--Richard H. Blake originated the role of Lorenzo in the Broadway production of
Chazz Palminterri's A Bronx Tale the Musical, and now the stage favorite is
reprising the role for the tour. Based on the popular film directed by Jerry Zaks
and Robert De Niro, and featuring a score by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, A Bronx
Tale has been a hit with audiences and critics and is now wowing theater-goers
across the country. We spoke with Blake about what he
cherishes most about playing the role of Lorenzo, and why audiences should seek
out this fan favorite musical.
--Hi Richard!
--Hello, Ryan. --Thank you for joining me here
this afternoon. I'm excited to talk to you about A Bronx Tale. You originated
the role of Lorenzo on Broadway, and now you're taking it on the road.
--Yeah. --Tell
me, how did your journey in a Bronx Tale come to be? --Tell, I was working in Jersey
Boys. --Mm-hmm
--On Broadway playing Tommy DeVito. And this obviously was was in the
middle of coming up. And the producers are the same producers, and they asked me
to come in for Bronx Tale. And I having known that it was it was happening, I was you
know, made sure that my agents were like make sure I get a crack at this because
it's one of my favorite movies of all time, I went in, and fortunately it went
well. Chazz says that when I left the room, he's like, Well, there's my dad. So,
yeah --Couldn't ask for a better
--Which was honestly like I did not feel like that. When I walked into
the room you know there was Jerry Zaks Tommy Mottola, Robert DeNiro, Chazz Palminterri,
Alan Menken. I walked in. The first thing I said was
Well, this isn't an intimidating room is it? And it was. I had no idea when I left
what the what the reaction would be. And fortunately it was positive. so.
--Right I'm
happy to hear you say it's one of your favorite movies of all time. What did you
think when you found out it was being turned into a musical like this? Were you
nervous? Were you excited?
--No, I thought it was perfect. It's a great story about
family, and and the relationships between a father and his son, and the struggle
that a boy goes through picking his path in life. Being a father myself, I was very
excited for the story to be told. And when you hear the team involved, you're
like, Oh, yeah that's gonna be pretty awesome. -- Right. I want to talk about this
team a little bit. I mean, all stars. A-listers when it comes to these type
of projects. What do you think of the score that Alan Menken and Glenn Slater
put together for this? --This score is phenomenal. When we all first heard this, we
were blown away. One of the great things that that they did was really capture
the neighborhood and the time frame. The soundscape of the show really makes you
feel like you're in the Bronx in 1960 or 68. It's really one of the things that I
think sets the tone for the show. Chazz always likes to say that A Bronx Tale is
a fable, and who's the best person at writing songs for fables? Alan Menken.
And Glenn Slater obviously with the lyrics, you know, did a phenomenal job. So
that right there I think is the perfect fit for this show.
--Yeah. --And then working
with you know legends from both sides, which is Jerry and and Robert, has been
such a thrill because they work in tandem. Bob is so interested in
authenticity and making sure that we really, you know, with the film
everything's got to be so realistic. And and then you have the theatricality of a
musical, and Jerry just brings all of that to life on stage. And he's the
master at it.
--And not to put too fine a point on it, but you have Chazz
Palminteri who bases the character of Lorenzo on his own dad. You have Robert
DeNiro in the room, who played Lorenzo in the film.
Where did Richard Blake's --No pressure
[laughs]
--No pressure. --Where did your Lorenzo come from?
--My work was cut out for me, I'm not gonna lie. But I had
the luxury of having Chazz really close.
We started right from the get-go having a lot of sit downs and and lunches where
we would talk about his family. And he was very outgoing with his tellings of
how his family life was. And his father was it was really a wonderful person, and
he loved him so much. Definitely that put a little bit more
pressure not to screw it up. --You have been involved in this
production from the very beginning. A lot of audiences I got to see it here have
already fallen in love with the show. What do you know people are going to be
thrilled about with this show across the country that have an experienced it yet?
--I think the the biggest thing that people gonna be thrilled about is how good
the musical is when they've seen the film. People have come to us and said we
come out the stage door, they're like, 'Oh my god this is one my favorite movies of all
time. I was worried that she you know that it was just gonna, you guys were
gonna ruin it.' They're like, 'We like this better than the movie.' That's the best
compliment of all because it is such an amazing movie and people do cherish it
so much, that when you hear them say, 'I was worried and I liked it better than
the movie.' I mean, what better compliment can you have than that? So, we get to you
know bring that to the country now, you know? Spread it around spread around the
country.
--And you're no stranger to touring. You've toured before. You know
the life. Why was this the right thing to be doing for you? As you were saying you're
a dad. That's not an easy decision to make, you know, to head on the road. But
why was this the right decision at the right time?
--I feel really passionate about this show, and really passionate about the story. This is
definitely, in my career, which has spanned 30 or so years, this
one holds a really special place and I wanted to share it with the country with
the people who hadn't seen it in New York and hadn't seen it on Broadway. And
I feel very attached to Lorenzo, and maybe a little possessive.
--You don't want anyone else to have him. --No! But, you know what I mean? I do. There's
it's kind of like the idea of not being Lorenzo when there's a production of the
show, it I don't know, I really I wanted to continue to tell the story.
I wasn't done telling the story, and that's basically what it comes down to.
--Totally understand that. And, why should people be excited about this company
that's been put together for this touring production? You know better than
anyone.
--Well, A, there's plenty of people from the Broadway company that are that
are with us on tour, so you're actually getting to see a lot of the Broadway
company. And those who are new are absolutely fantastic.
I mean, I'm blown away in the room. People are gonna love those guys.
--And, finally, what what kind of audience members do you hope are in those
theaters as you go across the country? And what do you hope they're talking
about as the exit the theater after seeing this show? --Having done the show
for you know as long as I have, I have the luxury of knowing what most people
say when they leave. And I'm hoping it just continues that way. But the thing
you hear the most is, 'It made me want to call my dad,' or, 'It made me want to call
my mom.' The show, at the end of the day, is about family,
and it affects people very personally. And everyone in some way can relate to
this show, and it will move people. It's it's a really special thing.
--Well, you
have a lot of lucky theater goers out there. I'm glad you're sticking with the
show. --Thank you.
--Thank you so much Richard. Great talking to you. --My pleasure.