{"id":268094,"date":"2026-06-16T01:10:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T01:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/268094\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T01:10:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T01:10:27","slug":"a-bronx-tale-cast-crackles-with-chemistry-energy-at-the-rev-in-auburn-theater-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/268094\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Bronx Tale\u2019 cast crackles with chemistry, energy at The Rev in Auburn (theater review)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Something unusual happened in the theater last night. I found myself moved by the curtain call for the musical \u201cA Bronx Tale,\u201d<\/a> The Rev\u2019s season opener. <\/p>\n

There was nothing strange about the staging of final bows for the large cast, but something emanated from that stage which we rarely see\u2014or feel. That something was a sense of joy in ensemble, a community onstage. That energy lifted \u201cA Bronx Tale,\u201d a familiar story of coming of age in difficult surroundings in a way I hadn\u2019t expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Bronx Tale\u201d began as an autobiographical one-man show by actor Chazz Palminteri; it was an off Broadway sensation in 1989. The piece was so admired by Robert De Niro that the star chose to make a film version of \u201cA Bronx Tale\u201d as his first directorial effort in 1993. The movie, starring Palminteri and De Niro was critically acclaimed, and the musical, which hews closely to the outline of the original followed 13 years later. It ran for almost two years on Broadway.<\/p>\n

The musical itself is a skillfully constructed Faustian story. \u201cA Bronx Tale\u201d recounts a battle for the soul of young Calogero Anello (a stand-in for Palminteri himself), growing up in The Bronx Italian enclave of Belmont Avenue in the 1960s. Calogero is torn between the seductive life of a criminal as personified by Sonny, the local wise guy and the steady working class existence of his bus driver father Lorenzo.<\/p>\n

\"MikeMike Keller as Sonny and Trevor James as Calogero in The REV Theatre Company\u2019s production of \u201cA Bronx Tale.\u201dRon Heerkens Jr.<\/p>\n

As a child, Calogero witnesses the mobster shoot someone, but doesn\u2019t pick him out of a line-up. He becomes Sonny\u2019s good luck charm and his shadow. As he grows into his teens, Calogero, re-named \u201cC\u201d by his mentor, is respected on the streets because of his connections. He goes to high school alongside students from Webster Avenue, the Black neighborhood just a few blocks away from Belmont where Jane, his first love, lives.<\/p>\n

The songs are by Oscar and Tony winner Alan Menkin with lyrics by Glenn Slater, and the score holds reflections of Menkin\u2019s \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d and \u201cLittle Mermaid.\u201d <\/p>\n

A couple of nifty doo-wop numbers, the \u201cBelmont Avenue\u201d and its mirror image second act opener \u201cWebster Avenue,\u201d set the era in place, and show how the kids in both neighborhoods are more alike than they think.<\/p>\n

\"MiracleMiracle Myles as Tyrone, Tuesday Usry as Denise, and Christian Perkins as Jesse in The REV Theatre Company\u2019s production of \u201cA Bronx Tale.\u201dRon Heerkens Jr.<\/p>\n

Sonny\u2019s songs have a properly 1960s Rat Pack sound. \u201cNicky Machiavelli,\u201d a jaunty ode to his own literary hero, asserts, \u201cThe answer ain\u2019t love, it\u2019s fear.\u201d \u201cOne of the Great Ones\u201d advising Calogero to taking a chance on first love, could easily be a Sinatra cover. <\/p>\n

The storyline flattens a little bit on the musical stage, reaching just a little too high for the heartfelt and missing the brutality of the life Sonny represents. <\/p>\n

Calogero\u2019s vacillation between Sonny\u2019s life of power peppered with valuable advice and his father\u2019s solid if sometimes flawed values seems a little pat. But at The Rev, because of the terrific ensemble and some deft character work, the entire package is marvelously entertaining, with just enough truthful moments to lift the evening.<\/p>\n

As Calogero, who narrates the story, Trevor James moves and charms with a little of the slickness of a nascent mafioso until he\u2019s caught in the trap of young love across racial lines. <\/p>\n

The Jane subplot, a clear \u201cWest Side Story\u201d riff, was added by De Niro for the film and was drawn from his own life. It feels fresher here than it should, thanks to James\u2019s chemistry with the radiant Arjaye Christina, who has a gorgeous voice and flashes a thousand-watt smile.<\/p>\n

\"TuesdayTuesday Usry as Denise, Sophia Hillman as Frieda, and Arjaye Christina as Jane in The REV Theatre Company\u2019s production of \u201cA Bronx Tale.\u201dRon Heerkens Jr.<\/p>\n

Mike Keller plays Sonny with a benign weariness. He knows these guys don\u2019t need to shout, and he quietly dominates every scene he\u2019s in. The charismatic Sonny towers over the proceedings and Keller (excuse the expression) kills it.<\/p>\n

The way the show is constructed, with Sonny at the center, the role of concerned dad Lorenzo doesn\u2019t register as strongly as it did in the film with De Niro\u2019s own gravitas shifting the weight. At The Rev, Alan Chandler does what he can, standing up to Sonny with righteous anger of a parent seeing his son go wrong. He\u2019s best in the early scenes with Young Calogero, played with gusto by on opening night by Rhys Natoli (who shares the role with Benjamin DeBenedetto).<\/p>\n

The strongest part of the Rev production is its spirited ensemble, which is deftly guided by director Brett Smock. Each character, whether bearing a colorful moniker like a mug from \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d or moving in the background on Milo Bue\u2019s scenic design, is clearly defined. The choreography by Elle May Patterson is sharp and witty.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Bronx Tale\u201d doesn\u2019t hold many surprises. Even though it\u2019s based on Chazz Palminteri\u2019s own youth, the story is archetypal. The Rev production exploits the familiarity and explodes with energy.<\/p>\n

\"EmmaEmma Sucato, Erica Per\u00e9z-Gotay, and Caroline Desmarais perform in The REV Theatre Company\u2019s production of \u201cA Bronx Tale.\u201dRon Heerkens, Jr. \/ Goat Factory Media Entertainment, LLCShow details<\/p>\n

What: \u201cA Bronx Tale,\u201d produced by The Rev.<\/p>\n

Where: Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Emerson Park, Auburn.<\/p>\n

When seen: June 3.<\/p>\n

Length of performance: 2 hours and 10 minutes with intermission.<\/p>\n

Family guide: Fine for high school age. Stylized violence and some vulgarities. <\/p>\n

Run through: June 20.<\/p>\n

Information: (315) 255-1785, therevtheatre.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Something unusual happened in the theater last night. I found myself moved by the curtain call for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,103556,24357,9,24,63,103557,129,131,130,8177],"class_list":["post-268094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-mgrt","tag-musical","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-rev","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}