2013/2014 Season
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Dale Gonyea
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Pianist/Humorist/Songwriter |
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At the age of five, Dale Gonyea got up very early one morning and,
without a single lesson, spontaneously began playing the piano. His
parents were astonished because they did not have a piano. They decided
he needed therapy or music lessons. Therapy was expensive. They bought a
piano and a career was born.
At ten, Dale saw the movie West Side Story and was furious he hadn’t
written it. He is a University of Michigan music graduate who now uses
the piano as the springboard for his unique humor. It has brought him
worldwide acclaim. Named “Classic Comedian of the Year” by a Manhattan
radio station, Gonyea is also an Emmy winner, a Clio nominee, and his
song-spoof, “I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow” was Grammy-nominated for
Comedy Record of the Year. His song, "Has Anybody Seen My Heart?" was
featured in the HBO Movie The Girl Gets Moe starring Tony Danza.
He has also written numerous songs for Disney, including the Sport Goofy
anthem, “You Can Always Be Number One” and the Genie’s song, “Nothing in
the World Quite Like a Friend” for The Return of Jafar, the sequel to
Aladdin. Aside from national jingles, his songs have been performed by
Rosie O’Donnell, Kaye Ballard, Ray Stevens, among others and his Cher
parody was featured in the hit show Catskills on Broadway.
The Los Angeles Times proclaimed him “heir to the piano-comedy throne”
during the run of his solo theater piece, A Twelve O’clock Guy in a Nine
O’clock Town. During his subsequent theater piece, An American in
Pasadena, thousands were inspired to pull up stakes and move to
Pasadena.
Television appearances include Evening at the Improv, HBO Young
Comedians, TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Paramount Comedy Theater,
and as a special musical reporter on Entertainment Tonight.
Among the highlights of his career, he spent an amazing year living in
England, performing and writing for a satirical British television show
entitled, "etc".
Gonyea shared the bill with Dick Shawn at the Pasadena Playhouse and has
opened for Crystal Gayle, Glen Campbell, and Andy Williams among others.
Recently, he has been touring the U.S. with Broadway on Ice starring
Dorothy Hamill. Live appearances have ranged from Caesar’s Palace in Las
Vegas to Trump Castle in Atlantic City to Town Hall in Manhattan.
In his spare time, he ponders life's weightier issues, such as "What
makes the sky blue?" “Where does infinity end?” and "What did Ernest
Hemingway?"