” A Bronx Tale” the Musical

[rating=4]It was 1989! Chazz Palminteri was doing a one man show called “A Bronx Tale”, In this show we learned about a young man who was raised , in a small way, by both his straight-laced Catholic parents and the notorious gangster who held court in the local bar on Belmont Avenue, in the Bronx. This story might be “his story” or just an excellent piece of observation, but upon seeing a tour of the show, Robert De Niro saw it as a great film ( where he would play the father). Following th film, Palminteri proceeded to continue doing the one man show. The next step on this climb to becoming a Broadway musical, would be to add music. Alan Menken supplied the music and Glenn Slater, the music and the script was revised to have some of the dialogue sung.

“A Bronx Tale” is in fact a true musical, directed by Robert De Niro along with Jerry Zaks and with slick choreography by Sergio Trujillo. The set (Bedwulf Boritt) is designed to be efficient in moving us from scene to scene so that we can stay with the intensity of the story. The story is still about a young boy, growing into a young man and the choices that he must ( and will ) make. The young man Calogero ( did I mention they are Italian) who is called “C” is played by Joey Barreiro, who is in fact our story teller. His young self, which is how the story starts is played by the adorable Frankie Leoni ( at some performances Shane Pry).

The show opens on a street corner and under the street lamp some singers almost giving us the “Jersey Boys” feeling. We start to meet our characters as “C” starts to introduce us into the story ( this is the 1960’s world we have gone back to) and young “C” is witness to a shooting. He does not “rat” on the shooter, Sonny ( played to absolute perfection by Joe Barbara), who then takes the “kid” under his wing.

“C” is torn between his father,  Lorenzo ( Richard H. Blake) and Sonny. Carmine is a bus driver, struggling to pay the rent and Sonny has more money than “C” has ever seen. Of course te paths they have chosen are as different as night and day. This is a tale about respect, love, loyalty and of course, family. “C” does fall for a young girl at school, Jane (Briana-Marie Bell) who is African-American and remember, this was the late 1960’s, so she would have been classified “forbidden fruit”. Here is where we have a “West Side Story” feeling as the Italians and the African-Americans clash. It was a part of the history of the area ( and in some parts of our world still exists).

This is a show that is filled with Doo-Wop music that will have you tapping your toes and learning a lot about loyalty and meeting the “Great One”. Sonny uses this term to explain to “C” how to know if the girl you meet is a keeper. This little bit about helping her into the car on that first date is adorable. The ensemble for this show is one that has high energy and while you might not fall in love with the music, it does help propel us through the story. I do recall seeing Palminteri doing the show, I think back in 2007 or 2008 and I have seen the film, several times. I love the story and the one man show. The musical version is enjoyable and two hours of solid entertainment ( with some lessons to be learned).

“A Bronx Tale” the Musical will only be here through the 24th of March, so one needs hurry to make sure they see this saga, now with music. The performances are as follows:

Tuesdays  7:30 p.m

Wednesdays  2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  2 p.m.  and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ( no performance on the 24th in the evening)

Tickets range from $27- $98 making this an affordable show and can be purchased at any of the Broadway In Chicago theaters, or at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

The Nederlander ( formerly the Oriental) Theatre is located at 24 West Randolph Street.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “A Bronx Tale”: the Musical.