Theater Spotlight: “From Brooklyn to Boca”

Theater Spotlight: “From Brooklyn to Boca”

By Rachel Galvin

Sharon Pfeiffer has been showing her comedy chops again. This force-to-be-reckoned-with shows her prowess in a brand-new play she wrote and is the lead in called “From Brooklyn to Boca.” The fish out of water tale is likened to “The Sopranos meets The Goldbergs.” It is not for the easily offended and gives an equal opportunity ribbing to both the Jewish and Italian cultures, but it’s all in good fun. The play follows her character, Regina’s, journey. Her husband, known as “Fuggedabout it Frank,” played by Alex Alonso, is involved with some mafia dealings. When the other mobsters get pinched, he will also take the fall. In order to save himself, he has to make a drastic life change, going into the witness protection program. This takes him and his family — Regina and their wise cracking son Carmine– from living in Brooklyn, New York to Boca Raton, Florida and means changing his name and becoming Jewish.

This culture shock is the crux of the play. And plenty of laughs ensued, many over Frank’s interesting choice of vocabulary. Alonso plays it well. Pfeiffer scores plenty of laughs as she does her best to keep their real identity hidden. They meet some interesting characters along the way and still have to worry about if the mobsters will track them down and destroy their new life, and then it would be curtains. They have to keep their wits about them to make it through this tough situation.

Overall, the play was well written with fun characters and snappy hilarious interactions. There is some breaking of the fourth wall, especially by Pfeiffer, who serves as the narrator for the play. All of the mobsters have fun camaraderie together, something thoroughly embraced by the actors. Each character has a funny name, such as Joey “Bag A Laundry” Romanelli, Big Sal Vitti and Mikey “the Bat” DiMaggio.

The new characters she encounters bring their own sense of comic relief. A shout out to actor Cameron Holder, whose character got laughs every time he hit the stage.

This play shows independent spirit. Since it was first a movie, it kind of is presented that way with many scene changes and much movement of makeshift props to set the scene. A huge kudos to the whole cast and crew for being brave enough to create something brand new.

Every night so far has been sold out. The opening gala night on January 10 was packed and the legendary singer Connie Francis attended. (Sher says she is collaborating with her on a new version of her iconic film “Where the Boys Are” called “Where the Men Are.”) Francis made sure to call over Pfeiffer to let her know how much she enjoyed the play and to encourage her, something that left Pfeiffer honored and kvelling. But Francis was not the only one giving praise. She received praise from everyone.

Guests were treated to delicious light bites and music from DJ Freakin Dominick and some even busted out into disco dancing, while others enjoyed champagne, wine and other spirits. It was a lovely evening.

In the beginning…

For Pfeiffer, this play was pretty personal. After all, she has direct real experience with starting anew here in Florida after dealing with mobsters back in New York. She actually escaped the life of being a mob wife in New York before starting over here in the Sunshine State. Her story was told on the TV show “I Married a Mobster,” Season 2, episode 3. It is quite the tale.

She took her experiences and used them to create something unique, teaming up with Deni B. Sher to write this story. Sher has a background in theater and screenwriting, and has co-written an award-winning local film called “Boxed” with Laurel Levey about The Holocaust, as well as others, including a film called “Grave Errors” and one called “The Imagined.” Her script “Evergreen Christmas Wedding,” also begins production soon.

Originally, the play “From Brooklyn to Boca” was intended to be a movie. They filmed the pilot and a teaser (directed by Josh Louis) and were in the process of shopping it as a feature film when they decided to go in a different direction and try it as a play. So, they rewrote the script a bit and did a staged reading, later to tweak some more, hold auditions and put together the show. (Side note: In the original pilot, this reporter was in the role of Rhonda, and in the play, was cast in a different role, as the news anchor).

The play was directed and produced by Sharee C. Pemberton, who also has quite the background. This native Floridian went to Chicago to be part of Roger Ebert’s Film Critics’ Awards before returning to the state. As a creative director, she also has won the Clio for the iconic “This Bud’s For You!” campaign. She also has worked with the USO Entertainment Troupe with actor Gary Sinese and received an Emmy for a PBS special. She was the executive producer for the film “The Letter,” which will be released soon. As far as her experience in theater, she worked for Fox Theatricals on “The Producers,” which won a Tony, and has won additional awards for her work as a producer and actress. In addition, she is an author of two books.

As for “From Brooklyn to Boca,” there are plans for additional runs of the play. Who knows what is next for this comedy.

More about Pfeiffer — she also is a stand-up comedian on the local circuit and continues to act in various projects. She can be seen as in a funny sexy role in “The Beach Bum,” directed by Harmony Korine, with Matthew McConaughey, among many others.

“From Brooklyn to Boca” will be shown at The Studio in Mizner Park in Boca Raton through Jan. 19. For more info. and tickets, visit www.thestudioatmiznerpark.com.

Photos by Rachel Galvin. More pics coming soon on the Facebook page.

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