06/01/2026
Episode 32: Well, it looks like Dave Romeo is real-ly losing it now. In Episode 32 of Romeo On Shakespeare, not only does he start off by shoving in more than a dozen shameless Seinfeld references, but he goes on to mash up the lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s 1980 classic, It Had to Be You with The Comedy of Errors. This is the third time Romeo has selected the lyrics to a Frank Sinatra song for his video series. In a recent interview, Romeo commented on what it’s been like getting involved with songs by Old Blue Eyes. “At first, I was hoping that somebody from Sinatra’s organization might have an interest in my work. Day in, day out, I longed to hear something, but day by day, I grew less hopeful.
When I used Hey! Jealous Lover for the Othello episode, I didn’t hear a word. The second time around, I had high hopes about combining Stormy Weather with The Tempest, but nothing happened. I was hoping that that episode would make a dent, but I guess it was just one of those things. But then I said to myself, let me try again with another song. The next thing you know, I get a call from this woman named Bonita, who says, ‘I’m with Sinatra’s people. I apologize for not reaching out to you sooner, but I’ve been out of town, on the road to Mandalay for a month. Then, I spent a foggy day in London town, waiting for a connecting flight. Right now, I’m in New York, New York. Why don’t you come fly with me all the way out to Los Angeles to meet Frank’s daughter, Nancy? (For some reason, whenever I think of her face, I always picture her laughing.)
She’s going to be opening a new nightclub in her father’s honor called ‘LA is My Lady.’ I tried to explain to her that LA is not my kind of town, but perhaps we could meet somewhere else. She said, ‘How do you feel about April in Paris, autumn in New York, or perhaps Chicago? There’s a great karaoke bar there called The Song Is You.’ (I got the impression that she would fly me to the moon if I’d asked her!)
Time after time, she would come up with another city in which to meet, even allowing me to pick where or when, but I explained that even though I’m not quite in the September of my years yet, I don’t really enjoy long flights that much anymore. I said, ‘Why don’t we take it nice ‘n’ easy. After all, only fools rush into new ventures so rashly.’
I suggested that we meet in Hershey, PA, and explained that this town was only 20 minutes from my house and anyone who’s ever been there in the summer knows that the air smells like chocolate when the summer wind is blowing. She said, ‘Goody-goody! That sounds great. I know a terrific nightclub there located on the Street of Dreams called You Will Be My Music. It’s just down the block from MacArthur Park and there used to be a ballpark right downtown. Usually, everybody’s twistin’ by the time you get there.’
Now, I must admit that I have dreamed that something like this could happen. I asked if she was sure she didn’t mind coming out my way to meet, but she said, ‘Don’t worry ‘bout me. Besides, I get a kick out of you.’
When I got off the phone with her, I thought to myself, Oh! Look at me now! As a result of this new episode, I’ve got the world on a string! Now, you might think this story is a little bit unbelievable, but wait, the best is yet to come!
Bonita kept calling me night and day to set a time for us to meet at the nightclub. Finally, we scheduled it for Saturday night at 8 PM. Naturally, I insisted that my wife come along because I didn’t think it was appropriate for me, a man alone, to meet with this woman. After all, we weren’t much more than a couple of strangers in the night. The traffic was a little heavy, but we arrived just in time to meet Bonita and an elderly gentleman she was with named Joseph River. She was wearing these enormous golden earrings, and she ordered a drink — something with tangerine in it — and I ordered one for my baby.
When the DJ started playing the Continental, Bonita said, ‘Dave, let’s face the music and dance!’ I explained that I believe in love and marriage and I told her, ‘I won’t dance unless it’s with my wife.’ Anyway, we all went up to the dance floor together. After a while, Bonita got tired of dancing with ol’ man River and asked if we could change partners. He was very upset and left the dance floor in tears. I said, ‘Hey, don’t cry, Joe,’ but to no avail. Meanwhile, I had bigger problems to deal with.
No one ever tells you how relentless a tipsy woman can get, but I found out the hard way. I don’t want to say that the lady is a tramp, but I definitely thought she was coming on to me. It almost felt like witchcraft! The first thing she said was, ‘I couldn’t sleep a wink last night. I thought about you and I realized that I’ve got a crush on you. You go to my head. I’ve got you under my skin and when I saw the way you look tonight, my heart stood still. Oh, Dave, you make me feel so young. In fact, you’re much too marvelous for words.’ And then she looked at me with her angel eyes and said, ‘You can call me irresponsible, but I love you. What are you doing the rest of your life?’
The situation was obviously getting too close for comfort. I felt like she wanted all of me and was probably interested in making whoopee. I said to myself, ‘Something’s gotta give.’ Then, I tried to get her off the dance floor and back to our table, but she kept saying, ‘Come dance with me for just five minutes more.’
I knew I had to make sure that she clearly under-stood that I wasn’t interested in her. I said, “Bonita, I never knew you felt like this. In fact, it never entered my mind that you entertained these feelings for me. Didn’t we agree to meet just to talk about my video series and Frank Sinatra’s tunes? I don’t know where you got these romantic ideas from, but please put your dreams away for another day. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, but the truth is, I get along without you very well. I can tell that with you, it’s all or nothing at all, so please understand that I would sooner join the French Foreign Legion and go from here to eternity before I would be unfaithful to my wife. I’ve got my love to keep me warm and all my tomorrows belong to her. I’ve always been completely faithful to her. Why try to change me now?’
Eventually, she started drinking again. Then she started crying the blues in the night and said, ‘I’ve always felt that you’re nobody ‘til somebody loves you. My long-term boyfriend and I recently broke up. It happened in Monterey and I guess I wish I were in love again. I realize now that I don’t stand a ghost of a chance with you and I understand that I’m a fool to want you but I’m beginning to see the light.’
She started pouting and I said, ‘Don’t be that way. Please understand that this is not a lifestyle for me. The last thing I want to do is to stay out in the wee small hours of the morning when I could be back home at the house I live in with my wife. Look, I’ve already finished the last episode I’m doing with a Frank Sinatra song, so they can’t take that away from me. And even before all this happened, it was a very good year, so I have no regrets. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, Bonita, but can’t we be friends? If not, I’ll understand.’
I wouldn’t exactly call it my shining hour, but I did the best I could to let her down easy and hoped I didn’t say something stupid in the process. I asked her, ‘Why don’t you pick yourself up and dream of the day when love is just around the corner and before you know it, I’m sure you’ll start to get happy again?’ At that point, I thought it best to leave, so I just said, ‘Please give my regards to Nancy with the laughing face. I’ll be seeing you.’ ‘Goodbye (she says quietly).’” (By the way, this write-up includes 112 Frank Sinatra song titles — another new record!)
