Stage/Toronto Fringe 2024

What: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
Where: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Ave.
When: Sun., July 7 at 3:45 pm, Tue., July 9 at 5:45 pm; Wed., July 10 at 9:45 pm; Fri., July 12 at 7:45 pm; Sat., July 13 at 2:00 pm
Highlight: Ortega’s soulful vocals
Rating: NNN (out of 5)
Why you should go: Nostalgic dancing that pairs beautifully with Billy Joel’s tunes

VIENNA by Billy Joel always makes me cry. Naturally, I was very excited at the prospect of a show dedicated to Billy Joel and his sweet, soulful tunes.

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, presented by Breakaway Entertainment, is a sort of vignette, jukebox musical hybrid following a musician’s journey from commercial fame to a quiet artistic life. The episodes are mostly dance-based numbers while Anibal Ortega, who plays the artist (who, I assume, is implied to be Billy Joel), sings and narrates his journey through Joel’s songs. There’s a tender restaurant owner for whom he falls, and a corrupt artist manager whom he seeks to take down. Ortega has a sweet voice, perfect to guide to take us through this artist’s journey.

The dance numbers are tender and work well with Joel’s soulful music, creating a nostalgic atmosphere filled with impressive dance lifts and poignant partner dancing. A couple of episodes of dialogue were a bit simplistic and sometimes got lost underneath the music — I think the piece could be stronger without them.

If you enjoy Billy Joel’s music and appreciate a good dance number, this one will not disappoint.