presents New York

Il passEgGero curioso The Curious PassengeR A play by Paolo Tartamella Directed

by Vittorio Capotorto Project of the Regional Council of Apulia – Teca del Mediterraneo, Bari

City Hall of Buffalo, NY

Hutchinson Central Technology High School in Buffalo

From the Author It was a privilege to write a script inspired by real facts, and a heavy responsibility as well because my characters have been undeservedly neglected by history. It was also fun to trick the logic of time and space. In a few words, writing The Curious Passenger was a fascinating journey. My only frustration springs from my modest knowledge of the characters, the real ones. Except for Joseph and Thomas Sgovio, we only have fragments of stories of the others, a real loss as they led intense lives. Being a journalist, I would have willingly talked to Vittorio Scatigna. He left New York because the city was too violent. He returned to Puglia, an example of reverse immigration. I would have asked him about his customers, about Manhattan in those days, why he left since he was making good money as an ice-cream vendor. I would have liked to have met the widow Elvira Catello. I would have asked her how she wrote a drama while managing to support and take care of five children in New York and being politically active. I would have liked to have heard the story of the carpenter Giuseppe Ranieri and his adventurous trip between Molfetta (Puglia) and New York (via Paris). But I would have loved to interview Anna Sgovio, the woman who followed Giuseppe Sgovio‖s ideals. She emigrated twice, from Puglia to the United States and from the United States to Russia; she endured a betrayal, found a way to survive in two countries in political turmoil without speaking the language. What a historic treasure! Unfortunately, I only could imagine their fears and their worries about the Italian Fascist dictatorship. Without really intending it, I embarked all of them on a train similar to the Polar Express. In that 2005 movie, the filmmaker Robert Zemeckis had a bunch of kids travel to the North Pole to find out that Santa Claus truly exists. And by the way, I wanted all these figures to meet; and what a better place than a train which is traveling to a final destination: freedom.

Paolo Tartamella

A Special Thanks We would like to thank the following people who have provided valuable assistance for this Project: Waldemaro Morgese, Father Secondo Casarotto, C.S., Luci Caracci, Andrea Guiati, Roger Aumick, Hannah Elwyn, Vito Antonio Leuzzi, Antonio Guida, Pasquale Bellini, Antonio Illuzzi, Michele Macelli, and Maria Abenante.

We are especially grateful to David Greco, Principal,

Hutchinson Central Technology High School in Buffalo

IL PASSEGGERO CURIOSO / THE CURIOUS PASSENGER

Scene summary

Scene 1) Hoboken: Passenger, Ranieri The Passenger is waiting for the travelers. Giuseppe Ranieri boards the Passenger tries to start a conversation.

Scene 2) Molfetta: Ranieri's home. Angela, Barone The town Barone visits Angela. Against her will, he offers his protection to her and her siblings. She rejects the offer.

Scene 3) Hoboken, the train is traveling. Passenger, Ran. ieri An angry outburst from Ranieri. He is going to pick up his children in Apuglia, Italy. They cannot leave the country because of the Fascist authorities the Passenger gives him advice about the route he should follow, forseeing what will really happen.

Acknowledgments

Project Leader Teca del Mediterraneo-Bari

Collaborators and Coordinators

Teatromania, New York Liceo Linguistico e Istituto Tecnico Economico Statale “Marco Polo”, Bari

Accademia di Belle Arti di Bari St. Anthony‖s Church, Buffalo

Istituto Pugliese per la Storia dell‖Antifasci smo e dell‖Italia Contemporanea Vice Consolato Onorario d‖Italia in Buffalo

Additional Assistance

Ilio DiPaolo‖s Restaurant, Lackawanna Buffalo-Siena Cultural Council

Buffalo: Thomas Sgovio, his mother Anna and his sister Grace Grazie!-Thank You! board the train. They are on their way to join Giuseppe Sgovio in Russia, to where he moved to fulfill his dream to live in the original Socialist state. The Passenger and Anna Sgovio disagree about the Communist regime. Thomas is excited because he is planning to study arts in aussian College, something he cannot. afford in America Scene 4) Moscow, Sgovio's apartment : Giuseppe Sgovio, Anna, Thomas,

