A BRONX TALE Previews — Page 2

Act One:

Belmont Avenue

Look to Your Heart

Roll 'Em

I Like It

Giving Back the Money

I Like It (reprise)

Ain't It the Truth

Out of Your Head

Nicky Machiavelli

These Streets



Act Two:

Webster Avenue

Out of Your Head (reprise)

One of the Great Ones

Ain't It the Truth (reprise)

Look To Your Heart (reprise)

One of the Great Ones (reprise)

Hurt Someone

In a World Like This

The Choices We Make

I still don't understand why this show should be on Broadway right now. Can anybody make the case for why this story, this music is pertinent? I've just never had such little interest in seeing something.

BroadwayConcierge -

I bet there are theatre fans asking,

I still don't understand why WAR PAINT should be on Broadway right now. Can anybody make the case for why this story, this music is pertinent? I've just never had such little interest in seeing something.

Melissa, I liked the sets (four rotating, metal fire escapes with storefronts below). I like projections when they're used creatively, like in American Psycho or the Sunday revival, but often I find they are a lazy substitute for a three-dimensional set pieces, so I very much enjoyed a projection-free evening of real sets.

My big complaint about those fire escapes is that they were barely used to stage any of the action. You have all these different heights and levels and yet most of the action takes place in front of them, downstage center.

For anyone who saw it at Papermill, is the song list the same? I would love to know what, if anything, was changed in the score and particularly the book between the Papermill run and now.

Sad to hear that those of you who have seen it haven't really enjoyed it. Keep in mind, though, that the show is still constantly changing as they rehearse in previews. Just last night, they added in a new scene. I'm still looking forward to seeing it again on November 23rd!

Cfried, no doubt there will be some changes made during previews, but I worry that there won't be enough time (or possibly desire based on how little the song list has changed since Papermill) to make the large structural overhauls that are necessary to make A Bronx Tale really work.

I doubt they would have the guts to really slash the early 1960 timeline, but if I were in charge I would turn all of that into a 10-15 minute prologue and then get right into the action with high school aged C in 1968. The 9 year old self getting so much attention and stage time really forces the show to remain in first gear far longer than it should. Jane needs to be introduced much, much earlier in the evening. Can you imagine a West Side Story where act one is all about Tony and the Jets and then Maria, Anita and the Sharks don't make an appearance until the end of act one? That puts a major burden to burn through loads of plot in act two.

They should cut the Luck Be a Lady number where Sonny teaches young C how to play craps. Instead have teenage C meet Jane and she could say, Don't you run around with that Sonny guy? How did you guys get started together? C could then sing to her about how he was always Sonny's lucky charm as a kid and use some corny double entendre for the title like "I Always Get Lucky." This still gets in the story about the crap games, but it is used to deepen the adult character and show how our lead couple fell for each other.

Not only does Jane and the West Side Story arc really need work, but the drama with C being torn between obeying his father and running around with Sonny is underdeveloped too. The conflict remains on a very superficial level and none of the conflict is really explored in song. In fact, the father basically disappears for all of act two. Blake deserves to get a big act two number explosive number where he's had enough with his son's reckless way. The father has always played by the rules; he's a city bus driver who won't get involved with neighborhood politics. The mother reveals that he once had dreams to be a musician (we never hear from the father on this), but he appears to have given these up to put his head down, smile and quietly suffer to give his family a better life. Sounds like a great spot for a song, but it never comes. I wanted the father to really rip into C, telling him how ungrateful he has been for the opportunities he provided his son. We kind of need a William's Song from The Tap Dance Kid here. Also, why not give C a song about how he has two father figures in his life and the different things each one brings. Or give that as a duet to Sonny and the father. Or make it a trio. I don't know- there's lots of opportunity to explore these characters and their inner lives, but each one is passed up.

Okay... assuming that they were willing to make HUGE overhauls on the show to fix it before opening (which I highly doubt they are - based on the song list changes) I also agree with Whizzer here. Here's my list of changes.

- One of the biggest things missing from the "narrator" bit is the reason why the narrator is telling us this story here and now. Some "clue" or "forward" needs to be added in the opening to hook us into the story immediately.

- The opening number Belmont Ave doesn't do enough to setup the "stasis" of our lead character and show us why he so desperately needs a change in his life. For that matter the music isn't exciting enough and the lyrics just repeat "belmont ave" over and over for six minutes. Seems like some major changes to the opening number are in order here. If the story is going to be about how dangerous it is for C to date a black woman and join a gang, then they should introduce the rules of the Bronx in the opening number so that later when he breaks the rules we know what is at stake. There should be a line or two about not going down to the black avenue, and about not ratting out gangsters and about showing respect on the streets etc.

