Do you know those “Saturday Night
Live” sketches that are funny and clever within their few minute time span, but
then because they are funny and clever the concept is stretched into a
full-length movie? The results are
usually a disaster—“MacGruber,” “It’s Pat,” and “A Night at the Roxbury” are
just a few of the disappointing examples.
I bring this up because the new Off-Broadway show, Philosophy for
Gangsters, a comedy with very few laughs, has the same mistaken premise—take an
idea, which would be funny and clever for a 5-10 minute skit and misguidedly
expand it to a 2 ¼ hour play.
Callie Rizzoli is the
college-educated daughter of a Mafia family. After her parents and brothers are gunned down during a
police raid, she and some of the boys, ruminate about their demise deciding to
blame it on determinism, that which guides our destiny and choices. So, naturally, who do they hold
responsible for this philosophical notion—a Professor of Philosophy, Wilfred
May, from the local university. They
kidnap him and look to execute him as a representative of philosophy
instructors everywhere as well as because of his personal beliefs. But before they carry out their plans,
the gangsters come up with the idea of forcing the faculty member to draft a
philosophical manifesto that both rebukes determinism and provides the
theoretical underpinnings for their life of crime. The professor becomes an unwitting and, at first, unwilling
pawn in their warped machinations and from there the plot spirals into tediousness
and banality.
Courtney Romano as the slick
talking Callie Rizzoli gives a good impression of Marisa Tomei from “My Cousin
Vinny;” Tom White as the Philosophy Professor Wilfred May is bland and
unsympathetic; and Bruno Iannone as The Don does a not-so-great imitation from
any “Godfather” movie. The rest of
the cast is just as two-dimensional with little nuance and distinction.
The script by Liz and Barry Peak rambles
on for far too long. This could
have easily been a shorter production.
The script is somewhat convoluted that, by the end, leaves you
scratching your head as to the thrust of the production. Serving as both playwrights and
directors was a disservice to them and the show. As directors they could have asked for more judicious
editing as well as a storyline with better structure. The flow also continuously stalls from the blackouts between
scenes as the action continually switches back and forth from the two
side-by-side sets.
The only bright spot of the show
are the video vignettes of news reports and man-in-the-street interviews that
are intermittently projected above the stage. They are humorous, creative, and well-produced.
Philosophy for Gangsters, playing
through March 1st at the Beckett Theatre Off-Broadway.