East Coast Premiere Of A New Version Of The Broadway Musical
Allegiance
Begins May 4 At The SpeakEasy Stage
From May 4 through June 2, 2018, SpeakEasy Stage will proudly presentthe East Coast Premiere of a new version of the acclaimed Broadway musical Allegiance.
Inspired by the true childhood experience of TV/film actor and social media icon George Takei (Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek”), Allegiancetells the story of the Kimura family, whose lives are upended when they and 120,000 other Japanese-Americans are forced to leave their homes following the events at Pearl Harbor.Sam Kimura seeks to prove his patriotism by fighting for his country in the war, but sister Kei fiercely protests the government’s treatment of her people.An uplifting testament to the power of the human spirit, Allegiancefollows the Kimuras as they fight between duty and defiance, custom and change, family bonds and forbidden loves.
This powerful and timely musical features a book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione,and music and lyrics by Jay Kuo.
SpeakEasy Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault will direct the New England premiere ofAllegiance. The artistic team also includes Music Director Matthew Stern and Choreographer Ilyse Robbins.
The cast for this New England Premiere production is Eymard Cabling, Paige Clark, Ron Domingo, Melissa Geerlof, Michael Hisamoto, Elaine Hom, Ryan Mardesich, Gary Thomas Ng, Ben Oehlkers, Isaac Phaman Reynolds, Tyler Simahk, Sam Tanabe, Rachel Wirtz, Micheline Wu, Kendyl Yokoyama, and Grace Yoo.
Allegiance had its first reading at the Japanese American National Museum on July, 13, 2009, starring George Takei. That was quickly followed by two more readings in New York City in 2010, followed by a workshop in San Diego in 2011. The musical premiered in September, 2012 at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, where it broke box-office records.The musical began previews on Broadway on October 6, 2015, and ran through February 14, 2016.Allegiance was reworked a bit for its West Coast premiere at the East West Players in Los Angeles, where the show concluded a six-week run on April 1, 2018.SpeakEasy Stage is presenting the East Coast Premiere of this new version of the show.
Allegiance will run for five weeks, from May 4 through June 2, 2018, in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End.
New Repertory Theatre presents Two Jews Walk into a War…, April 28-May 20, 2018 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA.
“New Repertory Theatre is pleased to conclude our 2017-2018 season with the Vaudeville-inspired comedy Two Jews Walk into A War by Seth Rozin,” says Artistic Director Jim Petosa. “During a season in which we celebrate the remarkable resilience of the human spirit, this play captures that element eloquently with both charm and wit. As we witness the two characters in this play working together to save their religion against all hope, we’re reminded that it is from these small foundations that we are reminded of the power of persistence.”
“New Rep is excited to welcome back both Joel Colodner and Jeremiah Kissel to our stage,” says Managing Director Harriet Sheets. “We’re pleased to have them reunite in this production after performing together in the critically-acclaimed Imagining Madoff. Separately, they most recently appeared in some of our favorite shows: Jeremiah having last appeared in our smash hit Fiddler on the Roof, and Joel in our production of Freud’s Last Session, among many others. We hope all will join us as our 2017-2018 season comes to a rousing conclusion with this hilarious comedy.”
About TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR…
What do you do if you’re the last two Jews in Afghanistan? You re-write the Torah, of course! Ishaq and Zeblyan are on a mission to save Judaism in Kabul by rebuilding their synagogue and keeping the faith alive, but only if they don’t kill each other first. Jeremiah Kissel (Fiddler on the Roof, Broken Glass, The King of Second Avenue, Imagining Madoff) and Joel Colodner (Regular Singing, Freud’s Last Session, Imagining Madoff) star in this Vaudeville-inspired play, doing their best in a shtick-y situation.
Anna Christie
By Eugene O’Neill
Directed by Scott Edmiston
The Lyric Stage, Boston
lyricstage.com
Through May 6th
Reviewed by Bobby Franklin
When Lindsey McWhorter first steps onto the stage in the role of Anna Christie she is carrying a suitcase. This single piece of luggage that doesn’t look particularly large or heavy, Anna is toting as if it contains the weight of the world. And, symbolically, it does. Anna has returned to see her father after an absence of 20 years. She has had an undisclosed illness and to convalesce has made the trip to New York from Minnesota. She was sent to Minnesota to live with relatives after her mother died.
