Tony Danza lights up Manasquan’s Algonquin June 9

He's been a professional boxer, iconic TV figure, stage actor and multi-faceted nightclub performer. Through it all, Tony Danza keeps maturing and evolving, but always staying close to the fun-loving city kid at his core.

On June 9, he brings his effervescent personality, the Great American Songbook, tales of show biz and his unique outlook on life to the Algonquin Arts Theater in Manasquan.

"Tony Danza: Standards and Stories" is the centerpiece of the Algonquin's most important annual fundraiser, the Viva Las Vegas Gala, supporting the theater's operations and its many initiatives for actors, actresses and patrons of all ages.

Ticket information is available through the Algonquin web page, and at 732-528-9211.

Also part of the fun are recognition of several longtime Algonquin supporters, an arts teacher, and - for the first time - an exceptional student. Their identities are being kept confidential, at least for now, averting the need for a "spoiler alert."

Danza's buoyant spirit stems from his constant interaction with people. The onetime Golden Gloves and professional boxer, (9-3 career record, nine knockouts, seven in the first round) still lives in New York City, a stone's throw from his old Brooklyn neighborhood.

Now in its 78th year, the Algonquin originated as a film theater, and was converted to a nonprofit performing arts center in 1994.

It seats 500, and usually keeps the seats filled with patrons for six or seven Broadway-sized productions that feature local performers, and the ongoing Orchestra and Jazz concert series.

Additionally, the theater produces a daytime education series that is open to schools, and houses a year-round performing arts academy for aspiring young thespians.

Nurturing students in the lively arts is close to Danza's heart, and one of the main reasons he's supporting the Algonquin.

"Teach a kid to act, you teach him how to live - how to listen, how to be heard, how to look people in the eye," he mused. "We've seen incredible results in kids from some tough neighborhoods...I don't think people realize how important the arts can be in a kid's life - especially kids who don't have much. Anything that helps kids."

Danza said that he saw the positive impacts of the arts during a year of teaching in an inner-city Philadelphia school, and through his efforts to bring an arts program to the New York City Police Athletic League.

Folks who fill the seats can expect the same warm, hilarious, straight-shooting character who captivated early fans during "Taxi" and "Who's The Boss?," and later ones of his daytime talk show and the stage versions of Honeymoon in Vegas and The Producers.

"Let me just start selfishly - my show's pretty good!" he laughed, recounting the new aggregation of songs and yarns that he's honed at Manhattan's famed Cafe Carlyle, as well as in San Francisco, Palm Beach and other major cabaret venues.

The amalgam has won glowing reviews. Even critics who don't grasp Danza's unpretentious style agree that his charm is in his strong connection to his audiences.

"It's more adult," he said. "I used to do shtick, and 'earn' a medley. But this is more revealing and intimate, which cabaret has to be. And what helped raise my level is my new piano player, John Otto, who played three years with Rosemary Clooney. He is magnificent, not only as a player an accompanist, but as an arranger."

Regular ticket holders enjoy pre-show refreshments and a chance to bid in a silent auction. VIP ticket holders are treated to a pre-show dinner, and a post-show meet-and-greet, which Danza says he eagerly anticipates.

"I'm probably going to end up taking a lot of selfies," he chuckled. "You want a selfie, you come on down!"

He'll sprinkle the evening with romps and ballads, and some that he says are "off the beaten path...you never know, I might have to take out my ukelele."

While he dabbles in trumpet, piano and other instruments, the uke became a passion, from an unexpected source.

"I have a thought-for-the-day calendar," Danza recollected. "One day it said, 'Get a ukelele and a chord book. Practice 30 minutes a day. You'll entertain yourself, your friends and your family for the rest of your life."

Highlights in recent appearances have included several soul-searching Sinatra classics, some Bobby Darin rousers, as well as "Out Of The Sun" from Honeymoon in Vegas, and a lilting "How About You?" that shows off his tap skills.

Danza keeps it real regularly on the streets of Manhattan, home of "The Brush."

"You know what The Brush is? That's when you brush against everyone in the city. You can't help but brush against people. In Los Angeles, you see a certain number of people a day, mostly from your car. I get into the subway, and I come into contact with more people in one minute than they do in, maybe, a month in LA."

And he keeps it going inside Alleva Dairy, America's oldest Italian specialty shop, on Mulberry at Grand Street in Little Italy, which he owns and where he routinely sets up behind the counter. It first opened in 1892.

"I'm there every day," he chuckled, "and people come in and say 'Hey, anybody ever tell you that you look just like Tony Danza?' 'Yeah, all the time.'"