Confessions of a Romance Addict - No, Not Me, John

Ciao a tutti,

I was invited to see a one-man play called "Frank Sinatra F#*ked Up My Love Life!!! - Confessions Of A Romance Addict," by a young Italian-American actor John Ciccolini. The title alone had me interested. Then I read that the show had been nominated for the "LA Weekly Best Solo Show" Award, even better.

But what could John possibly have to say about romance and the Chairman of the Board that hasn't already been said?

I invited an Italian friend of mine, Luciana, who was visiting from Italy to go to the show with me. Since she spoke perfect English, actually, more "perfect" than I since she was educated in England and therefore speaks "The Queen's English," I thought she would enjoy the play. Come to find out she too was a huge Frank Sinatra fan.

It was funny how when we got into the theater, my name was on the press list and with my complimentary tickets was a press packet. Luciana immediately pulled the packet away from me and asked with delight, as she looked at John's picture, "is this who we are seeing tonight?"

When I responded affirmatively she squealed with excitement. Evidently, she wasn't just a big fan of Frank Sinatra, but a big TV fan and recognized John from some TV Series he had done that she had seen in Italy, NYPD Blues or something.

Then she noticed his name and noted that he, John, and her shared the same last name, only hers has another "o" in it as in "Cioccolini" where his is "Ciccolini." Boy did I pick the right person to bring to the play. John had all the cards stacked up in his favor for Luciana, and I to enjoy the play.

It turns out that John had all the cards stacked up even without all the coincidences. He and his play were funny, clever, well executed and quite unique. To look at him now you wouldn't have figured him a self-professed nerd as a child and so he describes learning how to "get along with the ladies" through Frank's songs that he listened to religiously, even in an era wherein all his friends were listening to rock and rap.

He even conjures up Frank, and plays him out as a figment of his imagination talking to him about romance and giving him tips while using real life examples from Frank's public life. In the end, John,... well, I don't want to give out the ending, but he cleverly ties it all up, figures it all out and "does it 'His' way." That much I can say.

Then at the end of the play, Cioccolini got to meet Ciccolini and found out they were brother and sister and that her long lost father had come to America and the "o" was dropped by accident and never recovered.

Now wouldn't that have been another play that Ciccolini could write? Only that part isn't true, I am just being funny.

Here I am pictured with Ciccolini wishing him well on the future of this and his next projects. Maybe someday someone will write a play about my music. Only instead of a "Frank Sinatra F#*ked Up My Life!!!" kind of title, maybe it would be "Filippo Voltaggio Saved My Life." Did I just make up that part too? Why not, it's my blog and I am going to write it the way I want.

That way, someday I can sing about my blog and say about it, "I DID IT MY WAY!"

Filippo

P.S. Speaking of Frank "F#*king" things up for John, so he jests. Here is a video I bet hardly any of you have seen. In it Frank does right but a little boy about to get beaten up by a gang of children, he does right by Americans, and the right to practice ones religion of choice. He uses language and references that we happily don't use anymore, but that was the language of the day and thankfully the meaning isn't lost in it. This is a short film I found on Youtube. com that Frank did in 1945 that won an Honorary Oscar and Golden Globe. (In English)