Father’s Day is coming up, and Robert and I celebrated in advance by being invited to attend A Bronx Tale at the Longacre Theatre on West 48th Street in Manhattan.

Although primarily set in a tough Italian neighborhood in the Bronx of the 1960’s, you could tell from the response by the apparently sold-out audience that the story struck a more universal cord.  And it was easy to see why. This fast paced musical was filled with the love, the laughter, and even the violence that surrounded a young man’s conflict between his two “fathers”: his own good but less than colorful dad and the flashy gangster who ruled the streets.

With a story created by Chazz Palminteri, this two hour show has been touted as a cross between the Jersey Boys and West Side Story. And, while I’m normally a little dubious when I hear comparisons to other successful works, I think that they got it right. This production’s team included choreography by Sergio Trujillo of Jersey Boys; music by Alan Menkin, of so many works including Beauty and the Beast; lyrics by Glenn Slater of The Little Mermaid; and direction by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks.

The play was filled with vivid characters, many of whom seem to have come right out of a Damon Runyon novel.  If you go, let us know if you liked it and who your favorites were. Mine were the gangster played by Nick Cordero who came straight from Waitress and the main character’s love interest played by Ariana Debrose who recently performed in Hamilton.

After the musical, the Times Square area was, as usual, pretty crowded. So we kept with the Italian theme by having an early dinner at nearby Serafina in the Time Hotel before we headed back home on the train.

During this time of day, our table in the back of this restaurant was relatively quiet and, because of our train schedule, we were glad that the service was quick.

We chose salads as well as two dishes: Linguini Alla Bolognese and Linguine Alle Vongole Veraci. Both of these pasta choices were delicious, but Robert found the cappuccino truly memorable.

Great way to celebrate Father’s Day or to give as a gift!  Thanks so much to NYC & Company for their assistance.