NYC Italians Court Mae West

(New York, NY) Can the Brooklyn bombshell spur the revitalization of the Italian American acting community? That’s the hope of director Thomas Morrissey, as the play "Courting Mae West" - - written by LindaAnn Loschiavo - - about the life of actress and playwright Mae West, is set to debut in West’s hometown of New York at the CUNY Graduate Center (365 Fifth Avenue) on February 9th.

Italian American actor Al Sapienza (formerly of "The Sopranos"), who is being considered for one of the performance’s roles, recently expressed
his desire to see a greater involvement of Italian-Americans in the acting community: "Italian-Americans are the only major ethnic group with not even one stage in New York or California.”

Joe Piscopo (formerly of "Saturday Night Live") commented, “For years, Italian American non-profits have accused actors of being the villain each time we accept a role as a gangster.” Piscopo hopes that "Courting Mae West" will improve the Italian-American image and produce a greater degree of support for aspiring actors.
"The reality,” Piscopo said, “is that unlike other groups who fund authors, screenwriters and dramatists, the Italian American leadership has short-changed their writers for over half-a-century.”
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Columnist Matt Windman, reporting for Show Business Weekly …
http://www.showbusinessweekly.com/

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