What is it about gangsters that fascinates us? From Scarface to Don Corleone to Tony Soprano, fictional Mafia chieftains arouse equal parts admiration and terror. Perhaps it's the uncomfortable idea that a cold-blooded killer can also be, by his own standards, a man of honor. In his 1989 autobiographical solo play, A Bronx Tale, actor-playwright Chazz Palminteri presents his version of a real-life wise guy.
Sonny is a local hood who takes the young Palminteri under his wing, conducting a seminar on the rules of the streets. He urges the kid to stay in regular school too, so he'll be twice as smart as everybody else. The relationship leads to conflict with Lorenzo, the boy's father, a hard-working bus driver. After an intense confrontation between the men, they wage a silent war over the boy's future. The black-and-white world of the neighborhood becomes increasingly gray as Chazz grows up and faces the changing demographics of his once all-Italian enclave.
Palminteri first performed A Bronx Tale Off-Broadway at Playhouse 91. Robert De Niro saw it and decided to make the film version his directorial debut, also playing the father. Cast as Sonny, the author was launched on a movie career playing hairy-knuckled characters on both sides of the law. Now he returns in the vehicle that made him, and the production is a crackling good lesson in storytelling and acting. The script alternates between sharply staged set pieces -- director Jerry Zaks lends his customary polish -- and plot-advancing scenes. A craps game introduces us to all the neighborhood's wise guys and establishes Sonny's affection for young Chazz, but it never feels forced or expositional.
As a performer Palminteri is equally subtle. He never stoops to the showoff's trick of flashy mimicry when impersonating 18 different Bronx residents. The changes in body language and speech pattern are barely noticeable, but they convey the essence of each character. For Sonny, he curls down two fingers, shifts his weight into his chest, and becomes king of Belmont Avenue. With a twist of his lips, a hunch of his shoulders, or a spring in his step, he transforms into a sex-obsessed friend, a nasty-tempered peddler, or a song-filled bartender.
James Noone provides the evocative street-corner set, and Paul Gallo's lighting and John Gromada's sound design allow it to portray, as Palminteri does, an entire world.
Presented by Go Productions, John Gaughan/Trent Othick/Matt Othick, and Neighborhood Films in association with Jujamcyn Theaters
at the Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., NYC.
Oct. 25-Feb. 10. Tue.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (No performance Sun., Oct. 28.)
(212) 239-6200 or (800) 432-7250 or www.telecharge.com.