Grace. Thomas did not qualify for any Arts College; Anna is not hiding her disappointment about the famialyu'stere lifestyle and the harsh conditions in Russia. After a fight with her husband, he leaves the apartment. Scene 5) New York, train: Passenger, Ranieri

Anna, Grace, and Thomas get off. Ranieri is about to. At the last moment, he decides to listen to the Passenger and travel to the next station, Hoboken. He needs to trick the Italian Police, who are looking for him because of his antifascist ideas. When he leaves the Passenger is asleep.

The cover illustration by, Franco Mannarini

Vincenzo Mascoli (Set Designer) lives and works in Bari. After Scene 6) Hoboken, a political meeting: Michele, Chiara, Elvira, Info rmer the Art Institute, he graduated with a first-class degree in set de- sign. He is currently taking set design courses at the Biennio Specialistico. Winner of the First National Award at the Galà della Politicà (Roma) initiative; winner of the Franco Zeffirelli Scholarship in the Arts Award for 2008 in New York City, for painting and sculpture; two-time winner of the First Award “Il Pendio,” an art exhibition reserved to young painters from the

South of Italy; winner of the First National Award “Illustrare Man- zoni” (CASM Chieti); winner of the critical award Arte Bizantina Gravina; win- ner of the Third Award of the Photography Competition “Luci e Ombre: Un viaggio emozionale tra storia e territorio” (Andria). He has exhibited personal and collective works.

Angela Varvara (Set Designer) Born in Bari, she graduated from the Carlo Levi High School of Matera with an specializa- tion in art (2000). Later, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of Bari (2006,) with a degree in set design. She has a degree in Costume History and Technique from the Academy of Fine Arts of Bari (2008). Winner of the following scholar- ships: Franco Zeffirelli Scholarship from the National Academy of Fine Arts, Arts Student's League, Newton Cropsey Founda-

tion Hastings on Hudson, New York University, New York (2009). She has projected set and costume designs for school activities (Vita di Galileo by B. Brecht - 2002) and for Teatro Abeliano in Bari (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare – 2007; Salomè by Oscar Wilde - 2008).

Lucia Caracci (Italian Honorary Vice Consul) Born in Castro dei Volsci, Italy, Lucia Caracci graduated from Buffalo State College with a teaching degree. She worked for many years at the International Institute of Buffalo, where she was Assistant Program Director and a refugee resettlement caseworker. She also served as translator for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid and the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sara- jevo. In 1992 she became Activities Director at St. Anthony of

Padua Church in Buffalo. In 1998 she was named Honorary Vice Consul of Italy for Buffalo and Western New York.

Salvemini's voice (off stage). Elvira attends one of Salvemini's political meetings. In the audience, there are also Chiara, Michele, and the Informer.

Scene 7) The train leaves Hoboken: Passenger, Chiara, Michele, Informer. After Salvemini's meeting, Chiara, Michele, and Elvira board the same train, they get to know each other and talk about the Italian political landscape. Chiara has been living in the United States for a very short time. At the end of the scene, Chiara, Michele, and the Informer exit the train.

Scene 8) Ice cream cart in Little Italy, New York: Vittorio Scatigna Vittorio is giving away ice cream to imaginary customers. It's his last day at work because he is planning to move to another American city. He ends up crying.

Scene 9) New York, train: Passenger, Elvira, Ranieri, Angela. Elvira and the Passenger are on the train. Ranieri and his daughter Angela board the train. Ranieri discloses that he followed directions he received in a dream and, thanks to them, he reached New York from Puglia safely. In the dream, those directions were given by a mysterious passenger.

Scene 10) A hall with a political meeting: Chiara, Michele, Informer Chiara is addressing an imaginary audience about the importance of women's emancipation. The Informer is attending the meeting.

