MEANING COMES FROM MOZZARELLA.Byline: Julio Martinez Special to the Daily News Housed at Hollywood's tiny Tamarind tamarind (tăm`ərĭnd), tropical ornamental evergreen tree (Tamarindus indica) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to Africa and probably to Asia, but now widely grown in the tropics. Theatre, Marco Greco has brought his successful off-Broadway, one-person reminiscence rem·i·nis·cence n. 1. The act or process of recollecting past experiences or events. 2. An experience or event recollected: "Her mind seemed wholly taken up with reminiscences of past gaiety" of growing up under the colorful if not always benevolent dictatorship of his father Mike, better known as Il Duce (The Duke), proprietor of renowned Mike's Deli in the Italian-American neighborhood of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The production is a loving yet unsentimental portrait of a young man who is shaped by his father yet must eventually cast off the older man's influence if he is to move on in his life. Greco, under the facile guidance of Stephen Adly Guirgis Stephen Adly Guirgis is a playwright, actor, and teleplay writer. He is a member of the New York City LAByrinth Theater Company, whose other members include West End]], along with theaters in Australia, Norway, Finland, Chile, South Africa, and across the United States, such as , flows smoothly in and out of Mike's larger-than-life persona as well as incorporating many of the neighborhood characters that filled his father's world. Il Duce didn't converse with his son, he made pronouncements. Such gems as, ``In, life baby, it's good to know to breaka your ass,'' and ``You good to the mozzarella moz·za·rel·la n. A mild white Italian cheese that has a rubbery texture and is often eaten melted, as on pizza. [Italian, diminutive of mozza, a cut, mozzarella, from mozzare, , and the mozzarella be good to you,'' were constantly rolling off the side of his mouth that wasn't clenched clench tr.v. clenched, clench·ing, clench·es 1. To close tightly: clench one's teeth; clenched my fists in anger. 2. firmly onto his impressive cigar. To demonstrate his father's fanatical commitment to his deli counter, Greco recounts his experience at age 9 when he first went to work under the tutelage TUTELAGE. State of guardianship; the condition of one who is subject to the control of a guardian. of Il Duce. The audience is treated to a complete lesson in the art of making mozzarella cheese while Greco's dad is constantly chiding the boy to stop wincing every time he sticks his hand in the near boiling hot water used to temper the cheese to the right consistency. To prove the worth of the product, the cheese is actually served to audience members during the intermission. (It was delicious.) Through Greco's incisive observations of the neighborhood world that nurtured him, the audience is introduced to Mike's many friends and admirers, including his best friend, Joey Bananas and the four distinctly individual ``Joeys'' working behind the counter. It is hilarious to listen to these men observe their coffee-break rituals, which included harmlessly macho philosophizing phi·los·o·phize v. phi·los·o·phized, phi·los·o·phiz·ing, phi·los·o·phiz·es v.intr. 1. To speculate in a philosophical manner. 2. about women and sex. One such serious conversation dealt with the preference of being stranded on a desert island with an overweight Elizabeth Taylor or the waiflike Brigitte Bardot. Il Duce's sense of practicality reasoned for Taylor, stating, ``If there is any food on the island, she is going to find it.'' The production follows Greco through his cocky teen-age years as a high school dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human working behind the counter, his early 20s as a kind of deli boss clone of his dad, and his eventual awakening to the possibilities of the world around him. But it is Il Duce who constantly grabs the limelight in this ultimately heartwarming heart·warm·ing or heart-warm·ing adj. 1. Causing gladness and pleasure. 2. Eliciting sympathy and tender feelings: a heartwarming tale. Adj. 1. tale of a post-World War II immigrant population that tenaciously adhered to the American dream that if you were willing to work hard you could be a success in this country. The facts What: ``Behind the Counter With Mussolini.'' Where: Tamarind Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays; through Dec. 5. Tickets: $20. Call (310) 289-2999. Our rating: Three stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Marco Greco brings his heartwarming, autobiographical one-man show about growing up as the son of a deli owner, ``Behind the Counter With Mussolini,'' to the Tamarind Theatre in Hollywood. |
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