Subtitled “A Kosher Musical Comedy,” Forever Brooklyn is the story of Melvin Kaplofkis, a young man growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s who emerges in the 1960s as Mel King, The King of Brooklyn. Young Mel entertains his family and friends by telling jokes and stories. He is championed by a local radio personality, and Mel begins to move up, with gigs in the Borscht Belt resorts. It turns out he actually has a flair for performing, and ultimately, he is booked for an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Sounds like a dream, no? Well, not quite. His family doesn’t want him to leave Brooklyn. Also, he’s been pressed into service, against his will, as a bagman for the Mob that’s been ruling Brooklyn with an iron fist. The Mob doesn’t want Mel to leave Brooklyn behind. If he does, there will be a price to be paid. And, oh yes: Along the way, he falls in love. What does Mel do? Forever Brooklyn is a show for everyone who misses Brooklyn or New York (and there are thousands of people transplanted to L.A. from the East Coast who fit that description), or for anyone living in L.A. who came from somewhere else and somehow just can’t forget the place they once called home. Written and directed by Mark W. Curran. Starring Danny DitORRICE.
Forever Brooklyn
Reviews
Forever Brooklyn will resonate with those who fondly recall their hometown roots.
Writer and director Mark Wesley Curran does a remarkable job in conveying an inspirational and funny story about making your dreams a reality. Di Torrice is beyond terrific in playing this role. He's captivating to watch, who can carry a tune whether singing it or playing his clarinet. He's already a star. Mazel tov!!
A nostalgic, unsentimental flashback to simpler times, the story is predominately told through silly, satirical song spoofs and sweet-but-surface impersonations. While the storytelling is often charming, the script ultimately lacks chutzpah.
What I found most amazing about Forever Brooklyn! A Kosher Musical Comedy is that the writer/director Mark Wesley Curran is not from Brooklyn nor is he Jewish or even a comedian. Yet he totally captures what it is to be Jewish and what it was like growing up in Brooklyn. I should know since I am Jewish and I did grow up in Brooklyn. While I lived there years after this play takes place, the stories are completely identifiable. At the core, some places never really change. As the title promises, this solo show utilizes song and comedy to tell the story of Melvin Kaplofkis (the funny and endearing Danny DiTorrice), a young man growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s who emerges the next decade as Mel King, “The King of Brooklyn.”
Marvin lead us rather delightfully through the American experience of his loving immigrant family with all the duplicity and the heartache that all lives generally serve up. He shares with us precious anecdotes and life lessons hard learned in the neighborhood and in school and later on in performance after performance as he discovers the hard way, as all of us always do, what really means the most in life.
Can you imagine seeing the name "Melvyn Kaplofkis" up in lights on Broadway? Well, neither could he. So he changed it to "Mel King" and became "The King of Brooklyn." Although Danny DiTorrice has charm, a pleasant singing voice, and a legitimate Brooklyn accent, the play is badly misidentified as a "musical comedy". Relabeling it a "coming-of-age drama" would certainly help.
It's a poignant and slyly funny tale which will keep the audience tickled throughout. Audience Alert: As I mentioned above, audience members who remember Brooklyn in its heyday (or who have heard a lot about it from their nostalgic family members) will be especially charmed by this warmhearted story of rags to riches.
FOREVER BROOKLYN is a show for those that were there, or for those that wish they were! And as the local mobsters could say, bada-bing!
Forever Brooklyn will resonate with those who fondly recall their hometown roots.
Writer and director Mark Wesley Curran does a remarkable job in conveying an inspirational and funny story about making your dreams a reality. Di Torrice is beyond terrific in playing this role. He's captivating to watch, who can carry a tune whether singing it or playing his clarinet. He's already a star. Mazel tov!!
A nostalgic, unsentimental flashback to simpler times, the story is predominately told through silly, satirical song spoofs and sweet-but-surface impersonations. While the storytelling is often charming, the script ultimately lacks chutzpah.
What I found most amazing about Forever Brooklyn! A Kosher Musical Comedy is that the writer/director Mark Wesley Curran is not from Brooklyn nor is he Jewish or even a comedian. Yet he totally captures what it is to be Jewish and what it was like growing up in Brooklyn. I should know since I am Jewish and I did grow up in Brooklyn. While I lived there years after this play takes place, the stories are completely identifiable. At the core, some places never really change. As the title promises, this solo show utilizes song and comedy to tell the story of Melvin Kaplofkis (the funny and endearing Danny DiTorrice), a young man growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s who emerges the next decade as Mel King, “The King of Brooklyn.”
Marvin lead us rather delightfully through the American experience of his loving immigrant family with all the duplicity and the heartache that all lives generally serve up. He shares with us precious anecdotes and life lessons hard learned in the neighborhood and in school and later on in performance after performance as he discovers the hard way, as all of us always do, what really means the most in life.
Can you imagine seeing the name "Melvyn Kaplofkis" up in lights on Broadway? Well, neither could he. So he changed it to "Mel King" and became "The King of Brooklyn." Although Danny DiTorrice has charm, a pleasant singing voice, and a legitimate Brooklyn accent, the play is badly misidentified as a "musical comedy". Relabeling it a "coming-of-age drama" would certainly help.
It's a poignant and slyly funny tale which will keep the audience tickled throughout. Audience Alert: As I mentioned above, audience members who remember Brooklyn in its heyday (or who have heard a lot about it from their nostalgic family members) will be especially charmed by this warmhearted story of rags to riches.
FOREVER BROOKLYN is a show for those that were there, or for those that wish they were! And as the local mobsters could say, bada-bing!