Review: King of the City: An Evening with Al Capone
Theatre/Theatre, 1713 Cahuenga Bl., Hollywood, 213-469-9689
by Jim Berg
Imagine a time when gangsters rule the streets, armed with the latest automatic weaponry, reaping huge profits from illicit drug sales, gunning each other down in drive-by shootings. Sound familiar? Over sixty years ago the illicit drug of choice was alcohol and sophisticated criminal organizations gladly satiated the American thirst, reaping huge profits and going to war with each other armed with the .45 caliber Thompson sub-machine gun, a.k.a. the tommy gun.
Written and performed by Robert Gallo, King of the City: An Evening with Al Capone is a one-man-show that chronicles the life of the most notorious gangster of the Prohibition era. First developed at the Group Repertory Theatre in NoHo, where Gallo is a member, his show is currently up at Theatre/Theatre in Hollywood.
Robert Gallo is a natural for the part, with his strong Italian features and manner. He has created an ideal vehicle for his formidable acting talent. In the play, Capone recounts his youth and the degradation his family experienced as poor immigrants. Gallo shines as we are shown a young Capone getting thrown out of school to survive on the streets, where he demonstrates the smarts and the fearlessness that would serve him well throughout his criminal career. Later we see Capone’s syphilitic decline as he attempts to reconcile his life with his own son.
Coincidentally, before the show, I saw two officers from the L.A.P.D. shaking down a carload of apparent gang members who were cruising on Hollywood Boulevard. With this in mind as I watched Gallo’s performance of Capone planning and executing a gang war—it put things in some sort of perspective. These are not necessarily the worst of times. Drive-by shootings are not a new phenomenon. The St. Valentine’s Day massacre, in which seven unarmed men were killed, for which Capone was believed to be responsible, happened over sixty years ago. We are still dealing with the same issues today. We survived then, and we’ll survive today.
Gallo delivers a performance that offers some insight into the life of Al Capone, and in turn offers some insight to the issues of today.♦