Actor gets personal in ‘A Bronx Tale’
Chazz Palminteri has a lot of affection for his play “A Bronx Tale,” and it means a lot to him that a lot of other people feel the same way.
“There’s people that have seen it 40 times,” Palminteri said in a telephone interview. “Alfred Hitchcock used to say there’s only three things you can do to an audience: You can make them laugh, you can make them cry, you can scare them. And in ‘Bronx Tale,’ we do all three. People laugh, people cry and they get scared.
“I never bragged about anything I did — I did over 70 movies — but this one-man show, it’s something that’s for the ages. People just love it.”
Palminteri, who’s is known for movies such as “Bullets Over Broadway” and “The Usual Suspects,” first did the solo show nearly 35 years ago and still takes it out on the road pretty frequently. He is bringing it to San Antonio for the first time Friday, when he’ll perform it at the Charline
Mccombs Empire Theatre.
“A Bronx Tale” is based on events from his childhood, including a murder he witnessed from his perch on the stoop in front of the apartment building where he lived and the ensuing friendship he developed with the charismatic mob boss who committed the killing. The show pits the mob
guy against the boy’s father, as each vies to be the dominant influence in the child’s life.
Palminteri wrote the show in an effort to jump-start his career. The inspiration came from his dad, who said, “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent. That was the impetus that made me write this thing.”
In the show, he brings to life various characters from his neighborhood, including himself as a kid, his dad, neighbors and mob guys.
He first performed “A Bronx Tale” in 1989 Los Angeles, then took it to New York, where it ran off-broadway. In 2007, he opened on Broadway, where the show ran for 111 performances.
It garnered lots of attention, leading to a film career that includes an Oscar nomination for “Bullets Over Broadway.”
He has kept revisiting “A Bronx Tale” over the years, touring it all over the country and adapting it into other forms. He wrote and appeared in the 1993 film version, which was directed by and co-starred Robert De Niro. And he wrote the book for the musical, which opened on Broadway in 2016 and ran for nearly two years. Palminteri also appeared in the musical for about two-and-a-half months as Sonny the mob boss, the same part he played in the movie.
Ultimately, the show did precisely what he wanted it to do.
“It changed my life,” he said. “I went from being totally unknown, just doing offbroadway theater, to starring in a movie with Robert De Niro and then ‘The Usual Suspects’ — I just skyrocketed, and I’ve been on a roll ever since. So, this was the catalyst.”
He still enjoys doing the solo version of the show, though it takes a little more out of him than it once did.
“I’ve gotta work out a lot harder,” he said. “With this play, you have to really work out — it’s a monster. But I love doing it. I’m in great shape, so it’s OK.