The play is set in a working class neighborhood in a decaying American city, and concerns Eddie, an old blind man, who "contradicts the myths that have circulated about him by revealing his side of the startling story of his youth. Breaking free of a dreaded foster care family he had once been entrusted to, young Eddie yearns to explore life in the big, rough city. Upon his arrival he blunders into a fight with a bullying gangster and inadvertently kills the man. Grateful to be rid of this local menace, the police do not pursue Eddie and he even becomes a local hero and 'fixer' in the neighborhood. When he meets the gangster's attractive widow, Jo, they discover a powerful affinity for one another. Ignoring the fact that she is older, Eddie becomes deeply involved with her," and...well, you can figure out the rest. The Ballad of Eddie and Jo won the first International One Act Play Contest sponsored by the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in 2004 and was subsequently performed in workshop there. Since then he has expanded it into a two-act play.
The cast includes Michael Citriniti, Angelo Rosso, Ana Mercedes Torres, Stephen Innocenzi, Jerry Rago, Joyce Griffen and Anita Velez Mitchell.
Tickets are $18 and $10 for students and seniors. Opening night tickets are $50. For tickets and information call (212) 868-4444 or go to www.smarttix.com.