Chazz Palminteri to Star in World Premiere Play UNORGANIZED CRIME at the Elephant Theatre, 4/26-5/25

Unorganized Crime, LLC presents a world premiere play, UNORGANIZED CRIME, written by Kenny D'Aquila, directed by David Fofi and starring Chazz Palminteri ("A Bronx Tale," "Bullets Over Broadway"). UNORGANIZED CRIME will preview on Saturday, April 26 at 8pm; Monday, April 28, Tuesday, April 29 and Wednesday, April 30 at 8pm and will open on Thursday, May 1 at 7pm and run through Sunday, May 25 at the Elephant Theatre, 1076 N. Lillian Way. (at Santa Monica Blvd., one block west of Vine) in Hollywood.

Academy-award nominee Chazz Palminteri stars in this powerful world premiere play. Gino Sicuso is a diminishing Mafioso, a forgotten brother and son, banished to Detroit by his father Carmello Sicuso, the Capo dei Capi of the third largest crime family in New York. He's been relocated for his inability to follow orders (he can't commit murder), and hasn't had direct communication with any of his family members in years. His wife Rosie Sicuso has Gino on the road to redemption with the hope that he can mentally turn his life around. Having no such trouble with maiming, beating and killing is Gino's older brother, Sal Sicuso, a brutal mobster who unexpectedly shows up at his door. What transpires is a gripping, savage and wildly humorous glimpse at the Cosa Nostra, where the fine line between loyalty and betrayal is explored and where the sacred code of Omertà is shaken to the core.

Comments Mr. Palminteri, "Twenty-five years ago a gentleman named Robert De Niro gave me my first break. He saw me in a play in a little theatre in Hollywood and that's how the movie "A Bronx Tale" got made. Since then I've always tried to make it a point to help young people who are really talented because I know what it's like trying to get noticed in this business because I was that guy. This play was written by an unknown playwright and actor, Kenny D'Aquila, whose work deserves to be seen and heard. So I wanted to see if I could help Kenny in the same manner Robert De Niro helped me."

ABOUT THE CAST:

CHAZZ PALMINTERI (Sal) Bronx-born and raised Chazz Palminteri was a natural choice to continue the long line of prominent Italian actors in the film industry. In the tradition set forth in the 1970s by such icons as director Martin Scorsese and actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, Palminteri has brought grit, muscle and an evocative realism to the sidewalks of his New York neighborhood, violent as they are and were. Born in 1952, Palmintieri grew up in a tough area of the Bronx and it gave young Calogero (Palminteri's given first name) the life lessons that would later prove very useful to his career. He started out pursuing his craft in studying at the Actor's Studio with Lee Straussberg. He appeared off-Broadway in the early 1980s while paying his dues as a singer in his own band. Well known for "A Bronx Tale," Palminteri originally wrote the script for the stage and performed it as a one-man show in Los Angeles. It became the hottest property in Hollywood since "Rocky". Mr. Palminteri was offered over a million dollars to walk away from the project and with $200.00 left in the bank he refused. He wanted to play Sonny and write the screenplay. One night Robert De Niro walked in to see the show and as they say "the rest is history." He then moved the production to New York, where it played for four sold-out months and earned him nominations for the New York Outer Critics Circle for both acting and writing. While in New York he completed the screenplay of A BRONX TALE and soon found himself starring opposite Robert De Niro, who chose the script for his directorial debut.

Chazz has more than 50 movies to his credit including The Usual Suspects, Bullets Over Broadway (Academy Award nomination), Analyze This, Hurlyburly, Mulholland Falls, Faithful (screenplay also written by Chazz Palminteri), Poolhall Junkies, The Perez Family, Jade, Diabolique, Down to Earth and A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. Recent films include Final Recourse, Mighty Fine starring Andie MacDowell, Yonkers Joe, Jolene and The Dukes. He has also directed the HBO series "Oz" (episode, "Unnatural Disasters"), Showtime's "Women vs. Men" and the feature film Noel, starring Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, Robin Williams and Paul Walker.

He appeared on the New York stage in the play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui starring with Al Pacino, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Billy Crudup. Chazz is a member of the Actors Studio in NYC.

Chazz received the 1996 Leadership in Entertainment Award from the Coalition of Italo-American Association, Inc. and was honored by President Clinton with a Special Achievement Award for the Performing Arts from the National Italian American Foundation in Washington, D.C. Chazz currently resides in Weschester County, NY with his lovely wife, Gianna and their two children, Dante & Gabriella.

KENNY D'AQUILA (Playwright/Gino) Originally from Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Kenny D'Aquila made his mark as Grantaire in the critically acclaimed production of Les Miserables directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles. Later, D'Aquila was featured as Grantaire in the International Cast Album of Les Miserables with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. A 25 year veteran of both New York and Los Angeles stage, D'Aquila has appeared in over 30 plays, including Uptown, Broadway Scandals of 1928,The Fantastiks, Found A Peanut, Mozez, Birdbath, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance and When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? As a writer, D'Aquila's first play, Uptown, opened to rave reviews at the GNU Theatre under the direction of Jeff Seymour. Uptown won 8 Drama-Logue Awards, including Best New Play.

As an actor, D'Aquila also drew raves and won a Drama-Logue Award for Best Actor. D'Aquila's screenplay, Not Before Me (based on his stage play, Uptown) was purchased by Concord/New Horizons with D'Aquila attached to star. On the production end, D'Aquila is co-executive producer of the documentary The Hill Chris Climbed: The Gridiron Heroes Story written and directed by Andrew Lauer.

