VIDEO: A BRONX TALE's Chazz Palminteri Explains How To Address Robert De Niro

It's not exactly an everyday occurrence when two powerhouse directors combine to stage a big new Broadway musical, but the chemistry seems natural for the upcoming tuner based on Chazz Palminteri's A BRONX TALE.

After all, it was Jerry Zaks who directed the piece when it was an autobiographical solo play about an old Italian neighborhood, written and performed by Palminteri. Then Robert De Niro entered the picture to direct the film version.

With hits like SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ and revivals of GUYS AND DOLLS and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM under his belt, Zaks knows his way around musicals, but De Niro's co-direction adds authenticity to the characters and atmosphere.

In the interview below for PIX 11, Palminteri is obviously thrilled to have the two masters working with him once again, but the conversation takes a funny turn when the playwright refers to the Hollywood legend as Bob De Niro and he's asked to explain who gets to call him what.

Click the logo below for the video.

A BRONX TALE THE MUSICAL will open on Broadway on Thursday, December 1, 2016 at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street). Previews will begin Thursday, November 3, 2016. The new musical will be co-directed by two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro and four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony nominee Sergio Trujillo. A Bronx Tale: The Musical features a book by Chazz Palminteri, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater.

A BRONX TALE THE MUSICAL premiered at the Tony Award-winning Paper Mill Playhouse to critical and popular acclaim February 4, 2016, through March 6, 2016.

Based on the one-man show that inspired the now classic film, this streetwise musical will take you to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s-where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he'd love to be. Featuring an infectious doo-wop score, this is a tale about respect, loyalty, love, and above all else: family.

A BRONX TALE THE MUSICAL evolved from the one-man Off Broadway play, A Bronx Tale, written and performed by Chazz Palminteri in 1989. During the original Off Broadway and subsequent Los Angeles engagements, Robert De Niro came to see the show, and brought the story and star Palminteri to the screen in 1993, making his film directorial debut in the process. Following the success of the film, Palminteri performed the one-man show A Bronx Tale on Broadway in the 2007-2008 Season.

Photo: Genevieve Rafter Keddy