As the Butler and Michael Seravino
(the hot headed Italian Stallion) at
the Players Theatre on McDougal Street
in New York City's Greenwich Village.

My first Off-Broadway Show in a DUAL ROLE! Hey, not bad.

 That's Patricia Kalember to the far right. She had leading roles in THIRTY SOMETHING and SISTERS amongst many others. I play both the butler (in the play within the play) and his true self - a hot-headed Brooklyn swoonin' Italian Stallion with a big mouth. 

"John Monteleone has a promising look of puzzlement at Aldo the Butler." Clive Barnes
THE NEW YORK POST

(backstage gossip)

These were the first real professional actors I worked with in an Equity Production. Here is what happened. I had seen an ad in Backstage and called my "agent" the son of my acting teacher Peter Kass who sent me on this audition. I walked into the room and there were 10 guys that looked just like me, all FROM HIS office! I did the audition and got the call "you were great they loved you but they are going with someone else"... and I thought "right they loved me". SIX MONTHS LATER I had been working in Williamsburg Brooklyn with my friend who ran a Towing Company as I was sick of waiting tables. This was a company that towed trucks and the men were all insane - pulled guns out of file cabinets when they got pissed off, lots of fun. I quit and ran home to my mommy and daddy in North Babylon - I was going to ask my mommy if I could curl up into a fetus and go back in her womb. I entered the house, was sitting with my parents and I got the call YOU'RE IN! I said "Oh Yea in what - trouble?" And Robby Kass said - no remember 1000 years ago when you auditioned for that role where I sent my entire office to compete with you from your lead? I said Yea. Well the guy they picked landed a soap and quit, so they want you. I drove in, got my equity card and was in a professional NY play. I remember sitting at a restaurant on MacDougal Street looking at the theatre wondering how great it was going to be. I'll sum it  up:  The director was a Hollywood Sit-Com director who looked like an aging surfer and here is how he directed me: He would take one line, and when he realized I had no idea what he was talking about he would switch the words around accentuating one of the words in the sentence. For instance his favorite "direction" was: : "Go for it" And when I'd say something like "I don't really know what you want me to do," he'd say "go for IT". Still Perplexed, he'd think a moment and say "go FOR it", until he'd use up all of the possible accentuations and just say "do it". I had to kiss the 40-something lead, who knew all the other actors - and everyone always said how "WONDERFUL" she was. I had to kiss her. I did and then the "director" Mr. GoForIt said "John, the leading wonderful actress said you tried to stick your tongue in her mouth". I said "I did not" and he said - of course you did. I said I did not I think she's ... and he said "shhhh shhhh SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHE'S WONDERFUL SHE'S WONDERFUL" and ran off. Patricia somehow thought I was hitting on her and I probably was (I don't remember) and told me "I'M MARRIED KNOCK IT OFF" - I was 24 she was gorgeous you do the math... Gordon, the elderly man to the right was nurturing when he wasn't meditating and the leading actor was so professional he was boring - I kept waiting for him to fuck up but he never did - just was great. The air conditioning broke in the middle of the run and the theatre was HOT in the Summer - so we were given a choice by Equity - either stop the play and forfiet your pay, or, shut up and grin and bear it. We grinned. The play closed after a short run due to it's "brilliant writing and direction" and I learned the reality of Job Security in the arts. I got a national tour after this - we crossed the USA with six actors in a van stuffed with set pieces, one city a day - it was God awful (the van). The pay sucked. We revolted, almost got arrested. You know - a real romp in the sun. That was the next lesson - lose a job in NY don't go on a tour unless it's first rate.