PICT Stages Interesting Match up of Andy Warhol and a Homestead Blue Collar Bar Owner

Matt Henderson and Andy Warhola and Johnny Patalano as Mario “Bones” Bonino Credit: Courtesy Photo

Last evening I caught the long-anticipated relaunch of PICT, short for Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre, with its staging of "Andy Warhol's Tomato" at Carnegie Stage in Carnegie, Pa. Written by McKeesport native and now resident of Los Angeles, Vince Melocchi, the play is set in a Homestead bar in 1946 and features a fictional relationship between an 18-year-old Andy Warhola and a Italian-American bar owner. At the time Warhola was an art student on the edge of expulsion at Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University, The playwright studs the script with several references to Pittsburgh and the era, which should appeal to Pittsburgh nostalgia buffs in the audience. Sound designer, Steve Shapiro adds a lot of period flavor with his musical selections of the era especially the jazz snippets. Pittsburgh jazz artists like Mary Lou Williams and Ahmad Jamal also get a mention in the script which adds even more local color to the narrative.

I can't conceive of any two more compatible and complimentary actors director Elizabeth Elias Huffman could have picked
to play the two roles of Warhola and bartender Mario “Bones” Bonino than Matt Henderson and Johnny Patalano.

The story line, while based on extensive research by the playwright, is a fictionalized account of two unlikely match ups that occurs serendipitously when Warhola passes out in front of Bone's bar and is brought inside to recover.

Johnny Patalano as Mario “Bones” Bonino and Matt Henderson as Andy Warhola Credit: Courtesy Photo

Warhola's gay apparent mannerisms and patois are a definite contrast to Bone's blue collar, machismo background and frictions arise from the start. Yet, over the course of the summer, their relationship blossoms; Bones gets more paternal, Warhols gets more respectful, sympathetic and supportive, especially after he learns of Bone's repressed artistic tendencies.

Henderson, topped by a wig emblematic of the Warhol look, shows some of the artist's early penchant for iconoclastic avoidance of social conventions and personal boundaries in his inquisitive exploration of his surroundings. For one, he borrows Bone's manuscript without asking him for permission pushes his own ideas for creating an outdoor sign for the bar in complete disregard for the intent of the bar owner.

In contrast to Warhol's energy, impulsiveness and comfortable acceptance of his own identity, Bones is more reflective, responsible and ready to hide his true identity from others, especially the mill hunks who frequent his bar.

As PICT's artistic director, Huffman is bringing an appropriate play, one that should touch the heart strings of Pittsburgh audiences, to the stage as the newly reorganized theater's first production. "Andy Warhol's Tomato" is at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street in Carnegie, through October 6. For tickets, go to https://pictclassictheatre.ludus.com/index.php

The theater is including three Sunday Matinee Talks Backs following several select shows. They include;

A Conversation with Vince Melocchi (September 29); Uncle Andy Stories: The Pittsburgh Years with Don Warhola (October 6); Hidden in Plain Sight: Being Queer in Pittsburgh Before Decriminalization, hosted by Richard Parsakian. As a special preperformance dinner option, De Blaze at 131 Restaurant is offering a three-course prix fixe menu for $35. The dinner includes a choice of a Starter (Italian Wedding Soup, DeBlaze Seasonal Salad or a Caesar Salad), a main course (Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Piccata, Rigatoni Bolognaise or Chicken Marsala) and dessert (Blueberry Cheesecake or Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake). For reservations, Phone 412-310-7475 Pre-show seating is from 5 to 6:30 p.m.