Singing Irishman hits Iowa stage

An Irishman who watched “The Sopranos” to learn to sing like a New Yorker hits an Iowa stage tonight (Tuesday) playing the piano man. The dance-musical “Movin’ Out” follows the lives of a group of friends over 20 years and features some two-dozen Billy Joel songs. Darren Holden plays and sings all of them. While it can be a bit of a strain singing 26 songs for two hours every night, Holden says he’s lucky as he’s only missed one night in the 18-month tour so far. The 32-year-old Holden is a native of Ireland. He says his Irish accent forced Joel to take action. After the show opened on Broadway, Joel warned him his Irish accent was creeping in, and the next day Joel sent him DVDs of the first season of the crime family drama “The Sopranos” with a note reading “Listen, learn and enjoy.” Holden says Joel told him to pay particular attention to mob-boss Tony Soprano to get the right attitude and sound.”Movin’ Out” is at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines through Sunday. This is Holden’s second appearance on that stage. He was the lead vocalist in “Riverdance” three years ago. Singing only, he says, no dancing. He says he can’t dance to save his life, adding, “only when we’re drunk.”