A Bronx Tale
Some say it takes a village to raise a child, and Chazz Palminteri’s “A Bronx Tale” shows how it can take “the neighborhood” to craft an artist. Palminteri’s one man show, his semiautobiographical tale, begins at the corner of 187th Street and Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, where from his 5th floor apartment bedroom nine year old Calogero observes his world--1950s doo wop serenading the street, the noisy life of the bar next door, the steady, back-and-forth bus route of his Dad Lorenzo, and that nervous pulse that electrifies a city street. Touches of music help take us back to the world of 40 some years ago.
Chazz Palminteri wrote “A Bronx Tale” in the 1980s, carefully crafting it piece by piece in writers’ workshops like Theatre West, self producing it in 1989 at West Coast Ensemble and other LA Theatres, self promoting it until it caught the attention of Robert De Niro during an off-Broadway run, after which it became the basis for the movie starring De Niro and Palminteri. The film was De Niro’s directing debut and a big boost for Chazz Palminteri’s career. So why revisit it today?
Because the tale, like all really good coming-of-age tales, merits our careful attention, and while details change--the clothes, the slang, the music--the underlying truths remain. City streets change but remain deadly. The allure of the guy with the most power, the most money, the most fear-induced respect is seductive to the young, and without the leveling power of a strong family, a kid can go adrift. Besides, this tale is fun and funny and full of life.
Like any good tale, this one involves a quest. After observing some street violence and “doing a good thing for a bad man,” Calogero becomes the page to wise guy knight Sonny, and we are allowed into the lopsided, colorful world of 400 lb. thugs with nicknames like Whale, acne covered wannabes, and the glory of being the top man’s boy. Palminteri gracefully jumps from character to character with precision. Some folk are defined with a gesture, some with a sniff, a wheeze, or a subtle shift in posture, and others we see reflected in the other character’s eyes-—and man are some of these guys ugly! We watch the now dubbed “C” age from 9 to 17--never losing his goony charm but gradually adding layers of understanding--never afraid to show his awkwardness, the coltish ugliness of youth--and constantly examining the good/bad duality of his wise guy mentor while observing the strengths of his bus driver Dad. From the hero worship of a young boy to the craziness of young love to the recklessness of youth, this
is a tale worth telling. Director Jerry Zaks keeps things lively, focused, fun. Palminteri makes it look easy. He follows his Dad’s best advice-“don’t waste your talent”--and we get the goods.