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Jonathan Slaff & Associates
Press Representative - 55 Perry Street,
#1M - New York, NY 10014
Tel. (212) 924-0496 - Fax (877) 534-4061
- js@jsnyc.com - www.jsnyc.com
"FOR PETE'S SAKE"
BY JOE CAPOZZI
A survivor's story of overcoming tragedy
with the healing power of humor and
forgiveness.
WHERE AND WHEN:
September 27 to October 14, 2012
Fourth Street Theater, 83 East Fourth Street
(E. Village, NYC)
Presented by Starr Films and Snowball’s
Chance Productions
Wed-Sat at 7:30 PM, Sun at 3:00 PM
$25 at the door, $21 in advance
Box office: (800) 838-3006, http://www.brownpapertickets.com
Show's website: www.forpetessaketheplay.com
Running time :70, Critics are invited on
or after SEPTEMBER 27
NEW YORK, July 21 -- "For Pete's
Sake," a six-actor seriocomedy by Joe Capozzi, allows you to laugh
with a man who grasps at dark humor to ease the pain of deep secrets. As
a teen and young adult, Capozzi was abused by the pastor of his hometown
church, who was also a family friend. His play is a wry, comedic journey
through the mind of a man named Joe (the reference is intentional) as he
unravels the stigma that grew out of this tragedy. It has been acclaimed
for its honesty, sagacity and power in a succession of developmental performances
in churches, colleges, conferences and in benefits for Road to Recovery,
a support organization for survivors of clergy abuse. It will now be given
a full production September 27 to October 14 at the Fourth Street
Theater (in NY Theatre Workshop) by Starr Films and Snowball’s Chance
Productions. Angelique Letizia directs.
Playwright Joe Capozzi is a TV/film
actor (primarily), who resolved in 2008, at age 38, to bring light to a
situation that has affected him and many others. Several years before,
he had been forced to reveal a secret that he had been carrying silently
for years, confessing "Father Pete molested me" to his family
when he feared that his nephew was about to fall victim to the same predator.
His next confession was made to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office.
Eventually, The Newark Archdiocese agreed to monetary settlements with
several accusers of this priest and Capozzi is now recognized in some quarters
as a New Jersey Hero.
Capozzi's play was drawn from old journals
and even older memories. Since 2009, it has had eight workshop stagings
and benefit performances. In audience feedback, words like "brilliant,"
amazing" and "moving were commonplace. The work was praised for
the nimbleness of its writing, its healing power and for the meaningful
conflict it sets up between right and wrong, disclosure and secrets. One
audience member wrote, "You took an incredibly painful experience
and turned it in to something for others to not only learn from and to
empathize with, but something that made us LAUGH!" There was also
praise for Capozzi's masterful acting.
Fr. Bob Hoatson, founder/President of Road
to Recovery, wrote, "Joe Capozzi has created a powerful and poignant
depiction of the effects of clergy sexual abuse on its victims...a story
of dying and rising that he experiences practically every day. The writing
is brilliant, and the acting leaves audiences humbled, mesmerized and forever
changed by what they see. I hope to see it on a Broadway stage someday."
Predominantly, the play is an outcry against
secrets: the kind that you try to cover up with alcohol and drugs, which
leave you emotionally starved, empty inside. It opens with "Joe,"
an eponymous everyman, wrestling with the decision to speak out about his
ordeal. He is past 30, his marriage is on the rocks and his parents, perceiving
his emotional turmoil, are worried sick. The play stages the torment in
Joe's mind, with Capozzi retracing his ordeal, playing off five other actors.
Two of them portray the voices in his head; one plays the priest, "Father
Pete"--his real name; one one actor plays all the other male characters
and one actress plays all the female characters in the story. The wry commentary
of his Voices, who keep Joe up at night and challenge his every thought,
are an ongoing source of levity as the play recounts Joe's painful journey.
The Voices often take the role of the accuser,
blaming Joe for not seeking a more "manly solution." To side
with them, though, is to commit the sin of blaming the victim, because
his dirty little secret is overshadowed by a greater secret: that inaction
by the abused is part of the human condition. The play is ultimately an
inspection of this weakness of humanity, affirming the healing power of
humor, truth and, ultimately, forgiveness for the suffering. The play has
been referred to as "an artistic healing tool."
David Dekok (By The River, American Politics
& Culture in the Early 21st Century) related, "As a
reporter, I had become kind of jaded by priest abuse stories. I wondered
what Capozzi could bring to the story to make it come alive. But I needn't
have worried. He uses a sort of 'This Is Your Life' approach that includes
liberal amonts of humor and pathos. His abuse at the hands of Father Pete,
a trusted family friend, and how he blamed himself initially for what had
happened are brought to life largely through the words of people around
him. Even better are the inner voices he hears berating and comforting
him...Several other victims were in the audience and rose to be recognized
after the play concluded."
An irony of the play is that there is privacy
on the stage, but little privacy left outside it. After Capozzi "went
public" with his story in 2006, it was reported in the North Jersey
press and is now easily searchable online. This has laid his life bare
even to women he has dated, a phenomenon that is depicted in one scene.
News articles have recounted the genesis of the play and traced the effect
of the tragedy that spawned it on Capozzi's family. For further info, visit
these sources:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2009/05_06/2009_05_11_Kelly_KellyActors.htm
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2008/11_12/2008_12_05_Chadwick_PlayExplores.htm
Joe Capozzi (playwright) is an actor-turned-playwright
and this is his first play. He has been featured on "Law and Order"
and "All My Children." He recently appeared in the films "Hand
Me Down," directed by Susan Hunt, and "West End," directed
by Joe Basile. He wrote and acted in a short film, "I Like Crazy,"
which is headed to festivals this year. His screenplay, "The Joe Show,"
is currently in development.
Angelique Letizia (Director) has helmed
the films "Anna," "Rules of Love" and the award winning
short film "Sarina’s Song." She produced the short film "B61,"
which premiered at the 2012 TriBeCa Film Festival. Currently she is directing
a documentary, "Under The Rainbow,": with writer/producer Robert
Gompers, is producing a web series, entitled "Garbage Stories"
created by Bilgin Turker, and has two feature films in development. In
March 2012, she directed the benefit performance of "For Pete’s Sake."
(www.starrfilmsltd.com).
The actors are David G. Beck and Alfredo
Diaz as the Voices, Joe Capozzi as Joe, Jorge Humberto Hoyos as Pete, Tom
Pilutik as other Male Characters and Bilgin Turker as the Female Characters.
Projection design is by Peter Kostandelos. Title photo design is by Benny
Cuppini. Producers are Howard & Susan Hunt; Robert Charles Gompers
is Associate Producer. Kristen Busalacchi is Production Stage Manager/Associate
Producer.
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