- The second song, Look to Your Heart, should be cut and replaced with something that shows a stronger "want" for our leading man (boy) C. C's father should not be in this number at all IMO. This might be an easy lyric change actually, but the melody of this song isn't memorable either so a whole new song would probably be a better idea. The song should show that C wants more than a life driving busses like his father. The idea of following one's heart leads to C's ultimate decision to go against society and date a black girl but the song doesn't tell us what the characters want out of life. The show currently lets the first thirty minutes go by without building up any of the things we'll need to see the story unfold.

- The roll them bones songs is a fun moment, but it doesn't work tonally with the rest of the show. I agree with Whizzer that it should be cut. Instead Sonny should take C under his wing and start paying him and his father finds out he could sing a song about how he wants more out of life from him than being a gangster. They could even move the FOLLOW YOUR HEART song here and change the lyrics a bit to be more of a warning against the streets. Also... they should introduce the love interest as a little girl here... a childhood friend that C should never have had, but still does. This would immediately make the story more interesting and raise the stakes. After this song Sonny should decide to be a gangster and then we will flash forward to 1968.

- I LIKE IT would now be sung as teenage C who likes all of the respect he gets from being in Sonny's crew and we get an update on how things have changed on belmont ave and in C's life since he chose to roll with Sonny.

- From there I would introduce a subplot about what it means to be a gangster and roll with Sonny... There should be a subplot about Sonny and all of his dealings and the audience should see that C doesn't really see any of it, or that he looks at Sonny with rose colored glasses when in fact there is a lot going on there (this will help to avoid the current deus ex machina ending).

- We should get to see C and Jane fall in love. Currently we do not see them do anything but meet one time. Decide to go to the movies another time... and then somehow fall in love between the time they set a movie date, and the time they never actually go on the movie date. This is crap. lol. Don't cheat us out of seeing them fall in love in a time when their love was forbidden. That's the juicy part. That's the gold. We need way more of that.

- Question for the writers: What does being in Sonny's crew mean? What are the every day dealings that C would have to do to stay on Sonny's pay roll? Deliver numbers here or there? Collect money from people? A montage about every day life would help clarify those things and also show us what C's family has been up to for the last few years. Roll them Bones might actually work in a scenario like this... but it needs to be earned.

- gosh... that's only half way through act one... I don't really have the time or brain power right now to finish these suggestions, but these few would at least get the story revved up a bit earlier. Overall the book expects us to understand the characters and situations fully without taking the time to explain or explore them. As someone who has never seen the movie I assume that they expect that we will just know the material but I do not. Overall I don't understand the stakes of the situations because they aren't in the libretto in it's current form, and I don't understand why C is telling us this story. Why should we care? If they can answer that question I think it will inform a lot of the book, and probably the ending as well.

- Note to the director: Cut all the standing and singing. These songs would be much more interesting if you set them in the busy city streets of the Bronx. Include two or three scene changes during each musical number and let the ensemble become part of scenery.

- Note to lighting designer: In the many moments of soliloquy and small duets... do you really need to have the entire stage lit? Anything you can do to help the show feel smaller would help the focus and story telling immensely. This show would probably work much better in a small space... you can help to make it feel smaller than it actually is.

- Oh... and one last note to Alan Menken... dude this show needs at least one GREAT song. You're the master of writing great songs and it's time to put that to use here. If we had at least ONE song we were humming as we left the theatre this show could run. YOU CAN DO IT! :)

Rooting for y'all!

Updated On: 11/4/16 at 09:13 AM

Any news about a rush? Thank you!

A Director, sure, I think War Paint's reasons to be on Broadway are twofold: 1) it's a particularly new story (how many other Broadway musicals detail a rivalry between cosmetics industry icons?), and 2) the duo of legendary stars is extremely enticing.

Now, why should Bronx Tale be on Broadway? Aside from Whizzer's astute comment that it's seeking out the soon-departed Jersey Boys demographic, I'm still at a loss.

"Keep in mind, though, that the show is still constantly changing as they rehearse in previews."

Right, because that happens so frequently today - a brilliant director turns a boring flop that's been in development for a decade into a hit in a few weeks.

Also, Fanny Brice became an overnight sensation when she stuffed a pillow up her wedding dress.

Add other theatrical clichés here.

I think the non-cynical answer is this piece has been a major passion project for Chazz Palminteri, Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks over the years; the latter two directed the film and original Broadway production of the play respectively.

I wonder how involved with the direction De Niro has been on a day to day basis. The staging is full of schtick and has Zaks' fingerprints all over it.

I don't think it needs anymore justification to exist on Broadway than a passionate creative team and the funds to get the thing running.

The idea of using fire escapes as a set design representing working class urban New York was already old when used for the original production of West Side Story.