One That Got Away: A Bronx Tale: The Musical

The 2016 - 2017 Broadway season was somewhat remarkable for me in that I managed to miss seven new musicals that opened. Seven. I'm not sure why that is, aside from the fact that so many musicals opened that year. I have varying degrees of regret about each one, but the one I kick myself the hardest over is A Bronx Tale: The Musical.

There really is no excuse. It ran for a long time (amazing for a show that got zero award nominations), and there were plentiful discounts. I did see the play version several years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. We must have passed the Longacre Theatre dozens of times over the year and a half it was there, and never once did we even consider seeing about getting tickets.

Now, looking back on it, it really was One That Got Away. I regret not seeing how a good one-man play was expanded and opened up to have a full cast of characters. And then there's the score by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, both of whom have a resume of work that I thoroughly enjoy and respect. But mostly, I regret missing out on the amazing original Broadway cast.

Amazing how many the cast has gotten so well known in the short time since the show opened four years ago this week! Richard H. Blake has long been on my radar - all the way back to his child actor days in Teddy and Alice and The Will Rogers Follies, and, of course, more recently in Legally Blonde. It would be really nice to be able to say we were there for the Broadway debuts of both Bobby Conte Thornton (Company) and Christiani Pitts (King Kong). Another actor I've admired for some time is Ariana DeBose, who's star has exploded these days, what with Hamilton on Disney+ (she's "The Bullet"), The Prom on Netflix, and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. That I missed her in A Bronx Tale will probably gnaw at me for a long time. But my biggest regret, for obvious reasons, is that we missed Nick Cordero's final Broadway turn. His death pains us all.

Bobby Conte Thornton and Nick Cordero

Ariana DeBose (center)

A Bronx Tale: The Musical began previews at the Longacre Theatre on November 3, 2016, and opened on December 1, 2016. After 28 previews and 700 performances, the show closed on August 15, 2018.

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Trends of the Season: Movie to Musical Stars

Well, not yet, but maybe someday...

Well, the idea of movies being turned into musicals goes way back (despite some people thinking this is a new trend), and, in fact all four nominees for Best Musical last season were such musicals.  And there have been plenty of Broadway musicals that were made into movies - many with their original stars. But this year, there is a new small trend developing: the original star of the film version joining the Broadway musical version. Yes, indeed, there have been two such cast additions in recent weeks.

First, there was Chazz Palminteri, who recently joined the soon-to-close A Bronx Tale: The Musical. He not only appeared in the film version, he wrote it! And this isn't even the first time he's played the role on Broadway - he also starred (and wrote) in the one-man play version!

Palminteri in the film version with Robert DeNiro (who co-directed the musical!)

Palminteri in the musical version: 

(left) with the original Broadway Sonny, Nick Cordero

(right) on stage at the Longacre (through August 5th)

Just this week, another original film star has joined the cast of a Broadway version - Sasson Gabay the original Tewfiq in the 2007 film, is the newest Tewfiq in the 10-time Tony winning musical, The Band's Visit. Interesting tidbit: he is credited as Sasson Gabai playing Tawfiq. Both names spelled differently this time around!

Gabai as Tawfiq in the film version 

With original BrodwayTewfiq, Tony-winner Tony Shalhoub

Tewfiq and Dina in the park

(top) with film Dina, Ronit Elkabetz

(bottom) with Broadway Dina, Tony-winner Katrina Lenk

Anyone else expecting Tina Fey and/or Lindsay Lohan joining Mean Girls? Wouldn't surprise me in the least...