La Rocca and Co. do their best under the conditions

The Michael La Rocca Show is thoroughly professional entertainment in an intimate 200-seat second-floor showroom in the World Trade Center Hotel. The hotel is a work in progress, with much work yet to be done. We understand it will be completed and fully operational this fall. La Rocca and company deserve to survive until then and well beyond. This could take some doing.

Seth J. Casey and La Rocca are the executive producers, with the latter also credited with staging and direction. Jeffry Williams choreographed the show, and Paul Myatt served as technical supervisor. La Rocca stars but shares the stage generously with Victoria Adams, Kimberly Foster, Erik Johnston and Brian Paul. Buzzy, a 16-year old comedian, has the sound and moves but woeful material, a brief but jarring departure from the show's Best of Broadway legit theatre approach.

"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is the opener, followed by the star's "New York Medley." He is joined by Adams in "Angel of Music," from "Phantom of the Opera," after which La Rocca sings "Music of the Night." He tells of being part of the Miss America Pageant and gets three ladies up from the audience in a mock participation.

Kimberly Foster gave a ballet interpretation of "The Illusion," from "Jekyll and Hyde." Victoria Adams did equally well with her rendition of "On My Own" ("Les Miserables") then La Rocca had his best response of the evening with "Gee, Officer Krupke." "Grease" was also the source of "Summer Nights" with the full cast in costume. Buzzy was next, preceding a well-staged medley from the film and musical versions of "Titanic," and they closed with the national anthem.

Tickets are $20, which includes two drinks. A request for donations for a sponsor's program (the show is in on a four-wall lease deal) came as a surprise. I thought it worth the tab and put my $20 in the envelope.

JOE DELANEY is a Sun entertainment critic.

archive