Photos provided by Broadway In Chicago

The play turned acclaimed movie “A Bronx Tale” visited Chicago before, but the one-man show format from writer/actor/Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri was very different than its current musical incarnation at the James M. Nederlander Theatre. Sure, the crime drama aspect of the show directed by double Oscar winner Robert De Niro and four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks was basically the same, but adding original doo-wop and Motown-tinged music by Oscar, Grammy and Tony Award winner Alan Menken with lyrics from Grammy winner Glenn Slater only enhanced the already exceptional adaptation.

“A Bronx Tale” is a recipe ripe for clashes between a kooky cast of characters with an undercurrent of racial tension that frequently focuses on the inner struggles of a young man torn between the quicker yet crooked road to success or simply staying the straight and narrow.

This time through, mobster Sonny was played by Joe Barbara, actual pops Lorenzo by Richard H. Blake and the young adult version of Calogero by Joey Barreiro, mirroring conflict elements from “West Side Story,” cultural similarities to “Jersey Boys” and communal aspects of “In The Heights” (with obligatory nods to “The Godfather” of course). As a result, “A Bronx Tale” is the best of many worlds with a heartfelt storyline set in the 1960s about a son striving to earn the love of his hard-working, but ultimately poor father, and the respect of a flashy mob boss, whose affluent lifestyle is far more appealing than that of a perpetual struggle.

It’s a recipe ripe for clashes between kooky neighborhood characters with an undercurrent of racial tension that frequently focuses on the inner struggles of a young man torn between the quicker yet crooked road to success or simply staying the straight and narrow. Given the mafia’s prominent presence, there’s a fair share of fighting and bloodshed, but the violence never gets gratuitous and the course language is a natural side effect.

Instead, musings on loyalty, love and the varying forms of family emerge, written with such eloquence and brisk progression of action that both acts fly by and feel far shorter than their two hours. In other words, “A Bronx Tale” doesn’t waste a single shred of talent (as its tagline so frequently implores) as it keeps getting better with every tour and passing of the torch.

“A Bronx Tale” continues at the James M. Nederlander Theatre through Mar. 24. For additional details, visit ABronxTaleTheMusical.com and BroadwayInChicago.com.

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