Since singing the songs of The Great American Songbook of the 1940s-70s with his grandmother in Connecticut as a young man, Drew Anthony was told for many decades how much he resembled and sounded like singer Dean Martin. Martin first starred as the musical half of a comedy/music duo with Jerry Lewis from 1946-56, before starring on his own until he passed away in 1995.
Dean Martin fans will be delighted to see Anthony, a young lookalike and soundalike Dean Martin, appear in a theatrical 90 minute musical review titled “Dean Lives: The Dean Martin Story” to be performed on Saturday, January 11 in two shows at Aventura Arts and Cultural Center in Aventura and on Sunday, January 26 in two shows at Boca Black Box Center for the Arts in Boca Raton.
“It is wonderful to meet so many people in South Florida who fondly remember Dean Martin. The show not only brings people back to an earlier era of music that I personally adore, but audiences learn more about the career of Dean Martin and how his career was transformed by both meeting Jerry Lewis and going it alone as a solo act in film, on the stage primarily in Las Vegas and on television with the weekly Dean Martin variety show in the 1960s,” said Anthony, who performed “Dean Lives: The Dean Martin Story” to a sold out run of three shows last November at the Delray Beach Playhouse in Delray Beach..
Anthony performs the musical review with several actors, notably with Joe Michaels (caretaker and narrator) Abbie Montes (who portrays Peggy Lee and Marilyn Monroe), and Tom Wallek (Johnny Carson and Jerry Lewis) in the musical review.
“Many will be surprised to learn that Dean was close friends with Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn was supposed to star with Dean Martin in the 1962 film ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ that never happened for many reasons and Marilyn died that year. That is one of many unknown facts about Dean that the audience will know after seeing the show.”
Highlighting the show are 16 Dean Martin songs, notably the hit songs “Everybody Loves Somebody”, “Memories Are Made Of This”, “Sway”, “That’s Amore” and “You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You” sung by Anthony in recreating the anecdotes behind the music.
Anthony resembles a young 30ish Dean Martin and is so convincing as Martin that he uses no makeup in the show and physically talks and gazes at the audience as if Dean Martin was performing himself.
“I never ever tire of people remarking about how much I look and sound like Dean. It starts really with Dean himself, an extraordinarily talented singer who in many ways was overshadowed by his close friend Frank Sinatra.”
Anthony honed his singing earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Voice at New World School in New York, before creating a show with his own band on The Great American Songbook which he performed in New York and casinos in the Northeastern United States.
In 2006, Anthony moved to Las Vegas and after having initial success with his own show, he was recruited to become a Dean Martin impersonator in a show titled “The Rat Pack is Back.” which co-starred Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. impersonators.
Despite having success with “The Rat Pack is Back” for 15 plus years, Anthony felt a need to create an opportunity for audiences to know more about the career of Dean Martin and created his own musical tribute show.
“There is more to being Dean than singing his songs and audiences deserve to know why his career went through basically three phases. I greatly appreciate how Dean learned to evolve following the breakup of the Dean-Jerry duo for the rest of his lifetime. Very few entertainers can shine for as long as Dean Martin did and the show showcases his talent at being funny as well as singing,” said Anthony.
Drew Anthony stars as Dean Martin in the 90 minute show “Dean Lives: The Dean Martin Story” that also features a 12 piece orchestra and actors portraying Jerry Lewis, Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Carson among other characters in two shows on Saturday, January 11 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Aventura Arts and Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188 Street in Aventura. Tickets range from $45-75 and can be purchased at aventura center.org or by calling 954-462-0222
“Dean Lives: The Dean Martin Story” will also be performed in two shows on Sunday, January 26 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Boca Black Box Center for the Arts, 8221 Glades Road in Boca Raton. Tickets range from $43-63 and can be purchased at bocablackbox.com or by calling 561-483-9036.
