BWW Q&A: Tony Sportiello Talks THE PAPARAZZI at AMT Theater

AMT Theater was created out of covid as an affordable theater alternative for those living in Hell's Kitchen and the heart of the theater district. Since then it has won several awards, including Best Newcomer and Best Venue from 42nd Street Online. "The Paparazzi" is a musical written with award winning composer/lyricist Al Tapper. In 2017 It was performed in Guadalajara, Mexico, in Spanish, where it won several awards. This is the first full production of the show here in New York City and the eighth collaboration overall between Tony as Producer and Al as Author, including Sessions, An Evening at the Carlyle, David the Musical, Bettinger's Luggage, An Unbalanced Mind, National Pastime and On The Right Track. 

The Paparazzi will play at AMT Theater, 354 West 45th Street. Previews are March 4th and 5th, Opening Night is March 6th. Shows are Wednesday through Sunday; Wednesday through Saturday at 7pm - Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $55/$25 for seniors and students. Go to www.amttheater.org for tickets or call 917 388 2630.

Tony Sportiello has been the Artistic Director of AMT Theater since its inception in 2021. He has overseen six full productions at AMT and eight Youth Theater Productions. He is a playwright who has had productions in New York, London, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Guadalajara, Mexico, Finland and China. He has two scripts in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. 

What was the inspiration behind "The Paparazzi"?

The inspiration for The Paparazzi came almost twenty five years ago with the death of Princess Diana. I was working at Bloomberg Television at the time and of course the story was the biggest of the year. I knew photographers who were there at the time and as I listened to their stories I couldn't help feel that the actions of the paparazzi contributed greatly to the tragedy. The constant pressure, the intrusiveness, the disregard for personal safety, and for what? To take the picture of someone who at most times did not want their picture taken. That turned into a short one act play, which turned into a part of a longer full length play and finally has its own incarnation as a full length musical.

Can you talk about the process of creating "The Paparazzi" with Al Tapper?

Al and I have worked on over a dozen shows in one way or another, sometimes with me as the producer and sometimes with me as the producer and book writer. The Paparazzi went the route of most of those shows. Al has a huge catalogue of songs he's written over the years. I listen to the songs and see where and when I can use them to create the story. Lyrics have to be changed, of course, and occasionally Al will come up with a brand new song I've never even heard of ("It's a Pity" is one of those songs) but by and large I set up the plot, work with Al on which songs would work best in what place, we do a few readings, work more on it, go into rehearsal, work even more on it and eventually put it in front of an audience.

How has your experience as a playwright influenced your role as Artistic Director at AMT Theater?

The awards are nice, of course, and we worked very hard to earn them. In a way it helps with publicity and marketing and bringing people to the theater. It helps establish credibility. But obviously awards are subjective and we don't feel we are in any way more accomplished or superior to Birdland or The Laurie Beechman or hundreds of other top notch theater companies in the city. So we'll use the awards as tools to let people know we've done some good work in the past and hope to continue to do good work in the future.

AMT Theater has been recognized as Best Newcomer and Best Venue, what do these accolades mean for the theater and the production of "The Paparazzi"?

New York is where The Paparazzi was born and there is no city on earth, including Los Angeles, which has a greater tie to the paparazzi. The amount of celebrities who are visible in New York is higher than that of almost anywhere else, namely because NYC is so condensed. You can literally see John Travolta and Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep and Katie Holmes walking down a street somewhere. The other unique element is that New Yorkers tend to be a bit more jaded when it comes to the paparazzi and celebrity status. We see it all the time and unlike Los Angeles, which embraces a celebrity presence, New Yorkers tend to shy away from it. I think this natural cynicism is healthy and something inherent to Manhattan.

What unique elements does "The Paparazzi" bring to the New York City theater scene?