April 27, 2024
Sunshine Cathedral Center for Performing Arts
www.SunshineCathedral.org
By Denny Patterson
Sunshine Cathedral Center for the Performing Arts is proud to present an upcoming Liberace tribute concert on April 27, 2024, performed by renowned impersonator David Maiocco.
A virtuoso pianist who trained classically at Boston and New England Conservatories of Music. Maiocco has been praised by critics nationwide for mastering the art of transforming into the greatest showman that we know and love as Liberace. From his signature smile and rings to the capes and feathers, Maiocco’s dedication to authenticity is uncanny.
In addition to touring the country as the musical legend, Maiocco has also appeared as Liberace on Broadway and in film projects such as Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead and Bruce Vilanch’s Keeping The Yuletide Gay: A Very Special Paul Lynde Christmas.
OutClique caught up with Maiocco ahead of his South Florida appearance to talk more about the show and what audiences can expect, as well as his favorite Liberace moments and how the superstar would be adapting today if he was still alive.
Denny Patterson: David, how excited are you to perform at Sunshine Cathedral?
David Maiocco: I am so excited! This will be my second time performing at Sunshine Cathedral, but the first time I went was with my duo show, Lee Squared, which stars me as Liberace and my friend Chuck Sweeney as Peggy Lee. We played in 2019 as part of the Outlandish Series, and what a phenomenal space. And the piano! Doing Liberace, you’re always at the mercy of the piano, and they just happen to have a spectacular piano. I love it there, so I’m very excited to return.
Denny Patterson: What can we expect from your Liberace tribute performance?
David Maiocco: Basically, I don’t do Liberace as sort of a museum tribute piece, although I go to great lengths to do the best I can to look like him. My costumes are inspired by his originals, just on my budget, and I play a lot of his arrangements that I’ve lifted painstakingly to sound exactly like him. So, you get a lot of classic Liberace that you expect. After doing this for eight years, I’ve learned that it’s great that I do a slightly different take on the character, but people who know him don’t want you to leave anything out. It’s also a very interactive show. That was always my favorite part of watching Liberace, when he would talk to the audience. As much as it seemed off the cuff, most of it was scripted, and I don’t script anything. I literally take a chance and go into the audience. Let’s make this a party tonight. So, you’ll hear lots of Liberace classics and lots of things he never played before. It’s a fun evening paying tribute to this incredible guy, and I do a hybrid of my study and love of Liberace, but I also do him as if he was still alive at 104 years old.
Denny Patterson: That’s a perfect segue to my next question. If Liberace was still alive, do you think he would have adapted to today’s times?
David Maiocco: I think he would still be a superstar, but he’s your favorite grandpa trying to make his way through the Instagram and TikTok era. What’s different, and especially in terms of LGBTQ+, he could never come out. He won that libel lawsuit in 1965, and under oath, he said he wasn’t gay and was against all that stuff. In my act, I push it without being overt. None of us needed flashcards to know that Liberace was gay, but he would never have mentioned it. That lawsuit definitely got in the way. He would perjure himself if he ever came out, so he was legally bound by that fatal choice of saying he’s against homosexuality. However, if we took that away, I think he would be thriving today. When you think about Liberace’s arrangements, he only wrote two songs in his entire life. Everything else was covering people’s material, and that’s because he loved and embraced new talent. I believe he would still be doing that today. Of course, to him, everyone was new and emerging (laughs). But again, take away that lawsuit, I truly believe he could have had that Betty White power. He would have been in Super Bowl commercials and roles in all these different film and TV projects. He would be thriving today.
Denny Patterson: Which musical arrangement of his is your absolute favorite to play?
David Maiocco: I suppose you’ve got to say what comes to mind first, so that would be “Tea for Two.” It’s very flourish-y, but within it, he interpolates the song “Nola,” he interpolates “Turkey in the Straw,” he interpolates “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” he puts a bunch of stuff into this fast two and a half minute version of “Tea for Two,” and it’s my absolute favorite to play because it’s just so silly.
Denny Patterson: What do you always hope audiences take away from your Liberace shows?
David Maiocco: I always hope that people who knew and loved him are grateful and enjoy revisiting the magic, charisma, and charm that he had with audiences. As for people who were never Liberace fans or didn’t know who he was, which is a growing number of people, I hope they had a great time and thought the show was fun and wacky. I hope they are now interested in keeping his memory and magic alive. Those are my biggest hopes.
Denny Patterson: Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?
David Maiocco: I recently did its premiere in Natchez, Mississippi for the Natchez Music Festival, a show called Classical Laughs, but it’s me doing bits of Liberace, Victor Borge, and Jerry Lee Lewis, and I do a comedic take on stories behind great composers like Chopin, Mozart, and Beethoven. I play with their music and get the audience to participate, and it’s sort of my new venture outside of Liberace. I’m going to do that show again in May in Connecticut, but other than that, I’m just loving my Liberace time. It’s fun to also do projects as myself, but there’s really nothing that I do anymore that doesn’t incorporate a little bit of Liberace because I think it’s important to keep some of these great legends alive.
Stay up-to-date and connect with Maiocco by visiting his website, David-Maiocco.com. For more information and to purchase tickets for his upcoming South Florida performance, visit SunshineCathedral.org.
