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| Matt Ferrara as Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Joey DeFilippis as Nicola Sacco. Photo by Bay One Entertainment and Kevin Mora. |
Seen on: Wednesday, 7/23/25.
Plot and Background
Good Crack Productions presents a satirical bent on the 1921 trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Following a robbery turned murder, two anarchist Italian immigrants are arrested and charged with the crime. Though they proclaim their innocence until the end, the combination of an incompetent showboating defense attorney and a biased judicial and law enforcement system railroads them through their trial and subsequent appeals.What I Knew Beforehand
Very little, though I did some subsequent reading up on Sacco and Vanzetti's trial.Thoughts:
Joey DeFilippis and Matt Ferrera, wrote, directed, and star in this production. Clearly a passion project dedicated to redeeming the names of Sacco and Vanzetti, it portrays two victims of a corrupt judicial system (regardless of their guilt or innocence, it is clear that the trial was handled badly). In creating this work, DeFilippis and Ferrara join the ranks of a long-standing advocacy to demand justice: at the time of Sacco and Vanzetti's trial and following, there were global protests--and bombings--as well as celebrities weighing in. Even after the execution of these two men, advocates continued to fight for justice against their persecution. As the Scottsboro Boys would later become a beacon for the Civil Rights Movement, Sacco and Vanzetti were an earlier rallying cry against persecution of political radicals.
The work itself is perhaps a bit uneven: it bills itself as a satire but has yet to develop its point of view beyond the starting point that bigotry is evil. Even so, it plays with humor in an interesting way, mixing anachronistic jokes with over the top clowning. I think the production would be better served by leaning into this angle more aggressively, along the lines of Urinetown or other Brechtian pieces critiquing the status quo. Each moment needs to be sharp and clear for the humor to land, and that in turn will make the pathos, the tragedy of what befell these men, all the more poignant in contrast.
Some of the weaknesses here stem from a playing space that seems a touch too small for the directors' ambitions, with actors crowding in or out of exits. Even then, I appreciate the versality of the few set pieces they are working with, to quickly shift from one playing space to another. The cast is uneven, but mostly in the sense that they don't all seem to be in the same play. Some, like Michael Gardiner's delightfully impulsive defense attorney Fred H. Moore and Bret Raybould's loud and proudly biased Judge Thayer, lean into the clown aspects of their role to good effect. DeFilippis as Sacco and Ilana Schimmel as his wife Rosina, on the other hand, are playing an earnest and quiet tragedy. And straddling the middle are Daniel Yaiullo as D.A. Katzmann and Ferrara and Vanzetti: sometimes cartoonish, sometimes earnest (special nod to Yaiullo who was able to adlib cleverly regarding a few prop mishaps the night I went). To be clear, none of these three styles are necessarily bad takes, but they're all different takes, and lead to a confusing tone overall. This might be aided by bringing in another director for more perspective, especially as the two directors often share scenes and wouldn't be able to see the work from an outside lens. This might also help take some of the air out of the play (I think a full half hour could be shaved off the running time by leaning into the stakes and objectives--speaking while thinking, rather than thinking then speaking). The monologues, in this case, are often more effective than dialogue, because each actor is able to shape their own moment.
Running: Now playing at The American Theatre of Actors (Good Crack Productions) - Opening: July 17, 2025. Closing: July 27, 2025.
Category: play
Length: 2 hours, 25 minutes, including intermission.
Playwrights/Directors: Joey DeFilippis and Matt Ferrara
Production Team: Producers: Joey DeFilippis, Matt Ferrara, Andrew DeFilippis, Michael Gardiner, Danielle MacMath. Associate Producers: Peter Blacksburg, Dylan Wolf Gantz, Pat Langlitz. Stage Manager: Andrew DeFilippis. Assistant Stage Manager: Morgan Battaglia. Light & Sound Tech: Sofia Maravillas. Set Design & Prop Masters: Miles Bettinelli, Pat Langlitz. Poster Design: Dylan Wolf Gantz, Danielle MacMath.
Cast: Joe DeFilippis, Matthew Ferrara, Michael Gardiner, Ilana Schimmel, Danielle MacMath, Daniel Yaiullo, Bret Raybould, Francesco Baldino, Ryan O'Toole.
Some of the weaknesses here stem from a playing space that seems a touch too small for the directors' ambitions, with actors crowding in or out of exits. Even then, I appreciate the versality of the few set pieces they are working with, to quickly shift from one playing space to another. The cast is uneven, but mostly in the sense that they don't all seem to be in the same play. Some, like Michael Gardiner's delightfully impulsive defense attorney Fred H. Moore and Bret Raybould's loud and proudly biased Judge Thayer, lean into the clown aspects of their role to good effect. DeFilippis as Sacco and Ilana Schimmel as his wife Rosina, on the other hand, are playing an earnest and quiet tragedy. And straddling the middle are Daniel Yaiullo as D.A. Katzmann and Ferrara and Vanzetti: sometimes cartoonish, sometimes earnest (special nod to Yaiullo who was able to adlib cleverly regarding a few prop mishaps the night I went). To be clear, none of these three styles are necessarily bad takes, but they're all different takes, and lead to a confusing tone overall. This might be aided by bringing in another director for more perspective, especially as the two directors often share scenes and wouldn't be able to see the work from an outside lens. This might also help take some of the air out of the play (I think a full half hour could be shaved off the running time by leaning into the stakes and objectives--speaking while thinking, rather than thinking then speaking). The monologues, in this case, are often more effective than dialogue, because each actor is able to shape their own moment.
***
Running: Now playing at The American Theatre of Actors (Good Crack Productions) - Opening: July 17, 2025. Closing: July 27, 2025.
Category: play
Length: 2 hours, 25 minutes, including intermission.
Creative Team
Playwrights/Directors: Joey DeFilippis and Matt Ferrara
Production Team: Producers: Joey DeFilippis, Matt Ferrara, Andrew DeFilippis, Michael Gardiner, Danielle MacMath. Associate Producers: Peter Blacksburg, Dylan Wolf Gantz, Pat Langlitz. Stage Manager: Andrew DeFilippis. Assistant Stage Manager: Morgan Battaglia. Light & Sound Tech: Sofia Maravillas. Set Design & Prop Masters: Miles Bettinelli, Pat Langlitz. Poster Design: Dylan Wolf Gantz, Danielle MacMath.
Cast: Joe DeFilippis, Matthew Ferrara, Michael Gardiner, Ilana Schimmel, Danielle MacMath, Daniel Yaiullo, Bret Raybould, Francesco Baldino, Ryan O'Toole.
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| Matt Ferrara as Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Joey DeFilippis as Nicola Sacco. Photo by Bay One Entertainment and Kevin Mora. |
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