By Brian Pope
The timeless compositions of Alan Menken have been the heartbeat of many memorable musical tales dealing with the themes of duty, love, and morality.
Should Ariel abandon her family and kingdom for a pair of legs and a shot at love with a human prince? What lengths is Seymour willing to go to in order to impress his crush and bring business to the store he works at?
And now, with A Bronx Tale, comes the question of young Calogero’s soul. Menken and a naive central hero are unfortunately where the similarities end between classics like The Little Mermaid and Little Shop of Horrors and the dismal A Bronx Tale. As nondescript and presumptuous about its universality as its title is, thisTale functions better as an example of wasted potential than as a cautionary tale about wasted potential.
After opening in the same season as mega-hits Come From Away and Dear Evan Hansen,Tale eked out a respectable run of 700 performances. As I found the material lacking in just about every respect, I credit this musical’s setting of 1960s New York City, much more grounded than worlds where mermaids and man-eating alien plants exist and much more appealing to the Baby Boomer population. No matter how deeply the nostalgia resonates, though, there’s not much in the text or on the stage to remember or recommend.
Duking it out for influence first over the impressionable mind of Calogero are his father Lorenzo (2015 American Idol Nick Fradiani) and mob kingpin of Belmont Avenue Sonny (Jeff Brooks). It’s the developments within that struggle that initially hooked me but lost me more and more across the show’s surprisingly brisk (for a two act blockbuster, anyway) two hour duration.
First, the high energy opener—perhaps the only time that Menken’s music, Glenn Slater’s lyrics (also lyricist for Sister Act with Menken), and Sergio Trujillo’s choreography (recent Tony winner for Ain’t Too Proud) are simultaneously firing on all cylinders—is abruptly interrupted by a brutal point blank gunshot murder. Worse than that, the murder is witnessed by young Calogero (Trey Murphy or Anthony Gianni at select performances) from his stoop. Following the code of the neighborhood, Calogero lies and does not identify Sonny as the gunman when asked by the police. For obvious and sickening reasons, this endears Calogero to Sonny. Sonny promptly takes Calogero under his wing: renaming him “C”, teaching him the crap game, and showing him the joys of making fast money.
Lorenzo and C’s mother Rosina (Stefanie Londino) are virtually powerless to curb Sonny’s influence on their son. No matter how much their express their concerns for his well-being or extoll the virtues of an honest living, C is thoroughly seduced by the street cred afforded to him by association with Sonny.
As the show is not only based on the one-man play and 1993 film of the same name written by librettist Chazz Palminteri but also on his life (Calogero is his birth name), it would seem that he ultimately took is father’s advice to heart that there’s nothing worse than wasted talent. The musical, on the other hand, seems to side with Sonny at just about every turn. Fradiani and Brooks both bring tons of charisma and beautiful voices to their roles, but Brooks is gifted with the better material.
“I Like It” and “Roll ‘Em”, rare moments when A Bronx Tale actually feels like a musical, come out of Sonny’s largesse or C’s embracing of it. By contrast, Lorenzo’s “Look to Your Heart” and “These Streets” fade into the background of Beowulf Boritt’s drop-heavy set. It’s clear that Sonny grows to really care for C, but the script and song do not do the work to get us on the side of someone who is, at the end of the day, a killer.
Alec Nevin takes on the role of the older Calogero, who takes on the role of narrator for the show as a whole. Soon after he’s introduced another underdeveloped subplot is as well. C develops a crush on an African American girl named Jane (Kayla Jenerson), but the racial tensions of the period make them hesitant to pursue the relationship further. If it’s not frustrating enough that their “courtship” and Jane’s character are so painfully underwritten, both are explained away in a tacked on epilogue in a way that makes you question why the show bothered to include either.
I’ve resisted the urge until this point, but I think I’ll take a cue from the show and go for the obvious, unfunny gag. Despite the pedigree of this show’s creative team (Did I mention that one its co-directors is Robert De Niro?), this musical is more of a Bronx fail.
A Bronx Tale runs at the Benedum Center through Sunday 11/24. For tickets and more information, click here.
Brian Pope is a playwright and pop culture obsessive who has been writing for Pittsburgh in the Round since February of 2016. His plays have been produced by his own theatre company, Non-State Actors, as well as Yinz Like Plays?!, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. He’s also served as dramaturg for City Theatre’s 2018 Young Playwrights Festival and as both stage manager and actor for Alarum Theatre. When he’s not making or reviewing theatre, he’s actively pursuing his other passions, listening to showtunes and watching television.
Categories: Archived Reviews