Darrell Fusaro's "The Basement" at the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles

Join producers Darrell Fusaro and Jeff Trujillo for a special exclusive screening of their documentary, THE BASEMENT, as part of this year's HitWeek 2010!

THE BASEMENT has a unique history with the IIC Los Angeles.  In 2001, actor and author Darrell Fusaro was invited to perform at the IIC Los Angeles by former IIC Director Professor Guido Fink.  Fusaro created a two-person play, also entitiled, The Basement, specifically for the Institute.  The play is a first person account of the dramatic effect the unsolved 1970 murder of Darrell's grandfather had on his close knit Italian-American family.  The debut performance was an instant hit at the Institute.  The play garnered so much attention that Darrell and his co-star (and wife) Lori Fusaro were invited to tour with the show to Italian-American communities throughout Canada and the United States.

While touring with the play internationally in 2003, Darrell decided to bring the The Basement back to his home state of New Jersey. The performance was held as a benefit for his high school alma mater in the town where his extended family currently live and where the murder had taken place.  The experience resulted in the critically acclaimed documentary entitled, THE BASEMENT (now available on Netflix), which chronicles what happened when Darrell returned home to break the code of silence his family had endured for over 30 years.

During the screening on October 16, THE BASEMENT fan and CNN Anchorman/Host Ron Roberson, of the Emmy award winning news program LOCAL EDITION, will introduce the film with a brief live interview.  Roberson will also facilitate a Q & A between the audience and the filmmakers following the screening.

Sinopsys of the Documentary:
Artist and Playwright Darrell Fusaro returns home to Clifton, New Jersey to face demons cast by the brutal 1970 mafia-style slaying of his beloved Grandfather, Union Official James Fusaro.

After watching his close knit Italian-American family torn apart in decades following the murder, Darrell decides to retrace many of the original dead-end leads from the case as he seeks resolution to the unsolved tragedy.

His autobiographical play, THE BASEMENT, powerfully demonstrates his life experiences and the devastating effects murder has on a family.

With help from enthusiastic students and a cast of characters from the local community, Darrell embarks on an inspirational, shocking and often ironically humorous journey to heal old wounds before an unsuspecting audience. As related through Darrell's emotional reflections and expert storytelling, the Fusaro family is everyone's family. Get to know them and you will be sure to find yourself in THE BASEMENT.

“An honest compassionate glance to the everyday life, the culture and the habits of a family of Italian immigrants in the first half of the twentieth century, later to be shattered by a horrible murder perhaps in connection with early American labor conflicts, The Basement, belongs to the best tradition in American drama, from O’Neill to Miller and Williams, and Darrell performs it admirably, with great courage and rich emotion.” -Dr. Guido Fink, Former Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Los Angeles
 

“Fusaro’s gift for language and formidable talent as an actor can warm the heart and tingle the spine”  --Martin Hernandez, Theater Critic, LA WEEKLY
 

“Fusaro's family is our family; but his commitment to telling its saga is surely as heroic as acting ever gets.” --Bruce Feld, Theater Critic, BACKSTAGE
 

“A compelling evening in theater, enhanced by this natural storyteller!”  – Peter Filichia, Theater Critic, NEW JERSEY STAR-LEDGER.

THE BASEMENT
October 16, 3 pm-5pm
Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles
1023 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA‎ 

Open to public so be sure to RSVP at: (310) 443-3250