A Bronx Tale' is a one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri. Palminteri is currently appearing in a 2008-2009 U.S. national tour of his critically acclaimed play after a successful run on Broadway. The play is set in The Bronx section of New York City in the 1960s. 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.
A Bronx Tale premiered in Los Angeles in 1990, achieving great critical success. Palminteri, then moved the show to New York City, where it had a critically and commercially successful, four month off-Broadway run. A Bronx Tale ticket sales have had much success in Los Angeles as well as New York.
Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro attended a performance of A Bronx Tale in New York City and offered to buy the film rights to the show. Palminteri agreed to sell the film rights on the condition that he be cast as the role of Sonny. The film version of A Bronx Tale premiered in 1993. The film version marked the directorial debut of De Niro and helped catapult Palminteri's film acting career. This generous offer by Mr. Di Niro sparked the interest in A Bronx Tale tickets across the country.
