Boxer Jake LaMotta to Star Off-Broadway in Biographical Play Lady and the Champ

Former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta will star in the biographical play Lady and the Champ, according to The New York Times. LaMotta will appear at the Richmond Shepard Theater with his soon-to-be seventh wife Denise Baker, who directs and co-wrote the show with Bonnie Lee Sander. Lady and the Champ will run from July 19 through 29.

The show will recount LaMotta's time as a boxer and his life outside the ring. Lady and the Champ will include stories, videos, songs and dance. LaMotta, born Giacobbe LaMotta, turns 91 on July 10. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and Ring Magazine listed him as one of the 10 greatest middleweights of all time. After leaving the ring, LaMotta became a stage actor and a stand-up comedian. He also appeared in over 15 films including The Huslter with Paul Newman. His 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story was adapted into the film Raging Bull,starring Robert De Niro. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film earned De Niro an Oscar for his portrayal of LaMotta.

Lady and the Champ has enjoyed previous engagements at the Triad Theatre and Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency.