Interview: Keith Alessi of TOMATOES TRIED TO KILL ME BUT BANJOS SAVED MY LIFE at Orlando Fringe
By: Clarissa Moon
After a successful career as the CEO of several prominent companies, Keith Alessi retired to pursue his life-long passion of playing the banjo. Weeks later, he received a deadly cancer diagnosis. TOMATOES TRIED TO KILL ME BUT BANJOS SAVED MY LIFE at the Orlando Fringe tells Alessi's story of how music helped him heal.
In a special Fringe edition of "Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars," I talk to Alessi about the boardroom, the banjo, and more!
The Orlando Fringe ends May 27. For more information, visit orlandofringe.org.
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Off-Broadway Play - Top 3
1.
A Christmas Carol (Thorne Adaptation) - PAC NYC
8.8% of votes
2.
Prince F****t - Playwrights Horizons
8% of votes
3.
Andre De Shields is Tartuffe - House of the Redeemer
4.6% of votes
Videos