Nancy E. Carroll and Lindsey McWhorter (Photo Credit: Mark S. Howard)
Chris (Johnny Lee Davenport), Anna’s father had received a letter from her announcing her planned visit. While excited about seeing her again, he is nervous and also has to adjust his living arrangements as he doesn’t want his daughter thinking ill of him. This means telling his live in girlfriend and drinking buddy Marthy (Nancy E. Carroll) she will have to move off the the barge they have been sharing. Marthy is at first angry but understands.
By chance, Marthy meets Anna before she has a chance to see her father. The two share drinks in the local bar. Marthy quickly picks up on the fact Anna is no stranger to hard drinking. She can also sense Anna has brought more luggage with her than what is in her suitcase.
The dialog is what you would expect of Eugene O’Neill, intense but not heavy. A lot is said but none of it is superfluous. These are the type of words I would imagine actors must savor working with. And this cast is made up of some very fine actors.
Johnny Lee Davenport, Lindsey McWhorter,Dan Whelton (Photo Credit: Mark S.Howard)
Ms McWhorter is powerful from start to finish. Her Anna, with a hard exterior formed from years of abandonment and abuse from the men around her, still hasn’t lost the desire to be loved. She does struggle with her lack of self worth and suspicion of men, yet retains a strength and a desire to be accepted for who she is, faults and all.
Johnny Lee Davenport’s Chris couldn’t be better. From the moment he orders his first drink and starts speaking with his rich voice I felt I wanted to pull up a chair next to him and join in. Chris has not led an easy life either. He sent Anna off in hopes of allowing her to have a better life, one away from men who make their living at sea. Mr. Davenport conveys the love that Chris never lost for Anna. His pride for her shows in his body language and eyes when he speaks of, and anticipates, his daughter’s return.
Things become more complicated when an Irish seaman by the name of Mat (Dan Whelton) is washed ashore after a shipwreck and he and Anna begin to fall in love. Anna’s distrust of men is one obstacle, but other tings in her past are also something she struggles to deal with. It is now that her baggage begins to be unpacked.
Johnny Lee Davenport and Dan Whelton (Photo Credit: Mark S. Howard)
Dan Whelton displays a wonderful Irish accent as he goes back and forth with Anna and Chris. Mr. Whelton and Mr. Davenport have a wonderful energy between them as they seem at times ready to kill one another, yet are very much alike; Stubborn, bullheaded, and kind hearted.
Unfortunately, Nancy E. Carroll’s Marthy is not on stage after the first act, but while she is, it is a joy watching her perform. She speaks the words O’Neill has written with a swagger reminiscent of a character from a 1930’s gangster movie; a touch of Edward G. Robinson and Jimmy Cagney. This conveys the rough edge she has from living and working on the waterfront as well as her way of dealing with the rough edged men in her life. And, as with the others, she betrays a tenderness and understanding. It works very well.
James R. Milord plays Larry the barkeeper. After having served Chris and Anna hard liquor separately, he shows subtle amusement when each tones down their wicked ways in order to put on a good face for the other.
Watching all of this unfold is sad, touching, and even funny at times. Director Scott Edmiston has pared done the script without losing any of the essential parts, leaving us with a Eugene O’Neill play that takes place in less than two hours.
I’m sure that many will read into this work issues of the power men have over women and how women deal with it. While that is understandable, it is also good to see this as what happens when people are able to accept each other with all their faults, face their own weakness, and allow better natures to prevail. This is a story that could have ended on a very ugly note. It didn’t, and we can all learn from that.
Eugene O’Neill’s works are among the greatest in American drama. They can be very heavy and usually are long but also amazing. This play is deep and filled with emotion, but it will not leave you filled with despair, and it certainly is not drawn out. Director Scott Edmiston has gotten it right, and I would encourage those who have not taken in a work by O’Neill to start here. It will stir your emotions but not overwhelm you. You will see five very fine actors working with the words of a great playwright. And, you will see it all at the wonderful Lyric Stage Theater, a warm and intimate performing venue.
The Brain Of A Boxer
This Very Important Documentary
Available On Amazon, ITunes, and Google Play April 6th
A year and a half ago I had the opportunity to view Unforgotten: The Story Of Paul Pender at the Boston Film Festival has won numerous awards. The movie, directed by Felice Leeds, looks at the life of former Middleweight Champion Paul Pender, and included rare footage of Paul’s career along with much interesting commentary. More importantly, it took an in-depth view of the toll repeated trauma to the the head took on the former champ’s brain. The movie has now been released to the public and is available at Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play. It has been renamed The Brain Of A Boxer. The new title, along with its broad availability, will, I hope, ensure this important film receives a wide viewership.
