STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Ray Monte, a professional drummer, musician, and son of the legendary Italian-American singer Lou Monte, will take stage center in Lorenzo\u2019s Restaurant, Bar & Cabaret at the Hilton Garden Inn Friday, Feb. 27, where he\u2019ll celebrate the music and comedy of his famous dad. <\/p>\n
The younger Monte, who recorded with his father during the 1970s and \u201980s, continues to honor his father\u2019s legacy through live performances with hits like \u201cDominick the Donkey,\u201d \u201cLazy Mary,\u201d \u201cAngelina,\u201d and \u201cDarktown Strutters\u2019 Ball,\u201d in addition to other popular tunes recorded for RCA and Reprise Records during the 1950s and \u201960s. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret that Lou Monte \u2014 who was born Louis Scaglione \u2014 delighted generations with his timeless hits until his passing in 1989. His son considers himself privileged to be able to bring that tradition to life right on stage.<\/p>\n
MORE ON RAY MONTE<\/p>\n
A drummer who studied under Sonny Igoe, Henry Adler, and Gary Chester, Ray recorded with his father and played with artists like Bucky Pizzarelli, Randy Weston, and the Conan O\u2019Brien Band.<\/p>\n
He appeared in the Broadway show \u201cMob Hits\u201d iin 2003, and performed at the 2000 Songwriters Hall of Fame Banquet. <\/p>\n
![\"Ray](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HQURYRKXJ5BTZOPS7XTGCDFEGY.JPG\")
Lois and Richard Nicotra share a light moment with Corinne Arena, senior vice president of The Nicotra Group\u2019s Restaurant Division, as they chat about Nicotra\u2019s upcoming \u201cBirthday Cabaret\u201d on Friday, Feb. 27. Singer Ray Monte will take the Lorenzo\u2019s Restaurant, Bar & Cabaret stage at the Hilton Garden Inn, performing the hits of his father, Lou Monte. (Courtesy\/Hilton Garden Inn)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n
Philanthropists Lois and Richard Nicotra, owners of the Hilton Garden Inn, are known for personally welcoming each guest to their restaurants and event venues. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe in creating moments that matter,\u201d says Lois Nicotra. \u201cPeople may count \u2018hotel restaurants\u2019 as not worth the visit, but nearly 25 years in business shows that we are here to stay and for good reason. Our culinary team attracts visitors from across the tri-state area. From spring through fall, our seasonal offerings feature fresh salad greens, herbs, and tomatoes grown on our own Nicotra Grown Rooftop Farm, making every meal as memorable as the music.\u201d<\/p>\n
The evening will also mark Richard Nicotra\u2019s birthday celebration, adding an extra layer of fun to the gathering.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis show is personal for us,\u201d said Richard Nicotra. \u201cMy grandmother and mother adored Lou Monte. Hosting his son on my birthday makes this night even more meaningful. We invite everyone to join us \u2014 uniti nella musica e nella cultura \u2014 united in music and culture, to support Italian artists and keep these traditions alive. We can\u2019t complain that no one celebrates our culture unless we are willing to come out and support performers who keep Italian culture and music alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Vintage](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/XXOXS3AEF5CT7FEMKYA5KOZALE.jpg\")
Making an appearance with the Mike Gambardella Orchestra, the forerunner of the Richmondaires, is Lou Monte, standing second from left and giving a well-known gesture. Monte’s first hit was “Darktown Strutters’ Ball,” (1954) sung in English and Italian. He is best known for “Pepino, The Italian Mouse” (1962). (Staten Island Advance)Advance<\/p>\n
HOW TO RESERVE<\/p>\n
Reserve seats by phoning Lorenzo\u2019s at 718 477-2400 extension 5. <\/p>\n
Tickets are $100 for general seating and $125 for premium seating, with both tickets inclusive of a full three-course dinner. Tickets are limited, and cabaret events often sell out, so reservations are necessary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Ray Monte, a professional drummer, musician, and son of the legendary Italian-American singer Lou…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-118258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}