Cantone Leads 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE A BROOKLYN CHRISTMAS Reading 5/11

On Tuesday, May 11th at 7:00pm, film producer TEd KuRDYLA, will take over the off-Broadway theatre 45 Bleecker Street (at the corner of Bleecker and Lafayette Streets) where he will present a reading of Vincent Gogliormella and Charles Messina's screenplay ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE A BROOKLYN CHRISTMAS for the many, many members of the industry that have expressed interest in the very buzzed about comedy. 

Both Film and Broadway investors will be in attendance.

Mr. Messina will direct the reading.

Set against a musical background of Dean Martin's greatest and most seductive hits, ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE A BROOKLYN CHRISTMAS tells the story of the miraculous salvation of the soul of Angelo Mombolino (Michael Rispoli) who, after being gunned down on the steps of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, is given a second chance at everlasting life on the right side of the Pearly Gates after his already ‘passed' parents plead his case before the grand San Gennaro himself (Robert Cuccioli) to rescue their only son from the fires of eternal damnation.

San Gennaro, the most revered of all the Italian Saints, takes the case to the Highest Power who green-lights the project.

So. It's on. New York City's biggest, cruelest and toughest crime Boss is sent back to earth to untangle his illicit relationship with the delicious Kiley Taylor with whom he is cheating on his extremely loyal wife; rescue the degenerate gambler, Timmy Farrell, from his own leg-breakers who have been unleashed to retrieve all of the dead-beat Irishman's debts; and undo the hit he put out on his once-trusted Capo, Tiny Tony D'Agostino (Mario Cantone), a height-challenged sidekick Mombo had whacked on September 18th, 2008.

The fly in the olive oil is the two-for-one-deal the Highest Power has sent in via San Gennaro.
Mombo must complete all three tasks or he goes South and takes Tiny Tony with him.

This is a high-octane-fast-paced-eternal life-and-death comedy with two men's souls on the line.
Santa Claus makes a rather startling entrance at the end of Act I. San Gennaro does his best work at the top of Act III. Mombo's wife, Franny Mombolino, stays inexplicably faithful until the Credits roll. And all the while, Mombo and Tiny Tony battle valiantly to straighten out their metaphysical compasses. When they finally do, both compasses point directly at the entertainment industry's next big comedy. Think: A CHRISTMAS CAROL meets ANALYZE THIS.

ABOUT TEd KuRDYLA
(Producer)

TEd Kurdyla has distinguished himself as a successful producer while amassing a varied list of credits in film, television and cable throughout his producing career. Ted's film credits include. "Phone Booth," directed by Joel Schumacher for 20th Century Fox starring Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker and Katie Holmes opened as America's number one movie; "Tigerland," directed by Joel Schumacher, starring Colin Farrell in his first motion picture, for New Regency/ 20th Century Fox; "Isn't She Great," starring Bette Midler and Nathan Lane was directed by Andrew Bergman for Universal Pictures and co-stared Stockard Channing, David Hyde Pierce and John Cleese; "Fallen," starring Denzel Washington, John Goodman, James Gandolfini, Embeth Davidtz and Donald Sutherland was directed by Gregory Hoblit and distributed worldwide by Warner Bros; "The Confession," starring Alec Baldwin, Ben Kingsley, and Amy Irving directed by David Jones for Franchise Films; "Final Analysis," starring Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman and Eric Roberts directed by Phil Joanou for Warner Bros; "Cadillac Man," starring Robin Williams, Tim Robins, Annabella Sciorra and Fran Drescher directed by Roger Donaldson for Orion Pictures; "Johnny Handsome, " Starring Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman and Lance Henriksen directed by Walter Hill for Carolco/Tri-star. Producer TEd Kurdyla and Kurdyla Entertainment have produced the four hour mini- series "Spartacus," shot in Bulgaria, starring Goran Visnjic, Alan Bates, Ben Cross, Angus MacFadyen, Henry Simmons and Rhona Mitra directed by Robert Dornhelm for Universal/USA Cable Entertainment. "Helen of Troy," a four hour mini series shot in Malta was produced by TEd Kurdyla, directed by John Kent Harrison with Rufus Sewell, Sienna Guillory, Matthew Marsden and Stellan Skarsgard aired on USA Cable Entertainment for Universal. Ted produced and directed live to tape "Sumo Battle of the Giants" at Madison Square Garden for Big Boy Productions and ESPN. Ted co-produced "The Cosby Mysteries" starring Bill Cosby, James Naughton, Lynn Whitfield and Rita Moreno for NBC Productions. Also for NBC, he produced the telefilm "Trapped," starring Kris Kristofferson. For Showtime he produced "Birds II: Land's End," with Brad Johnson, Tippi Hedren; "Twilight Man," starring Tim Matheson and Dean Stockwell was produced by Kurdyla for Encore. TEd Kurdyla's production manager credits include "Once Upon A Time In America," with Robert De Niro, James Woods, Joe Pesci, Elizabeth Mc Govern and Treat Williams directed by Sergio Leone for Warner Bros; "Year of The Dragon," starring Mickey Rourke, directed by Michael Cimino for MGM; "Blow Out," with John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow and Dennis Franz, directed by Brian De Palma for Filmways; "Fletch Lives," starring Chevy Chase, HAl Holbrook, Cleavon Little and Richard Belzer, directed by Michael Ritchie for Universal; "Imagine: John Lennon," with Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, Sean Lennon Paul Mc Cartney, Ringo Star, George Harrison and David Bowe directed by Andrew Solt for Warner Bros; "Bright Lights Big City," with Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, directed by James Bridges for United Artist; "*batteries not included," starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy directed by Matthew Robbins for Amblin/Universal; "Arthur 2 - On the Rocks," with Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud and Kathy Bates directed by Bud Yorkin for Warner Bros; "America," starring Zack Norman, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael J. Pollard directed by Robert Downey for Aries and "Fighting Back," starring Tom Skerritt, Patti Lu Pone and Michael Sarrazin directed by Lewis Teague for Paramount.

