Overview

Vito's Place has been a fixture of New York nightlife since speakeasy days. Now, in the summer of 1973, this landmark and its zesty, 83 year old proprietor, Vito Vitale, is threatened with extinction by real estate "developers". Into this place of uncertainty comes Jennie Vito's daughter by his third wife to ask his blessing of her impending marriage to the man she has been living with for two years. It is not only Vito's blessing Jennie wants, however: this is the house she grew up in, and it is her wish to be married in it before it is torn down. But athwart her wish lies her father's Cardinal Rule; a rule which was the main reason Jennie left home, a rule which Vito applies with glee, and no exceptions: "Who Takes From My Hand, Does As I Say." How Jennie wrests from Vito his permission to have her wedding in his house no strings attached and the way that this simple wish embroils everyone of the four couples celebrating her betrothal, is the essence of the play's comedy. 1981 winner of the National Repertory Theater Award.