Scene 11) Train: Passenger, Elvira, Chiara, Michele, Ranieri, Angela, Informer Chiara and Michele are board. ing the train (followed by the Informer) in a state of excitement because of Chiara's speech. Elvira is on the train.

) In the meantime, on the train Ranieri is telling the Passenger what he heard about the Italian exiles in Russia. Elvira chimes in: she heard the Sgovios are in trouble because of the Stalinist repression.

Scene 12) Moscow, Sgovio's apartment: Anna Sgovio and Thomas. Thomas tells his mother he applied for American citizenship. Soon after, he is arrested by the police.

Scene 13) Train: The Passenger, Vittorio, Ranieri, Angela, Elvira, Chiara, Michele, Informer. Vittorio boards the train. Chiara, Michele, and Elvira are still engaged in the coversation from Scene 11. Chiara is no longer the timid person we experienced in Scene 7. Vittorio speaks for the first time; a long time ago he left Italy and wonders why the other passengers are against the Fascist Regime. The Informer reveals who he is and forces Elvira, Chiara, and Michele to follow him. They get off at Penn Station. The Passenger suggests that Vittorio return to Italy instead of moving in another American city. Vittorio is homesick and gets off, in Modugno, Puglia. While the train is at the station, the Passenger is looking for his son and timidly takes a

a peek at the opposite side of the stage, "outside" of the train, where the Russian scenes are played.

Scene 14) Labor camp of Kolyma: Thomas, Russian officer. An exhausted Thomas is helped by the Officer; he is given the task of painting new signs at the camp. When the Officer exists; the Passenger is now Thomas' father, Giuseppe Sgovio. They recall their past, their political and family decisions. Giuseppe apologizes to his son because he caused him so much suffering, but the son remains bitter.

Scene 15) Modugno, train: Francesca Scatigna, Passenger. Present time: Francesca boards the train, she is Vittorio's granddaughter. Inexplicably, the train is stuck at the station. They start a college student. She is a college student, on her way to Russia to finish her final paper. The Passenger turns out to be Giuseppe Sgovio. Francesca is puzzled at how this is so but realizes that he is indeed Giuseppe Sgovio after seeing his ID and Labor Camp papers. She marvels at the mystery of it all. Giuseppe decides to get of the train for good. He asks Francesca to tell the stories of all the passengers whose hopes of equality and democracy were shattered.

Vittorio Capotorto (Director) Before moving to New York City in 1997 from his native Italy, Vittorio Capotorto staged more than a hundred plays over the course of forty years. He was inspired by the celebrated Italian Maestro Eduardo De Filippo, with whom he worked as an assistant and actor. His theatrical experience, which began in the late 1950s, includes the founding and directing of theater compa-

nies in Italy, Sudan, and Argentina. His repertoire has ranged from Machiavelli to modern playwrights such as Jarry, Nicolaj, and Dario Fo. At the same time, his mission is to bring to the stage original unedited works by new playwrights, making use of the talents of young people in all aspects of production (e.g., dance, music, set and light design.) Upon arriving in NYC, he created the “Italian Theater Practicum” course which he taught at Columbia University (1998 to 2001) and Brooklyn College (2005.) In addition to the plays staged for the Practi- cum both in NYC and Italy, Mr. Capotorto has staged in NYC English versions of: Pirandello‖s The Jar, Eduardo De Filippo‖s Long Legged Lies (Players Club,) Paolo Tartamella‖s The Busboy, Orlando in Love (Central Park,) Aldo Nico- lai‖s Visit to Relatives, and the Jazz Opera Philip Mazzei. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the International Festival “Orlando Innamorato” held in Italy in 2001 and 2009.

Suzanne Marranca (Costume and Props) Suzanne Marranca has a long back- ground in community theater and music performance. For many years she worked in sales for the Western New York radio market, and performed regu- larly with the Coro Alpino in Buffalo and St. Anthony‖s Church choir. She has performed with the Camerata di Sant‖Antonio based at St. Anthony‖s Church. She has acted in numerous plays at the Lancaster Opera House in Lancaster, New York. Her most memorable role has been as the mother in Tony and Tina’s Wedding in productions at both Shea‖s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo and at the Lancaster Opera House.

