A Bronx Tale is anautobiographicalone-man show written and performed byChazz Palminteri. It tells thecoming-of-age story of Calogero Anello, a youngNew Yorker torn between the temptations of organized crime and the values of his hardworking father. It originally premiered inLos Angeles in 1989, before movingOff-Broadway, developed and directed by Mark W. Travis. Afilm version involving Palminteri andRobert De Niro was released in 1993. In 2007, Palminteri performed his one-man show onBroadway and on tour.
A musical version,A Bronx Tale directed byRobert De Niro opened in 2016 at theLongacre Theatre onBroadway and played until August 2018.[1][2]
A Bronx Tale tells the story of Calogero Anello, a young boy from aworking class family who gets involved in the world oforganized crime. Calogero's father is a bus driver who tries to instill working-classfamily values in his son. As Calogero gets older, the aura and mystique of theMafia, and the charms of Sonny, the localmob 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.
Palminteri states that he began writing the play after being fired from a club when, as a doorman, he refused entry tosuper agentSwifty Lazar.[3][4] The play is largely based on Palminteri's own childhood, specifically the shooting Calogero witnesses as a child, as well as the occupation and name of his father.[5]
A Bronx Tale premiered atTheatre West in Los Angeles, developed and directed by Mark W. Travis, 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.'"[4] Palminteri then appeared in the playOff-Broadway at Playhouse 91, from October 10, 1989, to December 24, 1989, directed by Mark W. Travis.[6] The play had a sold-out run and Palminteri received a 1989–1990 Special Award from theOuter Critics Circle.[7][8][9]
In 2007, Palminteri performed his one-man show onBroadway. The Broadway production began previews on October 4, 2007, and opened on October 25, 2007, at theWalter Kerr Theatre. The show closed on February 24, 2008, after 108 performances and nineteen previews.[8] It was directed byJerry Zaks and Produced by Go Productions with Trent Othick being the lead producer,[10] original music byJohn Gromada, set design by Jim Noone, and lighting design byPaul Gallo.[10] It recouped its capitalization and was followed by a national tour.[11][12] The play was nominated for the 2007–2008Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.[13]
In 1990, at a performance ofA Bronx Tale,Robert De Niro met with Palminteri in his dressing room after having seen the show. De Niro told Palminteri, "This is one of the greatest one-man shows I've ever seen, if not the greatest... This is a movie, this is an incredible movie."[14] After acquiring the rights to create the film, with De Niro claiming the deal was made solely with agentlemen's agreement with Palminteri, the duo began crafting the screenplay.[14] Prior to partnering with De Niro, Palminteri rejected several offers for the film's rights, including some as high as $1 million, due to not being granted the roles of primary screenwriter and Sonny, the gangster Calogero meets.[14] De Niro met Palminteri's requirements on the condition that he be allowed to direct the film and play Lorenzo, Calogero's father, which Palminteri accepted.[14]The film of the same name was released in 1993.
After a ten-year development process, the original one man show was adapted into a new musical with a book by Chazz Palminteri, music byAlan Menken, and lyrics byGlenn Slater, and premiered at thePaper Mill Playhouse (Milburn, New Jersey) on February 4, 2016, before opening on Broadway December 1 later that year.
The musical is co-directed byRobert De Niro, who directed the original film, andJerry Zaks, who directed the one man show on Broadway in 2007. The show also features choreography bySergio Trujillo.Tommy Mottola serves as the production's leading producer.
The production includes sets byBeowulf Boritt, costumes byWilliam Ivey Long, lighting byHowell Binkley, and sound byGareth Owen. The cast features Bobby Conte Thornton as Calogero,Nick Cordero as Sonny, Hudson Loverro as Young Calogero with Athan Sporek as his alternate,Richard H. Blake as Lorenzo, Ariana DeBose as Jane, and Lucia Giannetta as Rosina.[15]
The musical began previews onBroadway on November 3, 2016, before officially opening on December 1, 2016, at theLongacre Theatre and closed on August 5, 2018, after 700 performances.[16][17][18]