A Bronx Tale (play)

A Bronx Tale is a one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri. The play is set in The Bronx section of New York City in the 1960s. "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.

"A Bronx Tale" premiered in Los Angeles in 1990, achieving great critical success. Palminteri, then moved the show to New York City, where it had a critically and commercially successful, four month off-Broadway run.

Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro attended a performance of "A Bronx Tale" in New York City and offered to buy the film rights to the show. Palminteri agreed to sell the film rights on the condition 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 revival

In 2007, Palminteri decided to revive 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 19 previews. It was directed by 4-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks. [Isherwood, Charles. [http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/theater/reviews/26bron.html "An Innocent Mentored by the Mob"] , "The New York Times", 26 October 2007.] It recouped its capitalization and there are plans for a national tour. [ [http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1534477 Press Release, talkinbroadway.com] ]

Sources

*Sandra Brennan. [http://wc06.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:54860~T1 "Chazz Palminteri Biography"] , "Allmovie.com", October 2007. Accessed October 2007.

References

External links

*ibdb title|id=466700
* [http://www.abronxtaletour.com Official website of "A Bronx Tale" 2008-2009 National Tour]
* [http://www.nypost.com/seven/08272007/gossip/cindy/a_bronx_tale_to_remember.htm "A Bronx Tale To Remember"] , "New York Post", 27 August 2007
* [http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/08/theater/main3148360.shtml "A Bronx Tale To Open on Broadway"] , CBS News, 8 August 2007