 Character
Assassination
It’s
been almost a year since The Sopranos bid farewell on HBO, but it
seems that for six nights a week, you can immerse yourself in most
things “Sopranos-related” at the Riviera Hotel, with
The Soprano’s Last Supper. An interactive dinner show, let’s
mention right off the bat that this is a parody of the award-winning
show, meant to poke fun and show the lighter side of “mob
life,” as well as offer some up-front, face-to-face interaction
with the cast of characters.
As
early as 5:30 p.m., the audience was already being worked-up by
Rob Marrocco (“Benny Rocco”) and Jeff Celentano (“Nico
Biscotti”). Then, the “crime families” were introduced
– basically members of the audience – their names, as
menacing sounding as eating in an Italian restaurant, Provolone,
Rigatoni, Fusilli and Salami. If you’re game, host Jon Paul
Raniola (“Silvio”) might make a pole-dancer out of you,
as he did with two volunteers from the audience – Naomi and
Flora, who newly-christened herself, “Bubbles.”
The
opening credits start, and this in itself is a masterpiece in parody
and editing. Made to resemble the TV show’s opening credits,
this version had “Vegas scenes” interspersed instead
of New Jersey. It introduces the show’s plot as well –
that “Tony Soprano” has gone into hiding in Las Vegas,
and is going by the name “Tony Baritone.”
The
show moves forward smoothly, introducing the cast of characters
in vignettes – such as the opening scene of “Tony Baritone”
(Dean Mauro) in his trademark bathrobe. This is followed by a scene
between “Tony” and “Dr. Melfri” (Kellie
Karl), and then you meet “the boys.” The producers have
found a killer character actor in Dean Mauro – the mannerisms,
the accent – which never veered from character, the paunch;
he was so good that you actually saw nuances not only of James Gandolfini
but Robert De Niro as well.
 In
between more characters being introduced - “Meadow”
(Tony’s daughter) played by Jillian Pizzuto and Tony’s
girlfriend, “Dee Dee Diamond,” played by the very talented
Janine Valentine – an invitation to get on the dance floor,
one of many more throughout the evening, was issued. We also have
to single out Janine Valentine – she was great – the
Brooklyn accent, the whiny, nasal voice, the hair, the body…
she was everything a “mob girlfriend” could be, and
not at all in a bad, stereotypical way. And when she sang, there
was rapt attention from everyone in the audience. Whether she’s
belting out that disco-favorite, “We Are Family,” or
Oleta Adam’s soulful ballad, “Get Here,” she delivered
every single time. Even Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,”
gets a dose of “Dee Dee,” which you’ll just have
to see to get what I mean.
The
rest of “la famiglia” is introduced – there’s
“Christopher” (Tom Lynch), “Uncle Junior”
(Lou Bellomo), “Paulie” (Howard Locke) and “Adriana”
(Tracilyn Jones).
The
fun part of the evening came when the family had to select a new
mob boss, Tony’s successor. Three members of the audience
were picked (or volunteered) and given some lines to read. Whoever
says the line in the “most authentic Brooklyn accent,”
as voted by the audience, wins. We suspect the show’s at its
funniest when the actors ad-lib, like in this segment, where the
rapport between “Silvio” and “DeeDee” was
ab-solutely hilarious.
My
vote was for contestant number two, who was, hands down, the most
effeminate (and funniest) mobster to come out of New Jersey (by
way of San Francisco, that is). In the end, it doesn’t matter
who Tony’s successor is. At the end of the evening, everyone
in the audience is welcomed into the family, like it or not, and
happily in this case, they do like it. A lot.
-Rachel
M. Sugay
All
photography by Ladi Novotny (www.ladisphoto.com)
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