Playwright Nick Albanese has high hopes for his hit one-man show, The Last Sicilian. Albanese intends to perform the show in New York next January, and he launched an online funding campaign (gofundme.com/thelastsicilian) to allow him to bring the project to the 13th Street Repertory Theatre Company for a tw0-week run.
Albanese took questions from the audience at a recent performance at the Granite Theatre in Westerly. “It’s about coming to America and about family,” Albanese said, noting The Last Sicilian is “a story of everybody.”
In his show, Albanese takes audiences on a trip back in time to when he grew up above his father’s bakery in Providence. He shares heartwarming and funny memories of growing up Italian and shares the history of Italians in America. “It brings people back to their childhoods,” Albanese explained.
The Last Sicilian was first performed in 2015 and has played at theaters all over Rhode Island. The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, and Albanese won a Motif award in 2016.
Albanese recalls a Hollywood movie producer who approached him after a performance at Theatre 82 in Cranston last year. “He came and watched the show and talked to me after,” Albanese said. “He really loved it.” As a result of this conversation, Albanese believes it might be possible to see The Last Sicilian on the movie screen someday, if the right person comes to see it. “Can you imagine who can walk in in New York City?” he asks.
Since its debut, Albanese added 20 minutes of new material to the show, and has written a new play, All About the Family, which will debut next month. All About the Family will feature stories that weren’t featured in The Last Sicilian, Alabense noted.
The Last Sicilian will undergo some more revisions as Albanese prepares for the show to reach an even larger audience. He knows he is about to enter a much different theatrical environment. “I know once I get to New York I need to be on my A game,” Albanese said. “I’m doing 10 performances there, and they need to be solid.”
