My sister and I were raised by Irish parents, so when I saw Daniel O'Donnell coming to the Fort Lauderdale Parker Playhouse (which venue we LOVE), and as we never heard of Daniel O'Donnell, we expected to hear lots of Irish songs! What a performer! Very few Irish songs, a LOT of country & western (which we gratefully love, too), and all kinds of stories and jokes and good musicians and even a little tap dancing. I suspect he studied Irish Dancing somewhere in the past! O'Donnell is a consummate entertainer, like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were, only with an Irish twist! He doesn't seem to be well known in these parts which probably accounts for the poor turn out, but I guarantee you that everyone in that audience will never forget this guy. He (and his musicians) worked really hard, his background videos of the "old country,"his family, and the accompanying stories took all of us away from the ugliness going on in the world right now. We felt like life was better when we left the Parker Playhouse. O'Donnell's warmth, wit, family values and beautiful voice, with a wee touch of Erin Go Bragh, gave us a night to remember! I've already told my friends in other cities to check out when he'll be in their Playhouses. He didn't sing enough Irish songs to suit me, but I wouldn't change a note from the evening, my sister was dazzled, everyone around us was happy, lots of singing along, clapping, great "craci"as he said! Folks who sat nearby have travelled good distances to be there. And then, to top it off, he's from Donegal, home of my mother who was raised in Portnoo. We are now O'Donnell fans and kudos to Parker for letting the show go on! It was a special night. He's the whole package, a real live old-fashioned very talented entertainer! By the end of the evening, you feel like he's family! Sure hope he's on the lineup for next year!!!
