Nov. 14 – “In 1978 I saw the show for the first time: Enrico Montesano was the man performing alongside Aldo Fabrizi, who played Mastro Titta, and Bice Valori who played Eusebia. That Sunday afternoon 35 years ago my parents, without knowing, gave me a dream. I decided to become an actor and to put aside my technical studies.” Enrico Brignano explains where his passion for theater first developed, and shows himself excited for the return of “Rugantino” on Rome’s Sistine stage. After the extraordinary success of the 2010 edition, with over 130,000 spectators, the historical musical comedy will return to the stage with Brignano’s face, voice and verve. A big Live Nation , MF Productions and Teatro Sistina production, it will reuse original sets and costumes by Giulio Coltellacci while Brignano will also direct following directions from the first original script: “Us Romans, we’re all a bit like Rugantino, we all want to look tough and like we know what we’re doing.” This is the philosophy of the show signed by Garinei and Giovannini, written by Pasquale Festa Campanile and Massimo Franciosa and collaboration of Gigi Magni – a show that revolves around Rome and its traditions. “This story is more than 50 years old, but it still fascinates audiences – explains Brignano – it’s a tragicomedy with an emblematic ending: the show is alive even though Rugantino represents both Eros and Thanatos, in fact, Rugantino is a symbol for history and culture. It’s a show for everyone: we want to spread the story of Rugantino and the history of Rome, with its cobblestones, the guillotine, the morra, the barbers… ” Rugantino will be at the Teatro Sistina in Rome until February 9. Then, the show will move to Milan’s Teatro degli Arcimboldi, April 2-13, May 1-4 it will be in Florence at the Teatro Verdi. Rugantino’s long “adventure” will end in New York, where Brignano will bring the show June 11-15 at the New York City Center, to celebrate the 50th anniversary since the first performance on Broadway in 1964. Fifty years ago, “Rugantino was at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, where it was sold out for three weeks. Nino Manfredi , Aldo Fabrizi , Bice Valori and Ornellaè Vanoni were members of the cast at the time. On Broadway, the show will be in the original language but with English subtitles: the actors accompanying Brignano will be Serena Rossi, Paola Tiziana Cruciani, and Vincenzo Failla. The audience will hear songs from Rome’s heritage, such as “Roma nun fa la stupida stasera”, “Ciummachella”, and “Tirollallero” by Maestro Trovajoli. “In New York – concludes Brignano – we celebrate the end of an adventure, we celebrate Rugantino in the US once again, we know the show will be appreciated and understood by the American public.” ” We will prove to the rest of the world that we know how to do our job,” adds Simone Mori, who plays Gnecco. “Italians – concludes Brignano – have an extra gear, but we forget about that… We need to start using our talents to the maximum.”
