Every writer, I'd venture to guess, has, at least, one idea for a screenplay. I have a few, including an adaptation of one of soft rock's greatest hits, Rupert Holmes' "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)." I've thought about this a lot, and the biggest hurdle I'd need to overcome is deciding what tone the script should take: a romantic comedy of errors or dark commentary on love and relationships in the Internet Age. 

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Now, as strange as this idea may sound, there is precedent: in 1985, a TV movie version of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" was released, and I remember watching it on the WANE-TV late, late show as a kid. It was so cool to see the song come to life - with Manilow as main character Tony, no less. I finally got to see Tony - I mean, Barry - in concert at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in 2013, and he'll be back for "One Last Time!" on Friday, April 22, 2016.

I blogged about Manilow last time he was in town, and I noted how "genuinely, unironically awesome" I thought he was, and my opinion hasn't changed a bit. More than being a singer/songwriter, he's a performer. Case in point: he was sick during his last concert here. But a showman knows "the show must go on," and on it did. It wasn't his finest performance, but he knew a lot of people were there to see him, so he took the stage for as long as he could. I have no doubt he'll be at the top of his game for this, his purported last tour.

As I like to do with posts like these, here are my top five ten Barry Manilow tunes (in no particular order):

 

  • "Could It Be Magic"
  • "I Write the Songs"
  • "One Voice"
  • "Somewhere in the Night"
  • "The Old Songs"
  • "Weekend in New England"
  • "Looks Like We Made It"
  • "Even Now"
  • "This One's for You"
  • "Mandy" (great song, extra points for its inclusion on the Can't Hardly Wait soundtrack)

 

I've seen a lot of concerts and a lot of my favorite singers and bands. Barry Manilow is one of the few icons I've seen live, so I can't recommend catching this show enough. 

Tickets are still available and range in price from $17.75 to $167.75 (additional fees may apply). For "One Last Time!" in April, Fort Wayne will be the hottest spot north of Havana.