Dan Jobbins (Lighting Designer) This is Dan's first show with Teatromania. His recent design credits include productions of Like You Like It (The Gallery Players); The Ballad of Him and Her (Dramatic Question Theater); Michael: A Story of Love (Theater of Living Painting). He has designed for summer stock c o m p a n i e s i n c l u d i n g A l b a n y ' s P a r k P l a y h o u s e and Millbrook Playhouse in Lock Haven, PA. Dan has also designed for venues in New Jersey and Massachusetts as well as working as the Lighting Director for the Tennessee Williams Theater in Key West, FL.

Madison Heath (Chiara Tambone) is a native of Western New York. She is a junior at Buffalo State College where she is studying fine arts, chemistry and Italian. Her participation in The Curious Passenger marks her acting debut.

Pietro Lojacono (Il Passeggero, Giuseppe Sgovio) Born into a family originating from Valledolmo, Sicily, Peter Lojacono is a graduate of Buffalo State College. He has taught Italian and Span- ish at Hutchinson Central Technical High School for many years, and was a major force responsible for the very successful Buffalo- Torremaggiore sister cities relationship. As part of that relation-

ship, Mr. Lojacono has presided over a very successful student exchange program between Hutchinson Central and Torremaggiore. He has also contributed to the cultural enrichment of the Buffalo Sorrento Cheese Italian Heritage Festival, and is president of the Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York. He is active in numerous Italian and Italian-American cultural groups.

Michael Marinaccio (Il Barone, Michele Tambone) is a third- generation Italian born in Buffalo where this inspiring story took root. His paternal grandparents came from Puglia where this saga of the Sgovio family began. He currently teaches the English Language to the refugee and immigrant community of Buffalo at the Educational Opportunity Center of the State University of New York.

Richard Musilli (The Informant) was born in Buffalo. He is a retired firefighter. The Curious Passenger is his acting debut.

CREATIVE TEAM

Paolo Tartamella (Playwright) At the age of 36 in 1996, the journalist Paolo Tartamella moved to New York from his hometown in Sicily, to join the writer staff of America Oggi, the Italian daily newspaper in the USA. In New York Paolo started writing plays, some of which performed by Teatromania. In 2005, Paolo was accepted in the Master Playwright class of the Drama Center with his second play in English, “Gerda and the King.” His play “The irreplaceable Mister B” won the second audience prize of the 2006 reading competition at the Drama Center. His last

work, “Il Mistero di Doruntina,” won the Orlando Award at the 2009 International Festival “Orlando Innamorato.”

Il passeggero curioso / The Curious Passenger by

Paolo Tartamella

A World Premiere

May 16, 2010 at 3:00 pm

Hutchinson Central Technology High School 256 South Elmwood Avenue

Buffalo, New York

Cast Anna Sgovio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelby Baldwin Thomas Sgovio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Douglas Beltran Grace Sgovio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sarah Caputi Giuseppe Ranieri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jim Casucci Angela Ranieri, Francesca Scatigna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hannah Elwyn Russian Officer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Fronczak Elvira Catello. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maureen González Vittorio Scatigna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Guiati Chiara Tambone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Madison Heath Il Passeggero, Giuseppe Sgovio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pietro Lojacono Il Barone, Michele Tambone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Marinaccio The Informant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Musilli

Creative Team Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vittorio Capotorto Assistant Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maureen González Assistant Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Fronczak Production Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lucia Caracci Set Designers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vincenzo Mascoli /Angela Varvara Lighting Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan Jobbins Costumes and Props. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suzanne Marranca Sound Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Antonio Barile Stage Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suzanne Marranca

The action takes place in Buffalo, Hoboken, New York City, Molfetta, Modugno, Moscow, Kolyma

There will be no intermission

From the Director

A NEW PAGE OF HISTORY

Hannah Elwyn (Angela Ranieri, Francesca Scatigna) is from King Ferry, near Ithaca, NY. She is a junior at Buffalo State College majoring in Elementary Education with a concentra-

When Waldemaro Morgese proposed to me to “produce” and direct an “intercontinental” theatre workshop that would highlight the vicissitudes of some Apulian immigrants in the USA during the first decades of the 20th cen- tury, I did not have a deep knowledge of my fellow countrymen‖s lives.

