A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Wild Mushrooms

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  3w, 5m, 1boy(s)

Anne M. Pié

This present-day comedy set in the Bronx, revolves around life in the Benny Scrivente family as seen through the eyes of Benny's thirteen year-old son, Joey.

"Don't trip on your way to see Wild Mushrooms! Wild Mushrooms is
the sweet story of the Scrivente family, and Italian-American group of
Bronx residents with a penchant for incorrect word usage, complete
sarcastic banter and clairvoyance. Wild Mushrooms is a complete package certainly well-worth the experience." - Justin L. Smith, The Tolucan Times

Wild Mushrooms

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 5m, 1boy(s)
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Suggested Use
    • Scene work
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for all audiences, Adult

Details

Summary
This present-day comedy set in the Bronx, revolves around life in the Benny Scrivente family as seen through the eyes of Benny's thirteen year-old son, Joey. Benny is no match for Joey. a gifted, wise-mouthed boy. A widowed postal worker, Benny struggles to raise Joey and his two beautiful daughters, Dodie and Regina, hoping to marry them the old-fashioned Italian way so he can pursue his dream of opening a trattoria. Sweet, simple-minded Dodie, lacking in the IQ department, (which drives Joey to his wit's end) is already engaged to Mario, a man of questionable character. Sensual Regina prefers to play the field, much to Benny's consternation. Joey, feeling neglected by them all, manages to attract more than just his family's attention. He pens a literary masterpiece that borders on being an exposé. Enter clairvoyant Aunt Rose, Benny's older sister. She is a true eccentric and Joey's champion. Her constant shower of predictions makes her a perpetual source of irritation to Benny. Proud of her father's cooking, Dodie unwittingly invites the Mafia over for Sunday dinner, which sends Benny into a tizzy. It's Aunt Rose's unorthodox hors d'oeuvres which pack the wallop that results in a happy ending.
History
Wild Mushrooms was given its West Coast premiere in 2003 by CRC Entertainment at The American Renegade Theatre in North Hollywood, California.  It was directed by T. J. Castronovo and produced by Michael J. Carazza.
Keywords
Performing Groups

BENNY SCRIVENTE - Italian-looking; in his late forties or early fifties; overwhelmed with raising his uncooperative family.
JOEY SCRIVENTE - Average-looking thirteen or fourteen year old; intelligent, smart-mouthed; feels neglected by all.
DODIE - Attractive; naive, early twenties and sweetly innocent.
REGINA - Lovely, sensual, mid-twenties and eager in her pursuit of ecclectic suitors.
AUNT ROSE - Older than brother Benny; colorful, flamboyant; an eccentric and a true clairvoyant.
EVIEL KHARREN - Attorney; ethnic, good-looking, business-like; late twenties, early thirties.
MARIO- Early 30's.  Slick, suave, street savy.
ANGELO PECORNIO - Late 40's, early fifties; swaggering Mafiosa-type.
THE DON - Small in stature; elderly but totally endearing in his dotage.

Joey Scrivente is thirteen or fourteen years of age.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day, New Millennium/21st Century
  • Setting The kitchen in the modest Bronx home of Benny Scrivente.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Gun Shots

Media

"Even as a mentalist and thought-reader, I had no idea the impact that your production, Wild Mushrooms, would have on me. I found it to be one of the most delightful and hilarious expositions of a dysfunctional family that I have seen in years." - The Amazing Kreskin, ArcLight Theater, NYC

"It's a good thing that Everybody Loves Raymond, the long-running TV show has left the air becausue it could have serious competition from Wild Mushrooms.  These characters are potential great sitcome figures with appropriate attitudes that should easily cover three or four seasons." - Bob and Karen Issacs, Guilford Courier

"When dining with the Mob, what's on the menu may prove to be the difference between a miss and a hit. Wild Mushrooms is a look at the life in the Bronx and the wisdome of choosing one's friends - and perhaps relatives - most carefully. Aunt Rose manages to save the day and perhaps a few lives with un unorthordox choice of hors d'oeurves." - Wes Wyse, NoHo

"Don't trip on your way to see Wild Mushrooms! Wild Mushrooms is the sweet story of the Scrivente family, and Italian-American group of Bronx residents with a penchant for incorrect word usage, complete sarcastic banter and clairvoyance. Wild Mushrooms is a complete package certainly well-worth the experience." - Justin L. Smith, The Tolucan Times

"Take one frustrated father who has to postpone his own dreams until he has marrried off two daughters and sent his son to college, toss in an eccentric clairvoyant relative, mix in some Mafia-like compatriots, measure in a heaping cupful of male marriage-minded candidates and you have the recipe for a hoot and a a holler of hilairty."  - Middletown Press

 

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Author

Anne M. Pié

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