Novecento

Born aboard The Virginian to immigrant parents, Danny Goodman (aka Lemon Novecento) never left that ship his entire life. A vicarious traveler, he knew the tiniest details of London and Paris streets, gleaned from conversations with crew and passengers. Out of the blue, his natural gifts for jazz piano came to the fore, and he made a completely new take on that form, to the delight of the trans-Atlantic voyagers. The high point of his life was a competition with a disdainful Jelly Roll Morton, the latter reluctantly conceding Novecento's gifts. Never having set foot on land, the pianist opts to be blown up with the ship when it is junked after WWII.

This incredible but entertaining tale captivated the audience at Rome's Teatro Colosseo, which attracts a mostly young crowd. Jumping back and forth between stage and audience, energetic Ulderico Pesce recounted Novecento's tumultuous life from the viewpoint of the pianist's only real friend, jazz clarinetist Tim Tony. As Italians are natural performers, Mr. Pesce easily found willing patrons, whom he then pulled onstage to represent the ship's captain, cook and other staff. Mr. Pesce had them supply occasional lines throughout the evening and also simulate the effects of storms at sea. This spirited actor easily excited the audience's imagination, much as in the best of children's theater. Toward the end, Alessandro Baricco's text could be tightened to make the inevitable conclusion less sentimental. [Note: Giuseppe Tornatore, of "Cinema Paradiso" fame, subsequently directed a film version of this play. His "Novecento" was as unappealing in the three-hour Italian version as in the two-hour American one.)