When Paul Pender died in 2003 after suffering years from symptoms of dementia, it was concluded the cause of death was due to Alzheimer’s disease. It wasn’t until his courageous widow Rose allowed research to be done on his brain that it was found that he had not been suffering from Alzheimer’s, but rather it was Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) that caused the deterioration in Paul’s brain and eventually led to his death. Furthermore, this damage very possibly began during his days playing high school football.
Paul Pender
Much has been learned about CTE in recent years. Lawsuits reaching into the billions of dollars have been filed against the NFL by families of football players suffering from this horrible, and very preventable, disease. Public awareness is growing about the injuries being inflicted on the young participants who engage in contact sports. More parents are less inclined to allow their children to play football our climb into a boxing ring because of the high risk of brain damage involved in such participation. However, the public still has a desire to view these sports and is willing to pay huge sums of money to do so, and as long as the money is there people will be enticed to take up these professions.
In The Brain Of A Boxer you will learn much about the causes of and the research being done about CTE. Most of us assume brain damage is caused by serious concussions which usually result in unconsciousness. However, research has shown how even minor hits to the head, especially when received by young adults and children, causes damage. It is very important for parents to be aware of the dangers involved in many of the sports their children are participating in, and to find alternatives for them. Learning the competitive spirit and having children challenge themselves physically is a very important part of growing up, but having a brain that is injured beyond repair is not worth the price of that experience.
In making The Brain Of A Boxer, Felice Leeds has included interviews with many people from the world of boxing as well as from medical circles. Hearing from those who knew Paul Pender gives us insight into the man. Paul hardly fit the stereotype of the boxer as is seen in so many Hollywood movies. He had a deep intellect and a love for language. It would have been no surprise had he followed a different path in life, such as becoming a college professor.
Former boxers, boxing experts, and friends of Pauls such as former Champ Tony DeMarco, Joe DeNucci, historians Dan Cuoco and Mike Silver, former amateur boxing star Richard Torsney, sportswriter Bud Collins, and Richard Johnson the curator of the Sports Museum in Boston all bring their memories of Paul Pender to life. He was a complicated and interesting man.
Dr. Ann KcKee
For the medical perspective we hear from Dr. Ann McKee who’s tireless research on CTE has done so much to shed light on this terrible problem. Dr. McKee was recently named Bostonian of the Year by the Boston Globe. She has been studying the brains of deceased athletes for a number of years and the results of her findings are stunning. It has been learned that CTE can show up in the brains of athletes at a very young age. It is a progressive disease that gets worse with time and has no cure. It is also a very preventable disease. By no longer allowing athletes to receive trauma to the head the disease can be eliminated from sports.
Rose Pender
Ms Leeds describes Rose Pender, the widow of Paul, as the true hero in this story. It was Rose who made the very difficult decision to allow her husband’s brain to be used for research. Paul Pender’s brain was the first to be studied. If not for the actions of this very courageous woman research into CTE may have been delayed for years.
The Brain Of A Boxer is a very interesting and important film. For those who love boxing there is much to enjoy. The archival footage is just amazing. Hearing the voice of Paul Pender as he talks about the dark side of boxing is eye opening. Also, for those of us who have loved boxing all of our lives, it forces us to confront some very difficult realities. Is the pleasure we get from watching athletes inflict head injuries on each other really something we should accept? Is it time to rethink how we view contact sports? And just maybe we should ask ourselves, would we allow our sons and daughters to take part in sports that can cause such serious damage to their brains? If the answer is no, than we have to deal with the question of allowing others to do so.
The Brain Of A Boxer is an important contribution to the discussion surrounding these issues. It is an excellent film, well crafted and fascinating to watch.
Richard Johnson, the curator of the Sports Museum in Boston, best described it. I believe he was quoting Paul Pender when he said “It is a full day if you have laughed and cried.” This documentary will make you do both.
Tony DeMarco and Felice Leeds
Many thanks to Felice Leeds for making this film. I urge everyone to see it now that they have the chance. It will make you laugh and cry. And I hope it will make you think about the price so many athletes pay for entertaining us.
