Sacco & Vanzetti Are Dead! July 17-July 27th (minus July 22nd) - The American Theatre of Actors — Sargent Theatre — 314 W54th St New York, NY. Joey DeFilippis, Matt Ferrara, Michael Gardiner, Francesco Baldino, Ilana Schimmel, Danielle MacMath, Dan Yaiullo, Ryan O’Toole. TICKET PRICE: $35.00. RUNNING TIME: 120 min (15-minute intermission). TICKET PURCHASE here.

NJ Italian-Americans Joey DeFilippis and Matthew Ferrara take to the page and stage with their latest endeavor: a satirical retelling of the historic trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants caught in the web of prejudice and political persecution during America’s first ‘Red Scare’.

Sacco & Vanzetti are Dead! will receive its New York City premiere this July at The American Theatre of Actors. DeFilippis and Ferrara conceived and wrote the play, and will also star as the titular characters.

Set in 1920s Boston, Sacco and Vanzetti were victims of a biased justice system shaped by their ethnicity and anarchist beliefs, all of which culminated in the explosive trial that captivated the world. The “absurdity” of it all “was truly one of the biggest, if not the biggest mishandling of justice our country has ever seen,” says DeFilippis. “It’s universal. People from all walks continue to be persecuted and for us, what better way to tell that story than through the lens of a couple of Italians who felt that fire.” Ferrara adds “it truly rides the fine line of absurd laugh out loud comedy and intense heartbreaking drama. In the end of the day, it’s a true story that I think not alot of people know and it’s insanely affecting what happened to all these people. We take you through all of it in one epic sized story that can legitimately have you shedding tears from both laughter and sadness.”

Ferrara, son of an Italian immigrant, reflects on the relevance of this century old story in today’s world: “In a modern culture that prides itself on trying to stop stereotyping and casual racism, it’s still wildly clear to me that you can seemingly always make fun of and be casual racist towards Italians and no one bats an eye. That was kind of the main thesis for writing the show. These guys were born and bred Italians and the trial was basically a farce because none of the waspy American forces at hand looked at them as anything other than their stereotypes. So for us, the satire came from putting literally every stereotype in the script and in these characters to point out the hypocrisy of it all.” DeFilippis adds “we come from a very proud and passionate people. Italian identity has informed my taste and my work ever since I was a kid.”

The show, running from July 17 through 27th at The American Theatre of Actors, has already sold out its opening night. Tickets for the rest of the limited run are just $35 and can be reserved at www.saccoandvanzettiaredead.com