{"id":32212263979,"date":"2011-11-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-30T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/santa-wore-tap-shoes\/"},"modified":"2018-02-14T11:33:28","modified_gmt":"2018-02-14T16:33:28","slug":"santa-wore-tap-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/santa-wore-tap-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"SANTA WORE TAP SHOES"},"content":{"rendered":"

He was an accomplished theatrical pro when he was barely out of his teens\u2014not just a legend in his native Monmouth County, but a Broadway veteran of such smash hits as\u00a0A Chorus Line<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a042nd Street<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Still, David J.V. Meenan didn\u2019t stop at being an actor, a singer, and a dancer\u2014he was also a writer, a director, a producer, and an impresario who operated his own playhouse in Red Bank. As an executive at the Count Basie Theatre, he presented the world premiere of his original musical\u00a0Transatlantic<\/em>\u2014and in 1996, he hoofed his way into the\u00a0Guinness Book of World Records<\/em>\u00a0as the global champion of long-distance tap dancing.<\/p>\n

If Meenan seemed to vanish from show business at the dawn of the new millennium, it was merely due to the rechanneling of his energies into a new and fruitful endeavor\u2014with The Pampered Chef, for whom the singing \u201cBroadway Chef\u201d became the top salesperson on the planet.<\/p>\n

When the showbiz bug bites, however, it\u2019s not so easily swatted away\u2014and in December 2009, the legend emerged from self-imposed retirement to produce and direct his own large-scale adaptation of the Dickens chestnut\u00a0A Christmas Carol<\/em>\u2014with his venue of choice the Pollak Theatre on the West Long Branch campus of Monmouth University.<\/p>\n

\"\"The partnership with the Center for the Arts at Monmouth was such a happy one that Meenan himself tapped onto the stage once more in February 2011, for the benefit revue\u00a0Sing Sing Sing<\/em>\u2014and on the afternoon of December 11, Meenan returns to the Pollak with a company of 40 singers, dancers, and musicians, in the debut of the never-before-seen holiday extravaganza\u00a0Deck the Halls!<\/em><\/p>\n

The first of two Meenan musical productions to be staged at Monmouth University in the 2011-2012 season,\u00a0Deck the Halls!<\/em>\u00a0presents the dynamic star and a formidable troupe of friends in a revue that offers a fresh look at many of the most beloved holiday standards\u2014with colorful costumes and the live Royale Orchestra adding to the festive atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Presiding over the show like Santa at his workshop will be Meenan the master entertainer\u2014singing, emceeing, and (of course) tapping in a way that suggests the word \u201cretirement\u201d might soon be retired from his vocabulary. With a presentation that recalls the classic holiday stage shows and specials of yesteryear,\u00a0Deck the Halls!<\/em>\u00a0is as timeless as the spirit of the season\u2014the kind of family entertainment that never goes out of style.<\/p>\n

Meenan returns to Monmouth in March 2012 with the all-new variety revue\u00a0On Broadway<\/em>. To purchase tickets for\u00a0Deck the Halls!<\/em>, or for additional information on the 2011-2012 Performing Arts season, please contact the Monmouth University Performing Arts Box Office at 732-263-6889, or go online at\u00a0www.monmouth.edu\/arts<\/a>. To schedule an interview, please contact Eileen Chapman at 732-571-3512.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David J.V. Meenan Teams with Monmouth to \u201cDeck the Halls\u201d with Wows \u2019n Follies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,188],"tags":[],"person":[],"audience":[17],"school":[],"program":[],"class_list":["post-32212263979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-center-for-the-arts","category-great-location","audience-community-member"],"squareimage":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212263979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32212263979"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212263979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40802229255,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212263979\/revisions\/40802229255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32212263979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32212263979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32212263979"},{"taxonomy":"person","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person?post=32212263979"},{"taxonomy":"audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience?post=32212263979"},{"taxonomy":"school","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school?post=32212263979"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=32212263979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}