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All smiles and wearing dress pants, a winter jacket and shirt, Tony Danza and an entourage of A&E producers walked into Furness High School’s auditorium Jan. 14, where the choir was rehearsing.
“Hi, I’m Tony Danza,” the 58-year-old actor/singer/dancer said to the 10th- through 12th-graders and their music teacher Ryan Miller, who was at the piano.
Perhaps the famous star of the hit comedies “Taxi” and “Who’s the Boss?” felt the need to introduce himself because the kids before him were barely out of diapers when his sitcoms first hit television.
Danza dropped by to give the students a pep talk and see how rehearsal was going for the show “ExtravaDanza!” set for 7:30 tonight at Northeast High School, 1601 Cottman Ave., where the star has been co-teaching English to 26 sophomores since August for the reality show, “Teach.” The Brooklyn native holds a bachelor’s degree in history education from the University of Dubuque.
The 30-student Furness choir will perform “Seasons of Love” from “Rent” in the musical/dance show that will have the star tap dancing and singing. Students selected the song they wanted to perform and have been rehearsing daily since the fall. Pupils from George Washington High, 10175 Bustleton Ave., and Northeast also will be singing a Broadway number and taking the stage between Danza’s numbers.
“They are definitely excited,” Miller said. “They are really looking forward to singing. Most of these kids, they have never sung in choirs before. It’s a new, exciting experience.”
Tenor Chaun Evanson, 19, from the 1700 block of Conestoga Street, can’t believe he even met Danza last week much less be in his show.
“My mom, she is the reason I know about Tony Danza. My mom and dad watched ‘Taxi’ and we have ‘Angel in the Outfield’ [starring Danza] on VHS,” Evanson said.
Seeing the star walk in the auditorium made the teen “very nervous. My palms were sweaty, my knees were shaking,” he said with a laugh. “I never thought I’d see Tony Danza or any type of star.”
Fellow tenor and senior Kavon Cooper, 18, from Sixth and Wolf streets, had a similar reaction.
“I was mesmerized because it was Tony Danza. I had butterflies and stuff,” Cooper said.
The teen said watched “Taxi” in reruns and, though he’s never seen “Who’s the Boss?,” he’s heard of it. In addition to those shows, Danza had a New York-based daily talk show called “The Tony Danza Show.”
In the fall, Furness, along with students from Northeast and Washington, were selected by Danza and A&E producers to participate in “ExtravaDanza!” after all three schools were in the running for the filming of “Teach.”
Last spring, Danza and producers visited Furness, 1900 S. Third St., to scout the location, Principal Tim McKenna said.
“We toured the school and talked about all the exciting things going on here,” he said.
But the star and his crew decided on Northeast. McKenna said he doesn’t know why Furness was selected as a contender nor why it was passed over, and the School District of Philadelphia did not return phone calls to the Review.
Despite not choosing Furness for “Teach,” Danza made a promise to the school — something that impressed its principal.
“He made a commitment to stay in touch with us and work with us to support our school even though he was not going to be filming ‘Teach’ here. We’re just excited about [‘ExtravaDanza!’]. It’s a unique opportunity for our students.
“Tony has been very gracious. He made a commitment to me to not forget about our school and he has not forgotten about us,” McKenna said.
Participating in “ExtravaDanza!” was important to Furness, especially since this school year marks the launch of its new music program, which has three components: Music technology, intro to music and chorus.
“Of course we wanted to participate because we just started a music program this year. We had no music program when I took the school over 16 months ago. I believe we need more of the arts. I believe we need more art to help the students become well-rounded students. Music is an important part of education for a high school student,” McKenna said.
Proceeds from the $12-a-ticket show will be split between the participating institutions to support school-related programs. Furness’ principal already knows where their lot is going.
“We need to upgrade the sound system in the auditorium. It’s outdated. That will help with the new music program at Furness,” McKenna said.
Any student who wanted to join the choir had to audition. Evanson remembers part of that process calling for him and the others to sing the traditional scale “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do.” Evanson, who sang in his elementary school choir at St. Cyprian in West Philly, passed with flying colors.
“I really wanted to see if I could still have a voice. Your voice changes from elementary school,” he said of why he wanted to sing for Furness.
Cooper, who has sung for about seven years in his church choir, Memorial Gospel Crusades Church in West Philly, simply wanted to develop his pipes.
“I wanted to try and bring my voice out, so for the most part it’s been helping it,” Cooper said of his Furness experience.
The two are looking forward to tonight’s performance that they hope will be a memorable event for all who attend.
“I am excited. I’m not nervous. I can’t wait. I’m going to have family and friends there,” Cooper said.
“I feel excited. I feel awesome. It’s an honor to be working with [Danza] with his talent. It’s amazing knowing that we are performing with him and he’s performing with us. It makes the City of Brotherly Love look good. It makes me happy and the City of Philadelphia [too],” Evanson said.
Tickets for $12 each for the 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 show “ExtravaDanza!” may be purchased at the door of Northeast High School, 1601 Cottman Ave., starting at 5:45 p.m.
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