Life & Music Of Bobby Darin Is Returning To Polka Dot Playhouse

BRIDGEPORT — The Polka Dot Playhouse will present Mack the Knife –The Life and Music of Bobby Darin, on Friday and Saturday, July 12-13. This will be the third engagement of the show at Polka Dot. The show sold out all four nights of its October 2001 debut, and then sold out a three-night run in December 2001.

In 1959, Bobby Darin’s hit song “Mack the Knife” was Number 1 on the Billboard charts, where it stayed for over 22 weeks.  Now, four decades later, look out, old Mackie is back with all his hits.

The musical, featuring Chaz Esposito of New Haven as Bobby Darin, takes the audience on a journey through Darin’s career from 1958 to his untimely death in 1973. Mack the Knife is a fast-paced, non-stop, finger snappin’, good time musical that re-creates the nostalgic era when Bobby Darin, the consummate performer and icon of the 1950s and 1960s, captured America’s heart. Darin’s hits such as “Splish Splash,” “Dream Lover,” “Beyond the Sea,” “Things,” “You’re the Reason I’m Living,” “If I Were a Carpenter,” and of course “Mack the Knife” recall a time when Bobby’s songs blared out of radios across the country.

Conceived and written by James Haddon and Chaz Esposito, and supported by an eight-piece band, Mack the Knife knocks the audiences’ (Bobby) socks off.

Esposito is founder and president of World Casting and Promotions, Inc., a Connecticut-based casting agency.  He has cast projects for America’s Most Wanted, Rescue 911, Pilot Pen, General Electric, MCI, SNET and Shubert Performing Arts Center.  For over 15 years, he has also performed in numerous theatrical and commercial productions, including Nathan in Guys and Dolls and Prez in The Pajama Game.

Mr Haddon, also of New Haven, is the chair of the fine arts department at Sacred Heart Academy, where he teaches music history and theory, and conducts the chorus.  He has performed as solo accompanist on piano, organ and harpsichord, and as a pit pianist and trombonist for countless musicals and shows.  He has also served as music director for several area theatres.

Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, with a matinee on Saturday at 2 pm. Tickets $25 to $30. The Polka Dot Playhouse is at 177 State Street. Restaurants and free, secure parking are nearby.  For information and directions, visit www.PolkaDotPlayhouse.org, or call the box office at 203-333-3666.