CARMEN ARGENZIANO (Carmello) graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1964. He continued studying with Sandy Meisner and Lee Strasberg eventually becoming a member of the Actors Studio. In 1968 he appeared with Shelly Winters in Tennessee Williams Sweet Bird of Youth in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Since then L.A. theatre-goers have seen him in a variety of plays.

In 1981 he was given the L.A. Drama critics award for his performance in Thomas Babe's A Prayer For My Daughter. He also portrayed Joe Kellor the father in Arthur Miller's All My Sons at the Geffen Theatre. Most recently he was seen as the father in David Auburn's Proof at the Open Fist theatre. Leo Penn gave Carmen his first job in television. Since then he's amassed over 200 film and TV credits. Most notably "The Accused," "Stand and Deliver", "Don Juan DeMarco", and "Godfather II." His TV credits include "Criminal Minds," "House," "CSI N.Y." and "Stargate SG1." He will soon be seen in the feature films "Sharkskin," "Sonny and RayRay," "Aurora" and James Franco's "Labyrinth". Carmen continues training at the Actors Studio under the guidance of Martin Landau, Mark Rydell and Lou Antonio.

JAMIE SORRENTINI (Rosie) began acting professionally at the age of 7 in a national commercial for Ragu spaghetti sauce. Originally from New Jersey, she grew up doing theater in New York, performing in regional and Off-Broadway theaters such as Lincoln Center Institute, Ensemble Studio Theater, American Place Theater, and a national tour of the Tony Award winning musical "Parade" directed by Harold Prince.
Other credits include David Warren's "Haddock's Eyes" opposite Tom Hulce, CBS movie of the week "A Hobo's Christmas," "The Babysitter's Club" for HBO, and several indie films. TV credits include, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Desperate Housewives," "House MD," "CSI:Miami," "Las Vegas," "Numbers," "NYPD Blue," "Law and Order: SVU" and "The Sopranos". A graduate from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Acting, Jamie now studies with Diana Castle in Los Angeles.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:

DAVID FOFI (Director, Artistic Director - The Elephant Theatre Company) After serving with the US Navy, David Fofi went on to study theatre at California State University Long Beach, where he met a core group of artists who would become the Elephant Theatre Company, founded in 1995 in downtown Los Angeles. In 1998, along with Don Cesario, he created Elephant Stages and the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood, where The Elephant Theatre Company now makes its home, where he serves as Artistic Director.

Dave has enjoyed working in many aspects of the theatre as a Director, Producer, and Designer. His directing credits include: The World Premiere of The Twilight of Schlomo by Timothy McNeil (Los Angeles Times' Critic's Choice); The North Plan by Jason Wells (Huffington Post's top ten productions of 2013); The World Premiere ofCollision by Lyle Kessler at the Rattlestick Theater in New York (Critic's Pick Time Out NY); the world premiere of Farm Boy by Michael Morpugo stage adaptation by Daniel Buckroyd (Los Angeles Times' Critics Choice, Backstage Critic's Pick) at The Matrix Theatre, the west coast premiere of The Late Henry Moss by Sam Shepard (Backstage Critic's Pick ," GO" LA Weekly), the West Coast Premiere of The Little Flower of East Orange by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Ovation Recommended); and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings by Stephen Adly Guirgis (4 LADCC Awards including Best Production, Critic's Pick, LA Times and Backstage); the World Premiere of Parasite Drag by Mark Roberts (Ovation Recommended, Critic's Pick Backstage and LA Weekly); the World Premiere of The Idea Man by Kevin King (Ovation Award for Best New Play, Ovation nominee Best direction); the World Premiere of Asleep on a Bicycle by Tony Foster (Critic's Pick, LA Times and Backstage); the World Premiere of Anything by Tim McNeil (3 LADCC Awards, Best Direction included, Critic's Pick LA Times, Backstage; Carlos Lacamara's play Exiles, produced by The Hayworth Theatre (Critic's Pick, Backstage); the world-premiere Los Muertos by Timothy McNeil (Critic's Pick, LA Times; Pick of the Week ReviewPlays.com); The Sand Storm (Critic's Pick, Backstage, featured in the LA Times Calendar and LA Weekly); the World Premiere Sensitive Skin by Shem Bitterman; (Feature in LA Weekly); Hellcab by Will Kern (Critic's Pick, Backstage); the World Premiere of Robert J. Litz's One World (recommended, LA Times and LA Weekly; Critic's Pick, two NAACP award nominations.

UNORGANIZED CRIME features an award-winning design team. The set design is by Ovation Award-winner Joel Daavid. The lighting design is by Nicholas Davidson. Original music and sound design are by Peter Bayne. The casting direction is by Amy Lieberman. The General Manager is Nicki Genovese. The show is being produced by Chazz Palminteri and Josh Silver. The Executive Producer is Dave Finkelstein.

UNORGANIZED CRIME will preview on Saturday, April 26 at 8pm; Monday, April 28; Tuesday, April 29 and Wednesday, April 30 at 8pm and will open on Thursday, May 1 at 7:00pm and run through Sunday, May 25 at the Elephant Theatre, 1076 N. Lillian Way (at Santa Monica Blvd., one block west of Vine) in Hollywood.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm; Sundays at 7:00pm. Ticket prices are $34.99 for all Performances; $30 for the Previews. Tickets may be purchased online by visiting www.tix.com or by calling (800) 595-4849. For further information on the play, visit www.unorganizedcrimetheplay.com.

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