" hopefully won't be too disappointed. It features tunes including "Sweet Heaven (I'm In Love Again)," one of the more popular songs in the musical.
Other key characters joining Jorth on stage in Naples include Haley Ondrejka as Lola and Carolina Ordonez of Miami, who plays the colorful Latina bombshell Conchita.
Ordonez said she's enjoying the role of Conchita, who she calls "a diva with a heart of gold, an aging star who's having a hard time growing a little older and realizing that some of the parts are no longer suitable for her."
Thursday night's show will be Ordonez's first performance with TheatreZone.
“I’ve always heard that Naples has a great art scene, art and culture," she said. "I saw a notice and thought, hey, it’s only a two-hour drive.
“And because I’m of Cuban descent and have a little bit of an accent, I had an upper hand in that respect. It’s been a total blast.”
While he never saw "Copacabana" on stage, Jorth said he's attended two Manilow concerts including one of his Las Vegas shows complete with showgirls, dancers and lasers.
“We’re excited to try and live up to that and present a little bit of it to the Naples audience," he said.
Danni said "Copacabana" the musical showcased even more the greatness of Manilow's songwriting.
"Every song in the show is so well written," he said. "It’s that great music that he has always had the ability to write. And here you have a whole score, a whole show written.”
'Copacabana'
When: 8 p.m. March 8-10, March 15-17; 2 p.m. March 10-11 and March 17-18; 7:30 p.m. March 11 and March 18
Where: TheatreZone, 13275 Livingston Road (just north of Pine Ridge Road), on the campus of The Community School of Naples
Cost: $50, $60 or $75
Information: theatrezone-florida.com; 239-424-9500