According to Cincinnati.com, “A song and dance man must know how to throw pizza dough – and catch it – to star in this musical.”

“Such skills are required for the lead role in ‘Buddy, the musical.’ Simmered in pasta, pizza sauce and pathos, the show tells the rags-to-riches story of Cincinnati’s emperor of pizza, Buddy LaRosa. Starting with his lone Westwood pizzeria in 1954, his empire has grown to 61 Greater Cincinnati locations annually grossing about $134 million. n the works for a year, “Buddy” runs Aug. 11-14 at the College of Mount St. Joseph theater. Proceeds go to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. ‘Children’s Hospital kept my family intact,’ said LaRosa, who never met a charitable-fundraiser he didn’t like. ‘When my oldest, Denise, was born, she had a congenital heart problem,’ he added. ‘I’ve never forgotten how the people at Children’s took care of her. She’s alive today because of them. This is a small way of saying ‘thanks.’ That generosity “is typical Buddy. That’s why he deserves to have a musical written about him,” said the show’s creator, Dick Ruehrwein. ‘He’s always helping somebody.’ Ruehrwein has spent 20-years putting musical revues and comedies on local and regional stages.”