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A Bronx Tale's Nick Cordero and Bigger-Than-Life Life

Few Broadway shows have the professional pedigree brought to life in the memory musical A Bronx Tale. Born of actor-writer Chazz Palminteri’s hit one-man stage/childhood-through-young-adulthood 1960s flashback, this indelible production shines brightly thanks in part to the performance by Nick Cordero as complicated gangster/mentor to Calogero (Chazz) that strikes the loudest and most poignant chord with theatregoers. Here’s an all-too-brief Q&A with the actor who brings the role of Sonny to bigger-than-life Life.

nick cordero bronx tale

Nick Cordero with Hudson Loverro and the cast of A Bronx Tale.

CG: How did you get involved with A Bronx Tale?

NC: When I was playing Cheech in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway on Broadway—a role that Chazz had played in the film—[producer] Tommy Mottola and Chazz came to see me in it. I was nominated for a Tony Award and right before the ceremony, Tommy tapped me on the shoulder and told me he wanted me to play Sonny. This was in June and by the fall we were doing a workshop. And then we did it at Papermill [a phenomenally successful run] and moved it on to Broadway.

CG: The show was co-directed by Robert De Niro and four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks—what was that like?

NC: Robert...Bob was a great asset. Of course he directed the film version of A Bronx Tale, so he had great insight as to what was needed to make the show as successful on stage as it was on film. Then there was Jerry Zaks, who is so wonderful in getting to the heart of the piece, that is bringing out the emotional content for the overall piece and the actors. Bob was great at showing the Bronx in an authentic way...and this was important. So working with both of them, we all felt well taken care of.

CG: Do you have a favorite moment in the show?

NC: In Act II there’s this great song. I think it will be an American classic, “One of the Great Ones,” that Sonny sings to Calogero when he comes to tell him he’s fallen for a black girl. In it, Sonny tells him she could be one of the three “great ones.” It’s a Sinatra piece and a treasure to do. The audience loves it—I think because it shows an unexpected side of Sonny. For me it’s an opportunity to play against type and make him more human.

CG: Any final thoughts or comments?

NC: I think the reason the show has stood the test of time is because you come expecting a gangster story and by the end you find yourself thinking of the world outside the world you live in. The essential part of the piece is tolerance and that makes this such a special story...one that comes to fruition in the musical because the musical format allows you to dig into these themes even more. With this score by greats Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, the themes of tolerance and acceptance are even more apparent.

Nick Cordero, Bobby Conte Thornton

Nick Cordero, Bobby Conte Thornton, and the cast of A Bronx Tale. Photo by Joan Marcus.

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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