Nor did I have any idea about the Italian-American world I would find in what was one of the earliest industrialized cities in the United States. Buffalo is the American origin of this project, which started more than three years ago and, due to its originality and cultural and historical value, is Teca del Mediter- raneo‖s success story.

However, after having set in motion months before the project‖s production

and organizational mechanisms, after entrusting the draft of a play to Paolo Tartamella, and after having met the dynamic Lucia Caracci and some students of Italian language from the Buffalo State College, as well as Italian-Americans and Americans from the area who love much our language so much, I was happy to have accepted such an assignment, even if I had to face a mountain of work and a modest budget.

The keen intu ition of Teca del Mediterraneo‖s Directo r became clear soon

after through the praiseworthy assistance of organizations and individuals both in Buffalo (college faculty, Saint Anthony‖s Parish, individual citizens) and Bari (La nguage High School “Marco Polo”, the Istituto pugliese per la storia dell‖antifascismo e dell‖Italia contemporanea (IPSAIC), Fine Arts Acad- emy.)

To thank all the people and the institutions giving their best to stage “The Curious Passenger” is not an easy task. I refer especially to the actors, who are not professionals, and who have worked very hard to memorize, rehearse, and perform. In fact, some of them have just a basic knowledge of Italian.

I take off my hat especially to them, for their love of our language and cul- ture and their desire to know their history, about which they themselves are writing a new page, highlighting important personalities of the thriving syndi- calism and anti-fascism in Buffalo, Hoboken, New York...: Giuseppe Sgovio, Elvira Catello, Chiara and Michele Tambone, and Giuseppe Ranieri, among others.

Even if they lived in a different time and in different places, these characters meet each other in this phantastic train “inhabited” by Joseph Sgovio, where they share their faith in freedom, equality, and democracy.

Vittorio Capotorto

tion in Italian Language. Hannah acted in plays and musicals throughout high school and danced for 8 years. She spent two summers in Italy and fell in love with the country.

Keith Fronczak (Russian Officer) This is Keith's first experi- ence reading and speaking Italian. He has done local commu- nity theater for the past 10 years, many of them with the Mys- tery Company. Some of his favorite parts and shows were: Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap , and John Smith in Run for Your Wife in which he won a TANYS (Theater Association of New York State) award. He has also been seen in Channel 2's "Crime

Stoppers" and he has worked with local film makers.

Maureen González (Elvira Catello) After obtaining her B.A. and working on Wall Street, Maureen has dedicated many years to the craft of translation (Spanish, English, and Italian.) Thanks to her love for languages and her inter- est in the theatre, in 2008 she made her debut performing in Italian the role of the Queen in Aldo Nicolaj‖s Visit to Relatives, directed by Vittorio Capotorto. She has had the

honor of translating Weekend with a Killer, Nicola Saponaro‖s brilliant play, and it has been her privilege to assist the Director.

Andrea Guiati, Ph.D (Vittorio Scatigna) Born in Ferrara (Italy), Dr. Guiati holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Scranton (1981), a Masters in French from the State University of New York at Binghamton (1983), and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University (1992). He lives in Buffalo, New York, since 1985, where he is Head of the Italian Section at Buffalo State College, where he is also a Distinguished

Teaching Professor. Since 1999 he is Director of the All College Honors Program at Buffalo State College. In another life Andrea was a bass player and vocalist with many international music groups in Europe, Africa, major American cities, and on cruise liners. He has performed for former President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and former President Anwar Al-Sadat of Egypt. Occasionally he takes his International Melodies to New York City and Philadelphia. He performs regularly all over Buffalo and Western New York.

