From the mischievous twinkle in his lively brown eyes, to the lilt in his beautiful baritone voice, Scalissi exudes the easy appeal and effortless charisma that defined Dino the performer. Like Martin himself, Scalissi is a Midwesterner of Italian heritage who too spent time in the ring as a prizefighter. Also like Martin, this pugnacious athleticism gives Scalissi an unforced command of the stage; with such a suave presence, no aggressiveness or mean-spiritedness is necessary to maintain the audience’s appreciation or adulation.
With visual and aural accuracy, and backed by the full-sounding twelve-piece Encore Orchestra, a tuxedo-clad Scalissi pays homage to Dean Martin in a manner that is both fun and believable. And when he sings “Mambo Italiano,” in Italian no less, the dynamism of Dino is alive and well as if it were channeled through the persona of Joe Scalissi.
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