By Claire DeMarco
The impetus for “Andy Warhol’s Tomato” grew from a longstanding story (never really verified) about college-age Andy Warhol. In order to get free Coca-Cola at a local bar Andy diligently painted on napkins for the owner.
Playwright Vince Melocchi took this often-told story, developed a fictional play about Andy Warhol (Matt Henderson) and created a literary character named Mario “Bones” Bonino (Johnny Patalano). Bones is the owner of Bonino’s Restaurant.
Warhol wakes up in the cellar of Bonino’s after fainting in front of his restaurant.
When Warhol drops and breaks one of Bones’ family picture frames, Bones insists that Warhol paint a Bonino’s Restaurant sign with the Italian flag as the background. This accident sets the stage for two very different men to learn about each other.
Bones epitomizes the working class while Warhol is a product of poor immigrants from eastern Europe living in the city.
Warhol spends many months interacting with Bones as he works on the restaurant sign and continues with classes at Carnegie Tech studying commercial art.
A brief encounter between two very different personalities and lifestyles forms an unlikely friendship as they discover they have more in common that they thought.
We’ve come a long way from the days of Warhol’s youth (in the 1940’s) when his gayness could never be vocalized. The closest one got to suggesting that lifestyle was to venture cautiously as Bones did and ask Warhol: “Are you funny”?
Henderson’s performance is riveting. He is naïve, sometimes petulant, a bit snarky and sensitive. He has perfect comedic timing. His physical mannerisms suggest Warhol’s gayness but they are not overdone.
Patalano is spot on as the working-class Italian bar restaurant owner. He highlights a range of emotions as he deals with and tries to understand young Warhol. And that (n’ at) is done with a wonderful, accurate Pittsburgh accent with the ever-present evil eye gold chain dangling from his neck.
Henderson and Patalano complement one another as a well-balanced team. The play works exceptionally well with these two equally talented actors.
“Andy Warhol’s Tomato” is the perfect selection for PICT (Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre’s) inaugural play for the 2024-2025 season.
“Andy Warhol’s Tomato” was written by Vince Melocchi with excellent direction by Elizabeth Elias Huffman.
Scenic Designer Tucker Topel recreates a well-worn basement that serves as a storage facility for Bonino’s Restaurant as well as an area set aside as Bones’ office. The steps into an unseen restaurant (with open backs) expose a multitude of discarded items. Several unexplained wall frames without paintings have a clever resolution at the play’s end.
-CED
“Andy Warhol’s Tomato” is a production of PICT (Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre). Performances run from September 20th – October 6th at Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA. For more information, click here.
