FINDING THE MORAL RUDDER TO NAVIGATE LIFE IS NEVER EASY WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG.THIS IS A BRONX TALE, AND IT’S 1968.

CHAZZ PALMINTERI TELLS THE TALE BEHIND THE TALE

IN 1960 IN THE BELMONT AVENUE SECTION OF THE BRONX, I was sitting on my front stoop on 187th Street. A car started backing into a parking space and another car tried to sneak in behind him. One man jumped out of a car with a baseball bat, and a fight broke out. Another man came over to protect his friend, pulled out a gun, and shot the man with the bat. I was maybe ten feet from them. The man stared at me and we were bonded for life. In the days following I got to know the man who pulled the trigger, and I became his friend. How was I to know that this incident would shape my life forever?

This was the beginning of A Bronx Tale.

I HAVE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. WITH BOB, I HAVE THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE MOVIE. HE IS VERY ARTICULATE WITH THE WAY CERTAIN THINGS LOOK AND WHERE THE TRUTH IS IN THE CHARACTERS.

JERRY IS THE REAL MUSICAL-COMEDY GUY. HE KNOWS STAGE MOVEMENT AND ALL THE NUTS-AND-BOLTS STUFF.”

CHAZZ PALMINTERI, BOOK

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ROBERT DE NIRO, CO-DIRECTOR

JERRY ZAKS, CO-DIRECTOR

WE HAVE A HARMONY HERE THAT CAN’T BE TAMPERED WITH.

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“YOU CAN’T HAVE TWO CONDUCTORS CONDUCTING THE ORCHESTRA AT THE SAME TIME—IT WILL DRIVE PEOPLE CRAZY. BUT YOU CAN HAVE TWO CONDUCTORS DISCUSSING WHAT THEY’VE SEEN AND IMPLEMENTING IT IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.

WE’VE WORKED OUT A PRETTY GOOD SYSTEM. WE EACH BRING DIFFERENT STRENGTHS TO THE UNDERTAKING.”

I grew up in a tough area of the Bronx and it gave me, young Calogero (my given name), the life lessons that would later prove very useful to my

career. I originally wrote the script for the stage and performed it as a one-man show in Los Angeles and New York. One night Robert De Niro walked into

the theater to see the show, and as they say, the rest is history.

“ THE AUDIENCE WHO COMES TO THIS SHOW JUST LOVES THE STORY AND THAT ERA, AND WANTS TO BE TAKEN ON A JOURNEY.

OUR JOB IN A WAY IS TO BE INVISIBLE AND SUPPORT THE VISION.”

“THIS MOVIE HAS SO MANY CLASSIC LINES AND MOMENTS EVERYONE KNOWS AND LOVES. IN A TRADITIONAL MUSICAL, THEY’D FEEL LIKE ANECDOTES THAT MIGHT NOT END UP BEING USED, BUT IN A STORY THAT’S ESSENTIALLY A SERIES OF ANECDOTES,

YOU NEED TO HONOR THOSE MOMENTS.”

ALAN MENKEN, COMPOSER

GLENN SLATER, LYRICS

Alan Menken and Glenn Slater made the decision to draw our musical score from the musical colors of the early ‘60s Bronx streets, setting in motion

everything that followed: the sets, the costumes, the lights, the sound, and, of course, our brilliant cast.

NICK CORDERO, SONNY

IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE AUTHENTIC

AND THAT’S WHAT BOBBY BROUGHT TO THE TABLE. HE WANTED TO PERFORM THE STORY

FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE ALIVE AT THE TIME, AND FOR PEOPLE WHO STILL LIVE THERE.

IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR HIM THAT AUDIENCES DIDN’T SEE A ‘SACCHARINIZED’ VERSION.

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The story of A Bronx Tale still resonates all over the world. I think it is because it is a story about family. A Bronx Tale was never

meant to be a gangster story. It is a family story about my father Lorenzo, the bus driver, and my mother Rosina,

and how they kept me on path to make the right choices in life.

THE STORY IS ABOUT THIS KID WHO GROWS UP IN A VERY INSULAR NEIGHBORHOOD.EVEN THOUGH IT’S IN NEW YORK CITY, IT’S LIKE A SMALL TOWN. THERE’S SOME LOVELY THINGS ABOUT THAT

BEOWULF BORITT, SET DESIGN

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.”CHAZZ PALMINTERI AND ROBERT DE NIRO WERE VERY MUCH INVOLVED WITH EVERYTHING.THEY WERE VERY SPECIFIC. WE NEEDED TO REALLY FIND THAT NEIGHBORHOOD

WILLIAM IVEY LONG, COSTUME DESIGN

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It was my father who used to say to me every day:

“THE SADDEST THING IN LIFE IS WASTED TALENT.DON’T WASTE YOURS, SON. PROMISE ME.”

I am glad I kept my promise.

– Chazz Palminteri

THE NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS’ PICK

“THE KIND OT TALE THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH AND CRY.”