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Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State

Touring Broadway’s ‘A Bronx Tale’ to make its State College debut Oct. 30

NETworks Presentations is pleased to announce that the North American Tour of “A Bronx Tale,” the new musical featuring a book by Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri; music by Oscar, Grammy and Tony award winner Alan Menken; and lyrics by Grammy winner and Oscar and Tony nominee Glenn Slater will make its Penn State debut at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Eisenhower Auditorium.

Nick Fradiani, winner of the 2015 season of “American Idol,” stars as Lorenzo in the production. George Vickers V, who attended Penn State, plays Tyrone.

Purchase tickets, which are $68 and $59 for an adult, $50 and $41 for a University Park student, and $51 and $42 for a person 18 and younger. A grant from the University Park Student Fee Board makes Penn State student prices possible.

“A Bronx Tale” premiered at the Tony–winning Paper Mill Playhouse to critical and popular acclaim in Spring 2016. The show opened on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on December 1, 2016, following previews from November 3. The show ended its Broadway run on August 5, 2018, having played 700 performances and as the second-longest-running show in the history of the Longacre Theatre.

Based on the one-man show that inspired the now classic film, this streetwise musical takes audiences to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s—where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he’d love to be. Featuring an original doo-wop score, this is a tale about respect, loyalty, love and above all else, family.

“A Bronx Tale,” based on the original direction by two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro and four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks, will feature tour direction by Stephen Edlund with choreography by Tony winner Sergio Trujillo.

Watch a preview featuring the creative team.

The creative team also includes: Beowulf Boritt, scenic design; William Ivey Long, costume design; Howell Binkley, lighting design; Gareth Owen, sound design; Paul Huntley, hair and wig design; Anne Ford-Coates, makeup design; Stewart/Whitley, casting; and Robert Westley, fight coordinator. Music supervision and arrangements are by Ron Melrose and orchestrations are by Doug Besterman.

“A Bronx Tale” evolved from the one-man Off-Broadway play of the same title, written and performed by Palminteri in 1989. During the original Off-Broadway and subsequent Los Angeles engagements, De Niro came to see the show. He brought the story and star Palminteri to the screen in 1993, making his film directorial debut in the process. Following the success of the film, Palminteri performed the one-man show on Broadway in the 2007–08 season.

The original Broadway cast album is available on Ghostlight Records in digital formats, with CDs in stores and online.

Northwest sponsors the State College performance.

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring “A Bronx Tale” orchestra musicians Jason Bell (assistant conductor/keyboards) and Todd Barnhart (woodwinds), is offered in Eisenhower one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity, so seating is available on a first-arrival basis.