From the Director of Teca del Mediterraneo

The Curious Passenger is a work in progress that extends between Buffalo and Bari, Italy-USA. It is a theater workshop developed with the idea of making it possible for to a group of American and Italian-American students to cultivate an interest in the historic vicissitudes of the Italian emigration and the gulag. The students and other actors of the theater workshop The Curious Passenger join metaphorically the students of schools in Moscow and other Russian cities who will receive Dear America!, the memoir of Thomas Sgovio, in Russian. This project, headed by Teca del Mediterraneo, witnesses the ―guiding thread‖ that unites Italians, Russians, and Americans sharing the same values: liberty and tolerance.

Walde maro Morgese

From the Honorary Vice-Consul of Italy for Western New York

For nearly seven years the Region of Puglia and my office have been working

to establish cooperative relationships between institutions and organizations in Puglia and Western New York. In the process, some remarkable collaborations developed, which have advanced science, culture and knowledge for all of us. Relationships have grown between Buffalo and Torremaggiore, an initiative that has blossomed into a sister city partnership. Scientific collaborations have also developed between medical research institutions in Puglia and in Buffalo.

Thanks to efforts sponsored by the Regional Council of Puglia and Teca del Mediterraneo, educators and historians at institutions in Buffalo, Puglia and Russia embarked on a major scholarly initiative exploring emigration from Pug- lia and immigration to Buffalo and the complicated role of socialism and labor movements in that context. That effort grew into exhibits and conferences in both Bari and Buffalo. This summer, a similar program is planned for Moscow.

This performance of Il passeggero curioso/The Curious Passenger, promoted by Teca del Mediterraneo and artistically entrusted to Teatromania in Bari and in Buffalo, represents yet another attempt to create a stronger awareness of the dynamics that influenced the lives of those who emigrated from Italy and who immigrated to Buffalo.

Hopefully this initiative, as Puglia‖s other praiseworthy attempts at interna-

tional cooperation, will serve to foster broader international understanding, and better understandings of what it means to be Italian, American, and Italian- American.

WHO’S WHO

CAST

Shelby Baldwin (Anna Sgovio) was born and raised in Freedom, NY. She graduated with Honors from Pioneer High School and went on to graduate Salutatorian from the New York Institute of Massage. She is currently a second-year Honors student at Buffalo State College, where she is studying applied mathematics with a concentration in statistics. She also is pursuing a minor in Italian. As an

Italian minor, Shelby is thankful for this opportunity to expand her language proficiency and knowledge of the Italian culture and is grateful to Dr. Andrea Guiati for making her aware of this opportunity. The production of The Curious Passenger marks Ms. Baldwin‖s theatrical debut.

Douglas Beltran (Thomas Sgovio) was born and raised in Buffalo N.Y. After high school he spent five years the U.S. Army and was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Upon completion of service he returned to New York to attend school at Buffalo State College. He is attaining a degree in International Business with minors in Italian as well as International Studies. He enjoys playing guitar in his free time.

Sarah Caputi (Grace Sgovio) is a resident of the Buffalo area. She has just finished her freshman year at Buffalo State College where she is in general studies but is considering minors in in- ternational relations and Italian. Sarah has participated in three musicals in high school and is grateful for the opportunity to participate in The Curious Passenger.

Jim Casucci (Giuseppe Ranieri) was born in Agrigento, Sicily. He is a graduate of State University of New York at Buffalo. Re- tired from AT&T, Mr. Casucci is very active with WNED, Buf- falo‖s local public Broadcast ing affiliate. No stranger to broadcast- ing, he hosted a weekly Italian radio program from 1973 to 1977. Active in numerous local clubs advancing the maintenance and

preservation of Italian culture in Western New York, he is also a choir member at St. Anthony ‖s Pa rish in Buffalo.

Lucia Caracci