Friends and Romans

Set in a predominantly Italian-American neighborhood in Staten Island, Friends & Romans is a classic comedy farce that follows Nick DeMaio (Michael Rispoli), a frustrated actor who is determined to rise above the typecasting that perpetually finds him playing the role of “Mobster Number 3.” When he and his thespian friends, most of them perennial extras in gangster movies, stage a production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to showcase their talents; art intersects life when real mobsters and federal agents mistake them for genuine Italian wise-guys. With the help of his beautiful wife Angela (Annabella Sciorra), his daughter Gina (Katie Stevens), and a large ensemble that includes numerous veterans from HBO's hit show The Sopranos (namely, Tony Sirico, Anthony DeSando, Tony Darrow, John Bianco, Armen Garo, Donnamarie Recco, and Joe D’Onofrio), Nick attempts to navigate his way through a host of comic complications both on stage and in life to prove he’s got the chops.