Tony Danza is swapping the taxicab and the tool belt for a microphone and a ukulele this weekend, bringing his live show Standards & Stories to the Des Plaines Theatre at 2 p.m. Sunday. The actor best known for starring roles on Taxi and Who's the Boss will perform favorite cuts from the Great American Songbook while weaving in stories from his own life and career.
According to WGN-TV, Danza is touring with the show and is bringing it to the Des Plaines Theatre this weekend as part of a stop that also lines up with his role as a grand marshal of this year's Chicago Columbus Day parade, as reported by ABC7 Chicago. That outlet notes Danza was first known for the wildly popular sitcoms Taxi and Who's the Boss before building out a second act as a song-and-dance performer.
The Des Plaines Theatre describes the show as combining timeless music with wit, charm, storytelling, and a dash of soft shoe and ukulele performances, per its own events listing. The venue adds that the hit live show has entertained audiences around the country, a claim echoed by Danza's touring history across multiple stops.
A Four-Piece Band and Three Decades of Stories
Danza performs with a four-piece band backing him throughout the show, according to his own website, which states that he and the band have been entertaining audiences around the country with the production. The Western Community College outlet wcfcourier.com describes the format similarly, noting that Danza performs a selection of his favorite standards from the Great American Songbook while interweaving stories about his life and personal connection to the music.
Danza has said he has been performing the show for 30 years, telling ourquadcities.com that his story about learning to play the ukulele is one of the anecdotes woven into the act. He has also described how a serious ski accident in 1993 pushed him toward pursuing work as a song-and-dance man, recalling simply, “I was in a bad ski accident in 1993.” In the same interview, he traced his tap-dancing background back to his early days on Taxi, saying, “I had been tap dancing for about 10 years, I started on ‘Taxi.’”
From Broadway Stages to Supper Clubs
Beyond the touring show, Danza has built a stage résumé that includes Broadway credits in The Producers, A View from the Bridge, and Honeymoon in Vegas, according to wcfcourier.com. He brought a version of the cabaret-style act to New York's 54 Below in May 2024, where, per a review from broadwayworld.com, he was all grace and charm at the solo show and dazzled the crowd with stories from his past as a celebrity in the 1970s and 80s between songs.
The production has also made stops at smaller venues, including the Dixon Theatre in Dixon, Illinois, and NIACC, where he appeared with his four-piece band, according to wcfcourier.com's report on that engagement. Those tour dates underscore how the show has traveled well beyond the coasts, landing now in the northwest Chicago suburbs for Sunday's matinee performance at the Des Plaines Theatre.