ABOUT Charles Messina
(Writer/Director)

Charles Messina was born in Greenwich Village, of Italian-American descent and is a graduate of New York University. Known for his deconstructive take on biographical subjects, Messina's most notable stage work as director includes the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway plays Cirque Jacqueline, about the life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God, about Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury. In August 2007 Messina directed Jim Tooey and Kelly Chippendale in Two-Mur Humor, which was an official entry in the 2007 Fringe Festival in New York. In 2007 Messina also directed the big budget musical Be My Love, written by Richard Vetere, about the life of singer Mario Lanza, which was produced by Sonny Grosso and Phil Ramone. It premiered at The Tillis Center in October 2007. For the big screen, Messina has written They're Just My Friends, which was released theatrically in Fall 2006 and starred Lord Jamar, Malik Yoba, and Bruce Altman. He has also written the film Spy starring Vincent Pastore and Frank Vincent. Also in 2007, Messina's play Merging starring Jason Cerbone, Gina Ferranti and Ernest Mingione won BEST PLAY in The Players Theater's Shortened Attention Span Theater Festival in Greenwich Village. Messina also directed the short film based on the play. Messina has directed the off-Broadway shows Rockaway Boulevard by Rich Vetere, The Accidental Pervert by Andrew Goffman, and Art Metrano's Accidental Comedy, as well as a staged reading of his own script Younger, starring Joe Piscopo. Messina's play, Homeland, which premiered in 2008, starred Sopranos actors Dan Grimaldi and Joe Lisi, as well as Jason Cerbone, Gina Ferranti and Amir Darvish. Messina wrote the book My Father, My Don, about the life of Genovese Capo James "Jimmy Nap" Napoli and his son Tony Napoli, in collaboration with Tony Napoli. It was released by Beckham Publications Group in Fall 2008 and is currently available in Barnes & Noble and other major retail bookstores. In 2009, Messina's play "A Room of My Own", about an Italian-American family living in Greenwich Village in the late 1970s, was optioned and is being developed into a major motion picture by Executive Producer TEd Kurdyla. Messina co-wrote the upcoming film Jekyll and Hyde, starring 50 Cent and directed by Abel Ferrara.

ABOUT Vincent Gogliormella
(Writer/Creator)

"Twas The Night Beofre A Brooklyn Christmas" is the first screenplay created and written by Mr. Gogliormella. This project originally began in 2003. After several years and another re-write, Mr. Gogliormella joined forces with Charles Messina and began co-writing this screenplay in 2009. Mr. Gogliormella first attempt at writing delivered the 2001 Off-Broadway hit "Six Goumbas and a Wannabe" which garned wonderful reviews. Lawrence Van Gelder of the New York Times said, Take a little 'Godfather,' mix with a soupçon of 'Sopranos,' add a mug of 'The Three Stooges' and a few drops of 'Diner,' and the result will resemble the agreeable new comedy 'Six Goumbas and a Wannabe.' Mr. Gogliormella also understudied the role of Don Sonny Rigatoni an appeared in several perfomances of the long running show." "Six Goumbas and a Wannabe" got it's start through the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences reading series which was first produced at HBO Studios. Mr. Gogliormella credits his love for the theatre and film industry to his uncle legendary actor Vincent Gardenia.

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter-Keddy