A Bronx Tale at Orpheum Theatre
Take a walk with us through 1960’s New York. This streetwise musical will take you to the stoops of the Bronx where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he’d love to be. Featuring an original doo-wop score, this is a tale about respect, loyalty, love, and above all else, family. Only at The Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, this critically acclaimed musical directed by the legendary Robert De Niro and based on the true story of his longtime friend Chazz Palminteri this is a performance you do not want to miss!
A Bronx Tale Tickets
“Broadways Hit Crowd Pleaser” – The Hollywood Reporter
“An Unforgettable tale of Fathers and Sons, lasting loyalty and first love”
“It’s Jersey Boys meets West Side Story” – AM New York
Growing up in the Bronx in the 1960’s is tough, the young Calogero Anello, played by Trey Murphy or Anthony Gianni Cipola, witnesses the fatal shooting outside his home by the much feared neighborhood mob boss, but when Calogero is taken under the wing of the neighborhood mobster Sonny, played by Jeff Brooks, for not turning him in to the Police, and is initiated into the ways of Italian-American gangland lifestyle. This lifestyle is however in direct conflict with Calogera’s father Lorenzo, played by Nick Fradiani, a strait as an arrow bus driver. With a Ney York backround of guns, violence and racism, it’s no surprise when an older Calogero, now played by Alec Nevin, falls in love with his former class mate Jane Williams, played by Kayla Jenerson, and African-American girl. If these two are seen together anywhere in the Bronx they could start an all-out war, but with tensions rising in the neighborhood that might happen all on its own. Can Calogero and Jane keep it together long enough to save their new found love?
A Bronx Tale has a long-twisted history of re-writes and is based on Chazz Palminteri childhood. Originally it was a one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri in 1939, telling the coming-of-age story of Calogero Anello, a young New Yorker torn between the temptations of organized crime and the values of his hardworking father. It originally premiered in Los Angeles in the 1980s, before moving Off-Broadway. Then the 1993 crime-drama movie adapted it for the big screen, it tells the same coming of age story of an Italian-American boy, Calogero Anello, who, after encountering a local Mafia boss, is torn between the temptations of organized crime, racism in his community, and the values of his honest, hardworking father. The screenplay was re-written by both Robert De Niro and Palminteri and starred both actors too and was Robert De Niro’s directing debut film. The new Musical is based on the same material, now a complete book by Chazz Palminteri, after a ten-year development process it is again directed by two-time Oscar Award winner Robert De Niro and co-directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks. The show features music by Academy, Oscar, Grammy and Tony Award winner Alan Menken, lyrics by Grammy Award winner, Oscar and Tony Award nominee Glenn Slater, choreography by Laurence Olivier and Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo, sets by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley, and sound by Laurence Olivier and Tony Award winner Gareth Owen.
A Bronx Tale Reviews
“The characters are simple, the storytelling is derivative of better-known musicals (“West Side Story,” “Jersey Boys”) and the tone is excessively sentimental and solemn. But “A Bronx Tale,” the new Broadway musical based upon actor-writer Chazz Palminteri’s coming of age in an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx of the 1960s, is nevertheless an entertaining crowd-pleaser and a poignant piece of theater. If it works, it works. There is a heartwarming aura to the storytelling and a palpable sense of sadness lurking under the nostalgia. It also can’t be denied that the undercurrents of racial and ethnic tensions and working-class identity resonate in the current political atmosphere. The staging (by Jerry Zaks and De Niro) is tight and high-powered. Composer Alan Menken (“Little Shop of Horrors”) and lyricist Glenn Slater (“School of Rock”) have built a fresh and flavorful score combining elements of early rock, street corner doo-wop and nightclub jazz. Sergio Trujillo’s active choreography and Beowulf Boritt’s gritty urban scenic design also contribute to the overall dramatic effectiveness.”
– Matt Windman, AM New York.
“A Bronx Tale Explores the Struggle for a Boy’s Soul. Sometimes plain old pasta with red sauce is just what the doctor ordered. “A Bronx Tale,” which opened at the Longacre Theater on Broadway on Thursday, might be called the musical-theater equivalent of that classic comfort food. It doesn’t break ground or dazzle with an unusual recipe — like, say, mixing rap and American history — but it delivers reliable pleasures with polished professionalism and infectious energy. If there’s a secret ingredient that gives the musical version a zest that freshens the material, it is — perhaps obviously — the wonderful and ample score, featuring music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater. Mr. Menken is known for his long association with Disney material like the animated movies “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” all of which became Broadway shows. At a refreshingly brisk two hours, “A Bronx Tale” moves through the story of Calogero’s conflicted loyalties at a rhythmic clip that’s enhanced by the lively, idiomatic choreography of Sergio Trujillo. Even the sleek and simple sets, by Beowulf Boritt, featuring period fire escapes and storefronts, are light on their feet, sliding into place and reassembling almost in time to the music. “A Bronx Tale” is certainly not without its formulaic or sentimental aspects. Few mainstream musicals are. But it captures both the milieu it evokes and the colorful characters who populate it with a buoyancy and humor that ultimately won me over. Public service announcement: If you’re already mourning the imminent closing of “Jersey Boys,” this is the show for you.”
– Charles Isherwood, The New York Times.
