By Rachel Galvin
Actor/ playwright Chazz Palminteri will be bringing stories from his own life to the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Pavilion stage in his one man show “A Bronx Tale” on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. You may have seen the 1993 movie directed by Robert De Niro telling a tale of a father who becomes worried when a local gangster, Sonny, befriends his son Cologero in the Bronx in the 1960s. Palminteri, born Cologero, who plays Sonny in the movie, plays all 18 characters without props or a costume change in the show.
Palminteri wanted to be an actor since he was 10 or 11 years old and has found huge success, being seen in TV shows, as well as films like “Bullets Over Broadway,” “The Usual Suspects” and “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints,” which he lists as some of his favorites, among others. But since 2007, he has also been touring with his show.
“In Broadway, there was a line of people waiting to see it again,” said Palminteri, who says it is a huge hit everywhere it goes.
He added, “My show is a great show. The characters are all archetypes. Alfred Hitchcock once said, ‘…a movie can make you laugh, make you cry, scare you … if you do two out of three, you are doing really good. [With the show], I do all three. If you loved the movie, you will love the show even more.”
Asked what he hopes people will walk away with after seeing the show, he said, “I hope they go home and hug their kids [and learn] don’t waste your life. Seize the day. My father said the saddest thing in life is wasted talent.”
He added, “A lot of times, [the media] talks about the mafia. This is not about the mafia. This is about the butcher, the baker, about the working man, people like my dad, who was a bus driver, the fabric of the Italian American community.”
Palminteri was offered $1 million to step away from his script and he refused. He knew he had to be the one to do it.
“A lot of people talk about success,” he said. “You just have to do it.”
To find out more about his performance at the Seminole Casino, visit www.seminolecoconutcreekcasino.com/entertainment.