The Brain Of a Boxer
Directed By Felice Leeds
Available at iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play
For more information go to:
http://facebook.com/unforgottenchamp
FUN HOME, ONCE, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY, SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS, SCHOOL GIRLS, AND THE VIEW UPSTAIRS HIGHLIGHT SPEAKEASY’S 2018-2019 SEASON
The Tony Award-winning musicals FUN HOME and ONCE, the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY; the Off-Broadway sensations SCHOOL GIRLS; OR THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY and SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS; and the triumphant new musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS will make up SpeakEasy Stage Company’s 2018-2019 Season, the company’s Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault announced today.
In addition, the company’s new works program, THE BOSTON PROJECT, has been renewed for a third season, offering two more Boston playwrights commissions to create new plays about what it means to live in this city at this moment.
The schedule for SpeakEasy Stage Company’s 2018-2019 Season will be:
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY –By Stephen Adly Guirgis / Sept. 7 – Oct. 6, 2018
FUN HOME– Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron,
Based on the graphic novel by, Alison Bechdel / Oct. 19-Nov. 17, 2018
SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS – by Bess Wohl / Jan. 4- Feb. 2, 2019
ONCE – by Enda Walsh, Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová
Based on the motion picture written and directed by John Carney / Mar. 1 – 30, 2019
SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY – by Jocelyn Bioh / May 3 – 25, 2019
THE VIEW UPSTAIRS – by Max Vernon / May 31-Jun 22, 2019
“Once again I am excited to offer Boston audiences an ambitious and entertaining slate of the very best contemporary plays and musicals,” said Daigneault, in announcing the new line-up. “Each of these shows is uniquely theatrical and celebrates the importance of sharing our stories to better appreciate our common humanity.”
“I am also excited for the many opportunities these shows offer a diverse group of local artists, both young talent and experienced professionals. It’s going to be a very exciting year!”
For more information on SpeakEasy’s 28th Season, the public can call the Boston Theatre Scene Box Office at 617-933-8600 or go online to www.SpeakEasyStage.com.
COOKING WITH THE CALAMARI SISTERS
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK INTO THE KITCHEN
Limited Six Week Run April 12 to May 20, 2018 at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA
Mangia Italiano! Hilarity, delicious dishes and two over-the- top plus-size Italian sisters from Brooklyn, stars of their very own fictional cable television show, take you on a tour-de-force of show tunes, pop and Italian songs & cuisine. Songs like (Volare, Botcha – Me and much more; you’ll find yourself dancing and laughing through a very special cooking musical comedy in Cooking With The Calamari Sisters.
New York Newsday called Cooking With The Calamari Sisters “delightful and absolutely delicious.”
Straight from sold-out engagements across the country, be prepared to eat your heart out and laugh until your sides hurt as Delphine & Carmela perform outrageous musical numbers while designing their latest culinary offerings.
Don’t be surprised if they get a bit naughty when they update their treasured family recipes with saucy secrets and anecdotes that will leave you rolling in the aisles. And who knows? You may get a chance to sample these two sisters’ kitchen creations.
April12 through May 20. The Regent Theater, 12 Medford Street, Arlington, Ma. 1-855-448-7469 or PlayhouseInfo.com
Also Receives 17 IRNE Award Nominations
For 2017 Season
By Bobby Franklin
It is an exciting time for theatre goers who will be traveling the short distance to Ogunquit, Maine this summer to attend performances during the 86th season at the legendary Ogunquit Playhouse. In addition to an already fabulous lineup that includes productions of Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Oklahoma!, An American In Paris, and Grumpy Old Men, Executive Artistic Director Brad Kenney has announced that the Northeast regional premiere of Jersey Boys will cap off the season. The hit show featuring the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons will run from September 5 to October 28. Tickets will certainly be in demand for this one.
This is as fine a lineup as I have seen from the amazing creative team at the Playhouse and will certainly be an enjoyable way to mix the theatre experience in with all of the other wonderful things the Ogunquit area has to offer for summer fun.
I’ve been covering the Ogunquit Playhouse for a number of years now, and while no theater is able to bat 1000, the creative team under the very able leadership of Brad Kenney hits the ball to the fences much more often then not and has a very strong record of home runs to its credit. This is as close to Broadway quality as you will find outside of New York City, and I have to say some productions I have seen surpass those on the Great White Way.
Vincent Pastore (Nick Valente) and Reed Campbell (Cheech) With Ensemble
The Playhouse has received 17 award nominations from Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) for 2017. Five nominations go to Bullets Over Broadway. It been nominated for Best Musical, In addition, Reed Campbell is up for Best Actor for his role as Cheech, and Sally Struthers for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Eden Bent. Jeff Whiting is up for two awards, Best Choreography and Best Director.
