When Farren Timoteo鈥檚 Italian-Canadian father Luigi was growing up in Jasper, Alberta, in the late 1960s and 鈥70s, he felt like an outsider.
鈥淗e wore a suit to school and he would take these elaborate Italian lunches 鈥 pastas or cured meats, like salami 鈥 and the other students would make fun of him,鈥 said Timoteo on a Zoom call from his home in Edmonton.
鈥淗e wanted nothing more than to blend in and become invisible, to eat a hot dog for lunch instead of this gorgeous food that you鈥檇 pay top dollar for today.鈥
That real-life story is just one of the inspirations for 鈥淢ade in Italy,鈥 Timoteo鈥檚 solo show that is premiering in 海角社区官网after touring the country for more than five years, winning awards wherever it鈥檚 played.
The play focuses on Francesco and Salvatore Mantini, loosely based on Timoteo鈥檚 own father and grandfather. Salvatore emigrated to Alberta in the 1950s from his home in Abruzzo, Italy. After helping to build the railroad, he settled in Jasper, where Francesco was born. And Francesco, like Luigi, felt isolated and alone until he began seeing himself reflected in the pop culture of the mid-to-late 1970s.
鈥Rocky Balboa was like a patron saint to him,鈥 said Timoteo of his father. 鈥淲hen my dad and his friends first saw 鈥楻ocky鈥 it lit a fire under them. They drove up and down the main street in Jasper playing the movie鈥檚 theme song, 鈥楪onna Fly Now.鈥 They went to the gym and started pumping iron. Suddenly he had this hero, someone who taught him to fight back and earn people鈥檚 respect.鈥
Before premiering the solo show in 2016, Timoteo had built a successful career out west as an actor and director, performing in everything from Shakespeare to musicals like 鈥淧eter and the Starcatcher鈥 and 鈥淪pamalot.鈥 In 2006, he became the artistic director of Alberta Musical Theatre Company.
But he always knew he wanted to capture his Italian-Canadian family鈥檚 experience in a show. As a child, at the dining room table, he could do impressions of relatives that would make his family howl with laughter and recognition. As a late teen, he did standup that drew on similar material. And at theatre school, he remembers studying the one-person show format; one of his classmates, Sheldon Elter, went on to chronicle his own life in the solo show 鈥淢茅tis Mutt.鈥
It wasn鈥檛 until a trip to Abruzzo, the town his family comes from, that things clicked.
鈥淚 felt like I was with my people,鈥澛燭imoteo said. 鈥淭he way people communicated and expressed themselves was so familiar. To see myself in them was so powerful.鈥
Finding out about his father鈥檚 life proved revelatory. The two met for dinner weekly at an Old Spaghetti Factory in Edmonton (鈥渟uch a clich茅, I know!鈥) to go over the older man鈥檚 memories, from his schoolyard bullying to becoming a gigging rock musician.
Besides telling stories and impersonating some two dozen characters, Timoteo will also perform snatches of songs by everyone from the Bee Gees to Gino Vannelli.
鈥淚鈥檇 always been proud to be Italian. In my lifetime, I鈥檝e seen Italians celebrated for architecture, art, cars and music,鈥 said Timoteo. 鈥淚鈥檇 never really heard of someone who was embarrassed to be Italian. This, I realized, was the engine for the show.鈥
After developing the piece with director Daryl Cloran and writing several drafts, one night he phoned his father and read him the play. Earlier on, he had asked his family鈥檚 permission to share their stories, telling them that he鈥檇 be fictionalizing things for drama鈥檚 sake. He wouldn鈥檛 be using real names. But still, he was worried that his father would disapprove.
鈥淭hat phone call was so emotional and moving,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y dad took it and embraced it so positively. I think he was surprised to see how his stories had come together in this one unique, creative package. Then he gave me his blessing. By the end of the call we were both in tears.鈥
Today, Luigi Timoteo is the biggest 鈥淢ade in Italy鈥 supporter. He鈥檚 seen the show in various productions around the country. He鈥檒l be there on opening night in Toronto.
鈥淲henever my dad’s in the audience it鈥檚 like the 鈥楳ade in Italy: Special Edition,鈥欌 said Farren, laughing. 鈥淗e always ends up forming a little community with whoever鈥檚 sitting near him. As people watch the show and realize he鈥檚 the person that the show is about, they give him lots of love. After the show, they ask him about his life, they buy him wine.
鈥淚 was worried he wasn’t going to like it, because it鈥檚 not all flattering,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut I tried to honour his story of struggling with his identity, and the difficult and sometimes maybe incorrect ways he dealt with that.鈥
One of the most heartwarming surprises is seeing how much this deeply personal work resonates with audiences from all backgrounds.
鈥淩egardless of whether they鈥檙e Italian, people say, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 my uncle or grandma,鈥 which is amazing,鈥 said Timoteo.
鈥淎s children of immigrants, so many people have had similar experiences, feeling like they鈥檙e completely outside of North American culture. I hope some sort of retroactive healing comes from this show. But also joy. There鈥檚 so much laughter and joy.鈥
鈥淢ade in Italy鈥 runs from Saturday until June 8 at the CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge Ave. Visit or call 1-800-461-3333 for tickets and more information.聽
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