A Bronx Tale

A Bronx Tale is an autobiographical one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri. It tells 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 1989, before moving Off-Broadway. A film version involving Palminteri and Robert DeNiro was released in 1993. In 2007, Palminteri performed his one-man show on Broadway and on tour. A musical version, A Bronx Tale directed by Robert De Niro opened in 2016 at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway and played until December 2018. Overview A Bronx Tale tells the story of Calogero Anello, a young boy from a working class family who gets involved in the world of organized crime. Calogero's father is a bus driver who tries to instill working-class family values in his son. As Calogero gets older, the aura and mystique of the Mafia, and the charms of Sonny, the local mob boss who befriends Calogero (and ends up becoming a father figure to him), become difficult to resist. As Calogero comes of age, he must struggle with the choice of following his beloved father's values or submitting to the temptations of the life of organized crime. Background and productions Palminteri states that he began writing the play after being fired from a club when, as a doorman, he refused entry to super agent Swifty Lazar. The play is largely based on Palminteri's own childhood, specifically the shooting Calogero witnesses as a child, as well as the occupation and name of his father.