Christopher Ash has been nominated for Best Production Design for his work on From Here To Eternity.
Cast of Ragtime (Photo: Gary Ng)
Ragtime has been nominated for eleven IRNE Awards including Best Musical, Best Ensemble, and Best Director to Seth Sklar-Heyn. Jeffrey Campos for Best Music Director, Kevin Heard for Sound Design, and Jesse Robb for Best Choreography. Kirsten Scott is nominated as Best Actress for her role as Mother, and Best Supporting Actor nomination goes to Julian Decker for his performance as Little Brother. Josh Young and Darnell Abraham both have been nominated for a Best Actor Award parts, Decker for his role as Tateh, and Abraham for Coalhouse. And finally, my favorite, Tyler Wladis who has been nominated as Most Promising Young Performer for his outstanding performance as The Young Boy.
Brad Kenney
Bradford Kenney, Executive Artistic Director at the Ogunquit Playhouse said, “To be recognized once again by the IRNE nominating committee alongside some of New England’s leading theatres is a great honor. We are extremely proud of our beautiful production of Ragtime, the hilarious Bullets Over Broadway and of our regional premiere of From Here to Eternity. Congratulations to our exceptional creative teams and casts who made our 85th Anniversary season a success. We want to extend our congratulations to all nominees who have been recognized by the IRNE Awards.”
The awards ceremony will take place on April 23 at the 1200 Hotel in Brookline, Ma and will be an exciting time for all involved. Pass the envelope please.
Under the direction of Jean Strazdes, Presents “An Afternoon of Sacred Music by Fauré, Lauridsen and Bernstein”
Kennebunk, Maine
Seaglass Chorale, under the direction of Jean Strazdes, Artistic Director, will present selections from Bernstein’s Missa Brevis; Fauré’s Requiem and Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna. In addition, there will be a performance of Bernstein’s Simple Song from the Mass by Ms. Strazdes.
One Performance Only: Palm Sunday Sunday, March 25, 2018
Christ Church
6 Dane Street
Kennebunk, Maine 3:00 pm
Tickets are available through Seaglass [at] gwi [dot] net, phone at 207.985.8747, and at Morse Hardware on Post Road in Wells. Tickets are also available at the door. Prices: $15/adult; $12/senior and student
Opens At The Lyric Stage April 6th
Runs Through May 6th
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, O’Neill’s classic is a surprisingly contemporary play that crackles with fierce physicality, humor, and drama. After a 20-year separation, a coal barge captain (Lyric Stage favorite Johnny Lee Davenport) is reunited with the daughter he unknowingly abandoned to a life of hardship. When Anna falls in love with a shipwrecked sailor, her father and her suitor come to recognize their own culpability in her plight, and all three struggle in their own way for salvation. Following his acclaimed production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Scott Edmiston takes a fresh look at one of America’s greatest playwrights.
A note from Director Scott Edmiston:
“In an era when most American plays were set in posh drawing rooms populated by wealthy white characters, O’Neill depicted a world of sea shanties, slums, and barrooms inhabited by the working class and immigrants, the outcast and oppressed, the lost and misbegotten. O’Neill offered them dignity and respect. He accepted them because he was one of them. He wrote complex female characters who were liberated beyond their time. He explored African American identity in the two groundbreaking works, The Emperor Jones (1920), which examines race-based violence, and All God’s Chillun’s Got Wings (1924), which portrays an interracial marriage. He refused to allow white actors in blackface in his plays and insisted on casting African American actors in the leading roles. Anna Christie, which premiered on Broadway in 1921 and earned him the second of his four Pulitzer Prizes, can be viewed as an early feminist drama. Tales of a
woman with a past were not new to the stage, but O’Neill dispelled the Victorian notion that prostitution was a result of female licentiousness. He tells Anna’s story with compassion and an awareness of gender economics. Consequently the role of Anna has become a favorite of great actresses including Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullman, Natasha Richardson, and most recently Ruth Wilson. Greta Garbo chose the role for her first talking picture in 1930.
In adapting the play for 21st-century audiences, I’ve tried to remain true to O’Neill’s themes and the unique poetry of his hardscrabble dialogue. I’ve removed a few superfluous sailors, a bit of period slang, and the phonetically spelled dialect (Chris was originally Swedish). It’s my hope that this will intensify the conflict between the ill-fated trio of Chris, Mat, and Anna and place them center stage where their fight to find redemption remains as compelling to me as it was nearly 100 years ago.”
