Singer Tony Orlando started mentioning the word “retirement” last summer, but wasn’t ready to release details or future plans.
For the new year, Tony’s talking and he’s also teary.
It’s understandable since 2024 welcomes his 65th year in show business, and he’s confirmed it’s also his “swan song,” at least for live concert performance touring.
“I can still swing the bat and get a hit, but it’s running the bases that’s not so easy anymore,” said Orlando, 79, chatting backstage Saturday following his sold-out concert at Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo.
“I love the concerts, the fans and I’ve still got the pipes for singing, but it’s the travel that’s not any fun after all these years. You’re at an airport and you have to do all of this walking and then you get to your gate and find out you have a five-hour flight delay.”
Orlando opened his two-hour concert Saturday with his retirement announcement before beginning the show.
His final concert is Friday, March 22 at Mohegan Sun Casino Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, just two weeks prior to his 80th birthday on April 3.
A news release from the casino confirmed the March 22 booking billed as Orlando’s “final concert” and included a statement from the singer who rose to fame in the 1970s with his backup singing duo Dawn, including the trio hosting their own popular CBS TV variety show.
“I am so honored that my last concert will be at my favorite venue on Earth, Mohegan Sun Arena,” Orlando said in the news release.
“My relationship with Tom Cantone, the stage crews, and staff at Mohegan Sun Arena has been flawless. I also want to thank all my friends within the Mohegan Tribe for making me feel like family, and for the opportunity to say goodbye. Thank you for making my dreams come true.”
Tickets for the final concert go on sale 10 a.m. EST Friday, Jan. 12. According to Orlando’s statement, he has played at Mohegan Sun Casino 64 times and the final March 2024 performance will be his 65th. Orlando will also be performing at the casino’s sister venues: Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls on Feb. 27 and 28 and Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City on March 16. All of these casinos and venues are operated by the Mohegan Tribe. Four Winds Casino properties are operated by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
Other select concert dates for Orlando prior to retirement include Jan. 19 at the South Point Casino Showroom in Las Vegas and March 3 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois.
Orlando told me he will invest his time gained from not touring to complete his new Broadway musical based on his life and career. Titled “Rooftop Dreams,” Orlando was about to cast the musical and had already set a production timeline, including preview performances, in early 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic put the project on hold.
“I had said in early interviews I didn’t want this musical to be a typical ‘jukebox musical’ that only highlighted my hit songs,” Orlando said.
“I worked with my younger brother David Orlando, and we created an entirely new score to go with this biographical story of my life.”
David Orlando, who is Tony’s half brother from his late father Leo Cassavitis’ second marriage, is a musician playing keyboard who tours with Tony, including performing last weekend at Four Winds Casino. Tony was born Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis from parents of Greek and Puerto Rican descent and later assumed the stage name Tony Orlando.
Tony is also familiar with time on the Broadway stage.
His first experience starring in a Broadway show was in 1980 at the St. James Theatre playing the title role of circus legend P.T. Barnum in the musical “Barnum.” And in February 1998, he tested out an earlier pre-Broadway musical titled “Jukebox Dreams,” with Tony cast as a present-day New York City taxi cabdriver revisiting his close pals who had been part of his 1950s doo-wop group. The musical played Atlantic City and Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, New York.
“Broadway and New York City are both facing challenges right now since the pandemic, but my new musical is a project I’ve believed in and dreamed about for more than a decade and the time is right,” Orlando said.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.
