CRYING ON THE CAMINO to Premiere At Theatre 555

Stage performer, Celeste Mancinelli has an extremely funny and deeply moving story to tell. After successful regional performances, actor/singer Celeste Mancinelli now brings her compelling mix of humor and poignancy Off-Broadway to 42nd Street. This special one-night performance of "Crying on the Camino" willl be presented at the newly renovated Theater 555. This NYC debut performance will benefit the American Pilgrims on the Camino, a non-profit association for people interested in the Camino de Santiago,a network of ancient pilgrimage routes leading to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.

Special Benefit Performance: Thursday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Theatre 555, 555 West 42nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, NYC.

Celeste's show recounts her 200-mile walk on the Portuguese Route to Santiago de Compostela. Her desire to share this experience brought her to the legendary teacher/director Wynn Handman, who helped her develop the show at his NYC studio.

Now Celeste embarks on a new "Camino," bringing this true account of her walk to the stage. "This piece is about minimalism and simplicity, self-reflection and honesty," says Mancinelli, a veteran stage actress. "In sharing this piece my goal is to inspire others to take their own journey - to fully live their own Caminos"

Contact Liz Cope at 347-497-4814 for donation info and reservations

Celeste Mancinelli has been performing professionally since the early 80's. Her NYC credits include the hit show "Nunsense" at the Douglas Fairbanks Theater, Cynthia Heimel's long-running play "A Girl's Guide to Chaos" at the American Place Theater (originating the character of Lurene) and Larry Gelbart's "1-2-3-4-5" at the Manhattan Theater Club. She has appeared as Mama in "My Big Fat Gay Italian Wedding" and its sequel (Funeral) at the St Luke's Theatre. Celeste has worked in numerous Off-Broadway, cabaret, stock, regional and national touring productions throughout the United States. Her most recent appearance was as Edith Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in West Virginia.

Celeste has proudly enjoyed a second career as an ASHA certified Speech/Language Pathologist and earned the NJSHA Distinguished Clinical Achievement Award. In that capacity, she developed a unique program at Spectra Academy in Montclair, New Jersey. This program targeted children/adolescents with Asperger's/Autism/ADHD assisting them with the development of comedy scenes and scripts resulting in two full-scale stage and four film performances, all conceived by her students. This rewarding opportunity allowed her to mesh her two professional careers at the same time for the first time.

During the COVID outbreak Celeste began writing/developing and performing her original, one-woman show, "Crying on the Camino" based on her 200 mile hike through Spain.

Celeste is thrilled to share this experience with all of you.