Johnny Lee Davenport
FEATURING:
Nancy E. Carroll, Johnny Lee Davenport, Lindsey McWhorter, James R. Milord, Dan Whelton
The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street, Copley Square, Boston, MA 02116
Box Office: 617-585-5678 lyricstage.com
Former Great Middleweight Contender
Passes At The Age Of 87
By Bobby Franklin
Joey Giambra
To realize what a master boxer Joey Giambra was all you had to do was look at his face after he retired. Giambra, who passed away on March 2nd, didn’t have a mark on him and still retained his Hollywood leading man good looks. He had fought many of the top contenders of his day during his 77 bout career and was never knocked out. In fact, he only lost ten fights with five of those losses coming in his last eight fights as his career was winding down. His last fight took place in Boston where he lost a disputed ten round decision to local favorite Joe DeNucci. Giambra took the fight on 24 hour notice filling in for Joey Archer who had been injured.
Joey Giambra’s record reads like a who’s who of the middleweight division in the 1950s. He went undefeated in his first 17 fights before losing a decision to the very experienced Johnny Cesario in 1951.
Joey was right back the next month defeating Albert Adams and went on to score ten straight victories before dropping a decision to future champ Joey Giardello. Giambra would come back less than a month later to beat Giardello. The two would have to wait until 1958 to have a rubber match in which Giambra took the decision.
Joey Giambra was an artist in the ring. He was an excellent defensive boxer who could also mix it up in close. He had an accurate left hook that he could deliver to the head as well as the body. His right hand was like a laser. Hitting him with a clean shot was next to impossible.
Joey Giambra and Billy Martin
In 1962 when Joey was past his prime he was nothing short of magnificent in taking the hard punching Florentino Fernadez apart, stopping him in the 7th round. If you want to see the bull vs the matador, watch that fight.
Giambra fought both at a distance and in close, beating Fernadez to the punch time after time, finally busting up Florentino so badly and breaking his nose, that the referee would not let him answer the bell for the 8th round.
Other names on Joey’s record were Carl Bobo Olson, Bobby Dykes, Yama Bahama, Rocky Castellani, Gil Turner, Chico Vejar, Rory Calhoun, and Ralph Jones.
With so many victories and possessing such talent the question to be asked is why did he never get a shot at the middleweight title? It turns out Joey was a straight shooter and he wouldn’t play ball with the mob. In an interview he gave to the L.A. Times in 1989 Giambra tells the story of what happened: “Jim Norris who ran the Garden then, liked me and wanted me to get rid of my manager, Mike Scanlon, and give me one of his guys as my manager. I said I wouldn’t do it. Norris looked at me and said, ‘You’re a nice kid, Joey, but you’re naive.’ I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what naive meant.” That pretty much sealed his fate when it came to ever fighting for the title.
Joey Giardello and Joey Giamba
Joey had movie star good looks and many thought he could have had a career in Hollywood. It turns out he did have an appearance in a major motion picture. He was fighting in Reno in 1960 and Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe were at ringside. Gable took notice of hm and the next day sent a guy to find Joey and had him play a small part in the movie “The Misfits”. Giambra got $1,000.00 for saying “Hey you”.
Giambra was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and later settled in Las Vegas where he worked as a blackjack dealer and later drove cab. He had a son and a daughter and after his wife ran off he raised both children himself, doing a fine job with them. Joey also worked with a foundation that helped keep elementary school kids off drugs. He stayed fit and active until he had a stroke at the age of 78. Joey was always a clean liver and a great example for how to live life the right way.
Joey Giambra, Boxing’s Elder Statesman
Joey Giambra was a man of integrity and great decency. He never sold out his principles and he never became bitter. He was also one of the most gifted boxers to ever lace on a pair of gloves.
Rest in Peace Joey, you were truly the Uncrowned Champ.
Inspired by the true childhood experience of TV/film actor and social media icon George Takei (Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek”), Allegiance tells the story of the Kimura family, whose lives are upended when they and 120,000 other Japanese-Americans are forced to leave their homes following the events at Pearl Harbor. Sam Kimura seeks to prove his patriotism by fighting for his country in the war, but sister Kei fiercely protests the government’s treatment of her people. An uplifting testament to the power of the human spirit, Allegiance follows the Kimuras as they fight between duty and defiance, custom and change, family bonds and forbidden loves. 
