A Bronx Tale (play)

A Bronx Tale is an autobiographical one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri.

Overview

A Bronx Tale tells the story of Calogero Anello, a young boy from a working class family who gets involved in the world of organized crime. Calogero's father is a bus driver who tries to instill working-class family values in his son. As Calogero gets older, the aura and mystique of the Mafia, and the charms of Sonny, the local mob boss who befriends Calogero (and ends up becoming a father figure to him), become difficult to resist. As Calogero comes of age, he must struggle with the choice of following his beloved father's values or submitting to the temptations of the life of organized crime.

Background and productions

Palminteri states that he began writing the play after being fired from a club when, as a doorman, he refused entry to super agent Swifty Lazar.^{[1] [2]}

A Bronx Tale premiered in Los Angeles, achieving great critical success. Palminteri relates that "After some polishing, the show opened to positive reviews and soon attracted Hollywood interest. 'Every director, every studio head wanted to make the movie,' Palminteri said. 'They offered, $250,000, $500,000.'"^[2]

He then appeared in the play Off-Broadway at Playhouse 91, from October 10, 1989 to December 24, 1989, directed by Mark X. Travis.^[3] The play had a sold-out run and Palminteri received a 1989-1990 Special Award from the Outer Critics Circle.^[4][5][6]

Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro attended a performance of A Bronx Tale and offered to buy the film rights to the show. Palminteri agreed to sell the film rights on the conditions that he would be able to write the screenplay and that he be cast as the role of Sonny. The film version of A Bronx Tale premiered in 1993. The film version marked the directorial debut of De Niro and helped catapult Palminteri's film acting career.

2007 Broadway

In 2007, Palminteri performed his one-man show on Broadway. The Broadway production began previews on October 4, 2007, and premiered on October 25, 2007, at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The show closed on February 24, 2008, after 108 performances and nineteen previews.^[5] It was directed by Jerry Zaks,^[7] with the set designed by Jim Noone, and the lighting designed by Paul Gallo.^[7] It recouped its capitalization and was followed by a national tour.^[8][9] The play was nominated for the 2007-2008 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.^[10]

Adaptation

The play has been made into a musical, titled A Bronx Tale: The Musical. The musical has a book by Chazz Palminteri, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Glenn Slater, and premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse (Milburn, New Jersey) on February 4, 2016. The musical is co-directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo, sets by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by William Ivey Long, and lighting by Howell Binkley. The cast features Jason Gotay (Calogero), Nick Cordero (Sonny), Richard H. Blake (Lorenzo), Coco Jones (Jane), and Lucia Giannetta (Rosina).^[11][12][13]

Sources

• Sandra Brennan. "Chazz Palminteri Biography", Allmovie.com, October 2007. Accessed October 2007.

References

External links

• A Bronx Tale at the Internet Broadway Database
• "A Bronx Tale To Remember", New York Post, 27 August 2007
• "A Bronx Tale To Open on Broadway", CBS News, 8 August 2007