The award winning Wiseguy Kitchen Live Show, best known by its parent TV show of the same name, will descend on the Phenix Banquet Center at 2101 Noe Bixby Road in Columbus on June 17 for a one-night-only live performance of Dinner with the Mob. The premise of the live show is a tech rehearsal for the actual television show that airs on several cable networks locally but will soon be released for national distribution. The TV show is more of a traditional cooking show featuring classically trained Italian Master Chef Vincent Fiore but adds a pinch of drama on the side – giving it a unique Emeril Lagasse meets Sopranos type flare. Both shows travel across the country and either film or perform at local venues to promote the Wiseguy Kitchen style of comedy.
Headed up by its creator, producer and actor Vincent Fiore, this nostalgia-filled program features audience participation, cast improv, and live cooking – Wiseguy style. The show is a risqué ride though nostalgia, music, and comedy, said to leave audiences satiated on many levels. It seems the Capo of these Wiseguys, Fiore, went legit years ago, going himself from the streets of New York City to the kitchen—dedicating himself to cooking and making people enjoy themselves, or else!
The superb cast keeps the audience laughing and engaged throughout with ribald jokes (about everything from Italian sausages, Viagra, and chicken breasts), love triangles, and renditions of tunes from Elvis and Celine Dion. Stacey Steel plays tough-as-concrete sexy love interest Nina. Phil Card is cast as Fiore’s hapless, criminal-minded sidekick, Carmine; and Tracy Roese plays love interest, Maria.
Roese grew up in the Huber Ridge area and attended Westerville South High School until she left to pursue her career in 1999. She has since lived in Florida and now resides in California, but will be returning to perform in her hometown for the first time in more than 20 years.
Roese and the rest of the cast have been making their way across the nation (hosted by venues large and small) performing this comedy to sold out crowds, picking up many awards along the way.
The Wiseguy Kitchen Dinner Show is a smorgasbord of culinary delights, majestic singing and comedy for fun-loving couples, groups, young and the young at heart who enjoy a great night on the town with an Italian twist. Run time is two hours, with a 15-minute intermission. For ticket information, please call 614/ 260-8691 or visit http://www.phenixbanquetcenter.com .