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A Bronx Tale (play)

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This article is about the 1989 play. For the film, see A Bronx Tale.

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 was 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 featured Bobby Conte Thornton (Calogero), Nick Cordero (Sonny), Joshua Colley (Young Calogero), Richard H. Blake (Lorenzo), Coco Jones (Jane), and Lucia Giannetta (Rosina).[11][12][13][14]

The musical started previews on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on November 3, 2016, and officially opened on December 1, 2016.[15][16][17][18]

Sources

References

  1. ^ "Broadway Names with Julie James," On Broadway, SiriusXM, 11 Oct 2012.
  2. ^ a b Winn, Steven. "Palminteri revisits 'A Bronx Tale'" sfgate.com, September 23, 2008
  3. ^ A Bronx Tale lortel.org, accessed January 26, 2016
  4. ^ "1989-1990 Awards" outercritics.org, accessed January 26, 2016
  5. ^ a b "Chazz Palminteri Broadway" playbillvault.com, accessed January 26, 2016
  6. ^ "Press Release-Chazz Palmienteri In 'A Bronx Tale'" Archived February 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine northshorecenter.org, accessed January 26, 2016
  7. ^ a b Isherwood, Charles. "An Innocent Mentored by the Mob" New York Times, October 26, 2007
  8. ^ Press Release talkinbroadway.com
  9. ^ Gans, Andrew."Palminteri's A Bronx Tale to Launch National Tour in September" playbill.com, June 10, 2008
  10. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Nominees for Outer Critics Circle Awards Announced in April; Winners Revealed in May" playbill.com, February 18, 2009
  11. ^ " A Bronx Tale: The Musical Press Release" papermill.org, accessed January 26, 2016
  12. ^ Levittt, Haley. "Robert De Niro-Helmed 'A Bronx Tale' Musical Announces Complete Casting" theatermania.com, December 18, 2015
  13. ^ Blank, Matthew. "'A Bronx Tale' Is Told at Paper Mill; See First Pics From the New Musical!" playbill.com, February 4, 2016
  14. ^ "The Verdict: New York Times Reviews De Niro-Directed 'Bronx Tale: The Musical'" playbill.com, February 24, 2016
  15. ^ Hetrick, Adam. " A Bronx Tale Musical Sets Sights on Broadway" Playbill, May 18, 2016
  16. ^ Gans, Andrew, Hetrick, Adam. " 'A Bronx Tale' Musical Will Play Broadway's Longacre" Playbill, June 13, 2016
  17. ^ Gans, Andrew; Hetrick, Adam. "Nick Cordero Will Star in Broadway’s 'A Bronx Tale' Musical" Playbill, August 31, 2016
  18. ^ Viagas, Robert. "See How the Critics Reviewed Robert De Niro’s Broadway Musical, 'A Bronx Tale'" Playbill, December 1, 2016
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