Chazz Palminteri "A Bronx Tale" at Ridgefield Playhouse

Back by popular demand, Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse stage with “A Bronx Tale” in his only Connecticut performance! In 1989 Palminteri wrote for himself a play entitled “A Bronx Tale,” a powerful one-man stage commentary in which he depicted his bruising childhood in great detail, which included witnessing gangland slayings. Palminteri brought each and every character to life (18 in all) in this autobiographical piece — his friends, enemies, even his own family. He showcased for years in both Los Angeles and New York, finally sparking the interest of his film idol, Robert De Niro. DeNiro, wanting to direct for the first time, saw the potential of this project and brought both it and the actor/writer to the screen. An unknown film commodity at the time, Chazz had stubbornly refused to sell his stage property (the offers went into the seven figures) unless he was part of the package as both actor and screenwriter. DeNiro, who became his mentor, backed him up all the way, and the rest is history. A Bronx Tale (1993) debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, launched DeNiro’s directing career and solidified Palminteri as a star. Twenty years later, the American Film institute would name the film among their top 10 Gangster Films of all time.