Prince of Providence- NY?

[Boston Friend]

This Trinity Rep world premiere production is really amazing. Any chance of a production in NYC?

[dramamama611]

What is it? Just from the title, it sounds like local interest.

[David10086]

I doubt it. Outside of Providence / Boston, not many people know (or care) who Mayor Buddy Cianci was. It's a hit with locals of course (I'm born and raised in Providence, still live here) but I doubt it will sell tickets on Broadway. Off-Broadway, in a small theater for a limited run? Possibly...

[msmp]

dramamama611 said: "What is it? Just from the title, it sounds like local interest."

The life and times of Providence's (local) legendary mayor, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, who basically ran the city uninterrupted for over 20 years, plus a stint prior to the long-term run. Famously corrupt but also famously good at his job, public opinion here is you either loved or hated him. He later went to jail for...RICO, I think? I was pretty young at the time it happened. But he did make one last comeback bid for Mayor and came close.

[Wee Thomas2]

I could see it in a small space in NYC.  Heck, the Yogi Berra thing toured a bit (at least in Boston), so they'll try anything

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

It wouldn't be the first time a story about Buddy played NY, considering an entirely different take, Buddy Cianci... The Musical, played a six-night run at the 2003 Fringe Fest. (In 2017, a true crime podcast did a radio play of that unrelated project as a bonus follow-up to their episode on him; you can hear it on their SoundCloud.)

[theaterdarling]

Have not seen this and hope to get down to Providence to do so (if I win the lottery), but my general (not original) observation is that well-structured dramas with finely wrought characters that are true to a very specific time, place, and person, that few might know are often best at emitting universal truths. Good or great plays frequently transport us into worlds we are completely unfamiliar with and their success lies in that world still resonating with the audience despite the singularity of the setting/characters.  If "Prince of Providence" is well done (and the Boston Globe seems to think so), that few people have heard of Buddy Cianci is likely irrelevant. Seedy, corrupt medium-size city mayoral politics with a major egotist at the helm seems like a perfect (though not entirely new) microcosm of human nature that transcends one mayor in one city.

[msmp]

theaterdarling said: "Have not seen this and hope to get down to Providence to do so (if I win the lottery), but my general (not original) observation is that well-structured dramas with finely wrought characters that are true to a very specific time, place, and person, that few might know are often best at emitting universal truths. Good or great plays frequently transport us into worlds we are completely unfamiliar with and their success lies in that world still resonating with the audience despite the singularity of the setting/characters. If "Prince of Providence" is well done (and the Boston Globe seems to think so), that few people have heard of Buddy Cianci is likely irrelevant. Seedy, corrupt medium-size city mayoral politics with a major egotist at the helm seems like a perfect (though not entirely new) microcosm of human nature that transcends one mayor in one city."

Yeah, I'd agree with this. Makes me think of Fiorello! doing kind of well (albeit La Guardia was much better known); inverse was true there, in that it was about a reformer taking on the corruption that everyone can relate to in politics.

[Boston Friend]

Although some local focus, the show has sweep and deals well with grand themes (corruption in government, civic pride).

[zainmax]

msmp said: "theaterdarling said: "Have not seen this and hope to get down to Providence to do so (if I win the lottery), but my general (not original) observation is that well-structured dramas with finely wrought characters that are true to a very specific time, place, and person, that few might know are often best at emitting universal truths. Good or great plays frequently transport us into worlds we are completely unfamiliar with and their success lies in that world still resonating with the audience despite the singularity of the setting/characters. If "Prince of Providence" is well done (and the Boston Globe seems to think so), that few people have heard of Buddy Cianci is likely irrelevant. Seedy, corrupt medium-size city mayoral politics with a major egotist at the helm seems like a perfect (though not entirely new) microcosm of human nature that transcends one mayor in one city."

Yeah, I'd agree with this. Makes me think of Fiorello! doing kind of well (albeit La Guardia was much better known); inverse was true there, in that it was about a reformer takingon the corruption that everyone can relate to in politics."

La Guardia was also NY.

[theaterdarling]

I always thought if Buddy Cianci didn't exist David Mamet would have invented him. Because of this thread, I was curious to see if the two ever crossed paths, especially since Mamet lived in the Boston area for a period of time when Buddy would have been serving one of his terms as mayor.  Low and behold I came across this never realized film project--Mamet's source material was to be the same book that the play is based on.  https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/mamet-making-film-adaptation-mayor-15779/

https://observer.com/2005/05/can-a-shlemiel-play-the-prince-of-providence/

That Buddy's life was considered worthy of a film (however briefly)  also says something about the play's potential to appeal to theatergoers outside of Providence.

[round2]

Here's a story just out in the Boston Globe, from the first interview ever offered by Buddy Cianci's only wife, Sheila Bentley. Strong stuff: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/19/speaking-nearly-four-decades-buddy-cianci-wife-stayed-silent-about-their-marriage-about-abuse-about-complicated-man-she-loved-now/oKQNR5FW7idcnCNGan466M/story.html