In 1927, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in the electric chair in Charlestown State Prison for being convicted of murdering two men during a robbery, some seven years earlier. They were Italian immigrants, and they were anarchists. Protests around the world delayed their execution for seven years as many thought they were being executed for their Italian heritage and their beliefs, rather than the evidence. Curio Theatre is presenting a world premiere written, directed, and starring John Bellomo at a time in our country today where many in government are seeking to evict immigrants.
If you are looking for a straight-forward documentary about Sacco and Vanzetti, this is not the play for you. This is a unique look at those events pertaining to the two men through the eyes of a commedia dell’arte lens. How is this sad chapter in American history a comedy? Commedia dell’arte reveals events but turns them into grotesque absurdities. And the arrest, trial, and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti is both grotesque and absurd! The subtitle of the play, “Sacco and Vanzetti,” is appropriately subtitled, “A Tragedia Dell’Arte.
The characters in this drama are wearing normal clothing but their faces are covered with ridiculous masks. But these are real people- the attorneys who prosecuted and defended Sacco and Vanzetti and the judge who presided over the case.
The story begins with their arrest on the street, for no apparent reason. It is presented in a comic manner, perhaps to make it less painful to us, but also to be reminded of the buffoonery of the law in many instances.
Then there is the trial. The judge is clearly biased as he addresses the jury at the start and also how he talks to the defense attorney. He allows the prosecuting attorney free rein in whatever he wishes to do in the presentation of ‘facts,” which are most questionable. They manipulate the jury and the witnesses. But it was clearly an omen when the judge couldn’t manage to climb up to his seat at the bench and steps consisting, of thick books of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were placed there to step upon.
There is plenty of slapstick humor based on the Italian defendants’ inability to understand English. When told to “take the stand,” they grab it and run off with it. Having seen a play about Burns and Allen the previous night, I felt like I was watching a similar routine. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was also glad to see so many young people in the audience. Theater is expensive and the seats are usually filled with folks over 60. Maybe this is a way to enlighten people about painful events about American History. Last week, I saw another sort of surrealistic “comedy”- about slavery by James Ijames at the Wilma Theater.
Finally, let me say something about the creator of this odd little masterpiece, John Bellomo. He did an outstanding job of researching the trial and transforming it into a mostly timely piece while using a style of the 17th and 18th centuries, Commedia dell’arte. He wrote it. He directed it. And he portrayed Nicola Sacco. What a talent!
The play was so interesting, that when I got home, I found myself looking up more about these two infamous men. Maybe this IS the way to teach history.
“Sacco & Vanzetti: A Tragedia Dell’Arte” by John Bellomo at Curio Theatre Company, 4740 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19143 , 215-921-8243, curiotheatre.org thru April 18,, 2026
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 