Roundly recognized as one of the top films of the ’90s, A Bronx Tale first began as an autobiographical one-man play by Chazz Palminteri, who went on to star in the cinematic adaptation, which is also notable as it marked the debut of Robert De Niro as a director. Perhaps most interesting, Palminteri has continued to do the play, even as it’s been co-opted into multiple formats, including a musical, book, and even a film version of the one-man show.
Performing around the world with dozens of dates annually, all while maintaining his acting career, two restaurants, a line of wine, one of cigars – not to mention a podcast – Palminteri took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with me for a Vanyaland 617 Q&A ahead of a show in Cranston, Rhode Island. He talked about the legacy of the story, what people get wrong by including it in the mob-movie genre, and how his approach to the play has evolved over the 35 years since he began doing it.
This was a special interview to me as I’ve been wanting to see Palminteri do the play for at least two decades. To chat him up about it beforehand – and for him to be so engaging – was a fantastic bonus.
Check out the interview at the link above, and here’s one of the many memorable scenes from the film A Bronx Tale:
The Chronicles of Michael Christopher 
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