Leonardo da Vinci Centre and Pellegrini Productions present the world premiere of

Don’t Blame it on the Stork

A comedy by Tony Calabretta

Directed by Antonio DiVerdis

A comedy about you, your family, your neighbours, your friends and even your enemies…

Don’t Blame it on the Stork – audiences will enjoy this hilarious and heart-warming comedy about the trials and tribulations of a typical Montreal-Italian family when a very pregnant daughter and her Anglo husband move into the top floor of the in-law’s duplex. Warning: contains Italian-family-fighting language, minghia!

What’s a pregnant woman to do when she thinks her husband doesn’t love her anymore? Turn to her parents who live downstairs? They meddle enough as it is. Turn to her brother whom she worships? Too humiliating. Turn to her sister-in-law? With her perfect husband, she couldn’t possibly relate. That leaves Lou, life-long friend and first high-school sweetheart. A master of malapropisms, Lou’s ‘lights are on but nobody’s home’. It’ll take more than the ever-present javel bottles to get this cleaned up… A comedy about love, lies and family ties; who will survive this mid-wife crisis?

As reflected ever increasingly in today’s economic climate, the story in Don’t Blame it on the Stork starts as a financially motivated decision by newlyweds Carmie and Derrick. This quickly turns into a test of their patience and endurance as Carmie’s well-meaning parents smother them with unsolicited help and attention, inevitably putting a strain on their relationship. Are cultural differences to blame? Carmie’s non-Italian sister-in-law Theresa has embraced the all-involved family, so what else is going on under the surface?

The stellar cast, many who perform locally in French, English and Italian, includes Montreal favourites Tony Calabretta as Lou (The Envelope and Paradise by the River, Centaur Theatre; Ciao Bella, CBC/Radio-Canada), Shawn Campbell as Derrick (The Envelope, Centaur Theatre; Stratford Festival), Guido Cocomello as Mario (stand-up comic and actor including six Centaur Theatre productions and Just for Laughs’ Zoofest), Veronica Melis as Bettina (international multifaceted theatre and circus director/creator in her first original English production), Eleanor Noble as Theresa (August, An Afternoon in the Country and Social Studies, Centaur Theatre; Wife Begins at Forty, Hudson Village Theatre), Dino Tavarone as Mimmo (Omertà; Mambo Italiano; Long Long Short Short, Infinitheatre) and Nadia Verrucci as Carmie (Carmela’s Table, Centaur Theatre; Billy (The Days of Howling), Talisman Theatre; The Jazz Singer, Segal Centre).

Leonardo da Vinci Centre
8370 Boul. Lacordaire, St. Leonard – Lots of free parking!
Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00pm; Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinées at 2:00pm

For more information www.centreleonardodavinci.com  or  514-955-8370