Chazz Palminteri Gives It All in 'A Bronx Tale'

If you wanted a non-musical from this season's Hippodrome Season, this is it, make no mistake about it. Chazz Palminteri brings his autobiographical story about growing up in the Bronx to Baltimore.

A Bronx Tale was first mounted in Los Angeles and Off-Broadway in 1989 and landed on Broadway during the 2007-2008 season. It was made into a film starring Robert DeNiro in 1993.

There have been other one-person performances at the Hippodrome. One of the best was Tovah Feldshuh's Golda's Balcony. The Everyman Theatre presented recently I Am my Own Wife. Last fall the Arena Stage presented Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking.

It is hard to comprehend how an actor does it.

The Hippodrome's bars announce "no drinks allowed into the theater". After the show I figured out why. I noticed Palminteri never during the 90 minute intermission-less performance sipped a drink. The last thing he'd want to observe is his audience sipping all sorts of beverages. I felt like leaving a glass of water at the end of the stage.

And speaking of the stage, it is bare but for a corner lamppost at the corner of Belmont Avenue and 187^th Street, the front of a brownstone, and a bar.

Palminteri is a consummate performer and not only stars in the show, he wrote it. He wisely chose Jerry Zaks who has four Tony Awards to his credit to direct.

The story involves a 9-year-old innocent boy (Cologio), his bus-driving father, and a crime boss named Sonny. While sitting on the front stoop of his home he witnesses a fight over a parking space.  The altercation escalates until a gun is drawn and Cologio witnesses the crime.

The police then investigate and Cologio understands that in order to attain respect in the neighborhood, he must keep the fact that Sonny pulled the trigger from the authorities.

While I can understand the facts of this memoir, I could not but think of the "Don't Snitch" tee shirts that permeated in the City of Baltimore recently.

Palminteri does a masterful job portraying 18 characters in this coming-of-age story. You'll learn about characters such as Rudy Ice, Eddie Mush, Jojo the Whale, and Frankie Coffee Cake (his acne-filled face looked like a Drake's coffee cake). However, his use of hand-clapping became very annoying. (Do me a favor; count how many times he does it.)

A Bronx Tale ends its run on Sunday, April 26. For tickets, call 410-547-SEAT. To see clips of the show, visit www.abronxtaletour.com. 

Remember, the Orioles are in town, so I recommend getting to the theater earlier than usual.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

Photo by Joan Marcus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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