Barry Manilow's COPACABANA plays at the Community Center Theater through February 4

    I certainly wasn't disappointed and neither was the opening night audience as the production sang and danced its way into their hearts with a plot taken from the lyrics of the song.
 

Darcie Roberts stars as Lola in COPACABANA.

    The song opens, "Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl..." - That pretty much sums up the plot, as COPACABANA follows Lola (Darcie Roberts) arriving in New York in 1947 with the dream of being a Copa Girl. Piano player Tony (Franc D'Ambrosio) helps her...and falls in love with her...and, of course, eventually has to rescue her from Rico Castelli (Philip Hernandez), a mobster who has spirited her off to Havana to star at his club, The Tropicana.

    We are delightfully teased as the show opens in the present day on Stephen (also played by D'Ambrosio), a struggling songwriter, as he's trying to hammer out a hit on his electric piano and drum machine. "Her name was...something..." - He can't quite get it, but eventually does and he begins imagining the whole story of Lola, Tony and the Copacabana Club.

    While we hear bits and pieces of the song here and there, the audience has to wait until the very end to see (and hear) the full-blown production number of "Copacabana" - and it's well worth the wait. Other notable songs that will stick in your mind include, "Sweet Heaven," and Lola's audition tune, "Man Wanted," which is truly terrible until Tony picks up its tempo and tells Lola not to sing it in the "mating position" on top of the piano.

    D'Ambrosio and Roberts have a good on-stage chemistry and Roberts' voice is as lovely as you will hear. She also played the part of Lola in the Broadway production. D'Ambrosio comes to the national tour after starring for six years in the San Francisco production of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.
 

The Cast of COPACABANA (partial)

Stephen/Tony - Franc D'Ambrosio	Lola - Darcie Roberts	Maitre D' - Adam Pelty
Willy - Thom Christopher Warren	Coat Check Girl - Karyn Overstreet	Gladys Murphy - Beth McVey
Sam Silver - Dale Radunz	Rico Castelli - Philip Hernandez	Conchita Alvarez - Terry Burrell
Luis - Dennis Stowe	Skip - Ted Benfalvi	Tropicana Showgirl - Vicky Lambert

    Hernandez plays a perfect Rico and the rest of the main supporting cast Terry Burrell (Conchita), Beth McVey (Gladys) and Dale Radunz (Sam) add a perfect blend to the production to make it an overall delight to watch.

    COPACABANA is one you won't want to miss. If the music and dancing doesn't grab your fancy, the love story of Lola and Tony will.

    Barry Manilow's COPACABANA plays at the Sacramento Community Center Theater January 30 through February 4, 2001. Tickets are priced at $10-$65. For ticket information, call the Sacramento Community Center theater box office (916) 264-5181, Wells Fargo Pavilion box office (916) 557-1999, or Tickets.com (916) 766-2277. Additional information is available at California Musical Theatre's web site at: www.CaliforniaMusicalTheatre.com.