Hilarious journey through the real
life of a criminal mother, as seen through her son-partner-in-crime. 'Ferocious
fun...Fascinating...I left wanting to know more!' - (San Francisco Chronicle)
Acclaimed solo performer Carlo D’Amore has brought
his life sentence across the Atlantic Ocean: audiences and critics have responded with
applause to his solo show No Parole, this engaging production, directed by Margarett
Perry, follows the real life adventures of his con artist mother and her son through an
enchanted, unbelievable childhood, to adulthood, regrets, reconciliation, and beyond.
In this wry, energetic semiautobiographical adventure play, No Parole takes the audience
on a kaleidoscopic journey through the real life a flamboyant, live-for-the-moment con
artist mother, who has no trouble posing as an attorney, professor, or paramour of a
Spanish recording artist --- as seen through the eyes of the young son who acts as
her look-out, bail, partner-in-crime, and follows her across borders, into jail, and
finally to the end of the road.
Performer Carlo D’Amore plays all the
characters, from his mother as a vibrant, young woman, to her 60 year-old stroke-battered
self, as well as himself as a child, teenager, and adult, his brother, father, various law
enforcement officials, doctors, and others taken in by his mother’s imaginative
schemes -which run the gamut from shoplifting to international smuggling. Traveling
from their native Peru, bypassing Mexican border officials without legal Visas, and into
the promised land of the U.S., from the Hollywood Hills to an illegal New York City
walk-up, No Parole provides a vivid, hilarious look into the life of an extraordinary
woman who saw the world as her playground, and the children she dragged along with her.
Critics such as Reyhan Harmanci of the San Francisco Chronicle have found No Parole
to be “fast paced … seductive power … he makes his whole family come
alive. So fascinating that I left wanting to know more. “ Rob Avila of the San
Francisco Bay Guardian wrote, “Its theatrical chronicle, deftly conjured by the
skillful and charismatic D'Amore, comes over in great cinematic images like a black-box
blend of Martin Scorsese and Pedro Almodóvar.” Richard Dodds of the Bay Area
Reporter declared D’Amore “has a quirky, wry sense of humor that suggests a
Latino Eddie Izzard with a little bit of Pee Wee Herman” and lauded the show as
“expert storytelling… enchanting; a funny and poignant ride.” The
Sacramento Bee declared the show an “exemplary piece, funny, touching and true –
as true as art can be.”
An actor, playwright, director, and educator with over twenty years
of experience in the theatre, Carlo D’Amore has been involved in groundbreaking
productions across the country. D’Amore filled seven roles in the Cheech
Marin-directed Latinologues at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway, as well as being
featured in Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke for the Roundabout Theater Company.
Regional acting credits include roles with San Diego Repertory Theatre, two seasons with
the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival (Shakespeare in the Park), and three productions at
the legendary Magic Theater, including two collaborations with Pulitzer-winning playwright
Nilo Cruz. His work in film and television includes collaborations with Spike Lee,
Anjelica Huston, and OZ director Tom Fontana.
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Acclaimed solo performer Carlo D’Amore has brought
his life sentence across the Atlantic Ocean: audiences and critics have responded with
applause to his solo show No Parole, this engaging production, directed by Margarett
Perry, follows the real life adventures of his con artist mother and her son through an
enchanted, unbelievable childhood, to adulthood, regrets, reconciliation, and beyond.
Performer Carlo D’Amore plays all the
characters, from his mother as a vibrant, young woman, to her 60 year-old stroke-battered
self, as well as himself as a child, teenager, and adult, his brother, father, various law
enforcement officials, doctors, and others taken in by his mother’s imaginative
schemes -which run the gamut from shoplifting to international smuggling. Traveling
from their native Peru, bypassing Mexican border officials without legal Visas, and into
the promised land of the U.S., from the Hollywood Hills to an illegal New York City
walk-up, No Parole provides a vivid, hilarious look into the life of an extraordinary
woman who saw the world as her playground, and the children she dragged along with her.