Steve Galluccio (born October 9, 1960) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

screenwriter and playwright, most noted for his play ''Mambo Italiano'' and its feature film adaptation '' Mambo Italiano''.

Background

Born and raised in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

to immigrant parents from Italy, Galluccio studied translation at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

.Alan Hustak
"Steve Galluccio"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', December 21, 2009. His first theatrical play, ''My Mom Was on the Radio'', premiered at the Quebec Drama Festival in 1990. He followed up with a number of plays on the

fringe festival Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fr ...

circuit, including ''She's the Queen'', ''Sex, Lies and Brian Mulroney'', ''The Brady Bunch: The Hidden Episode'', ''Peter 'n Paul Get Mary'd'', ''Sexual Success in Montreal'', ''Batman and Robin: The Untold Story'' and ''What's Alice Doing in the Freezer?''

''Mambo Italiano''

In the late 1990s Galluccio wrote ''Mambo Italiano'', a

semi-autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

comedy about a young man in Montreal who comes out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

to his Italian-Canadian family. Although the play was originally written in English, a French translation by

Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a Canadian writer, novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood ...

was produced by Montreal's Théâtre Jean-Duceppe in 2000, in advance of its English premiere at Centaur Theatre in 2001. The play was one of the most successful and popular productions in the history of both theatre companies, with the runs repeatedly extended due to its popularity; a production was also mounted at the Elgin Theatre in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 2003. By 2002, the film adaptation was in the works; directed by

Émile Gaudreault Émile Gaudreault, ( born March 6, 1964) is a Quebec director, author, screenwriter and producer. Since 1994, he has been directing, writing and producing feature films as well as episodes for television series. Several of his films have won awar ...

, the film premiered in 2003 in both English and French versions.Brendan Kelly, "Make way for movie Mambo". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', May 7, 2003. The film was acted primarily in English and then dubbed into French; as most of its cast were fluently bilingual residents of Montreal, most actors were able to dub their own parts. It went on to be one of the most internationally successful films in Canadian film history, and the theatrical version became one of the most widely produced Canadian plays of the 21st century.

Later work

His subsequent credits include the films '' Surviving My Mother (Comment survivre à sa mère)'', ''

Funkytown "Funkytown" is a song by American disco-funk group Lipps Inc., written and produced by Steven Greenberg and released by Casablanca Records in March 1980 as the second single from the group's debut studio album, '' Mouth to Mouth'' (1979). T ...

'', and ''

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

'', the television series '' Ciao Bella'', and the theatrical plays ''In Piazza San Domenico'' and ''The St. Leonard Chronicles''. He has also been involved in the writing and composition of music for his film soundtracks. He received two

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominations for Best Original Song, for ''Mambo Italiano''s "Montréal Italiano" at the

24th Genie Awards The 24th Genie Awards were held on May 1, 2004, to honour films released in 2003. The ceremony was hosted by Scott Thompson (comedian), Scott Thompson."He's gonna spank that Genie". ''The Globe and Mail'', May 1, 2004. The ceremony was broadcast o ...

in 2004, and for ''Funkytown'' "Waiting for Your Touch" at the

32nd Genie Awards The 32nd Genie Awards ceremony was held on March 8, 2012 to honour films released in 2011.

in 2012. In 2012 he published ''Montréal à la Galluccio'', a tourist guide to the city's cafés, restaurants, bars and other cultural amenities, in collaboration with photographer Mathieu Dupuis. His theatrical play ''At the Beginning of Time'' received an online reading from Centaur Theatre in 2020.Jim Burke
"Mambo Italiano's Steve Galluccio pays tribute to late husband in new play"
''

'', October 19, 2020. The premiere for "At the Beginning of Time" opens at Centaur Theatre directed by renowned Canadian director Peter Hinton-Davis. The show features set designed by Michael Gianfrancesco with paintings by Montreal artist Daniel Barkley In 2021 he participated in translating the scripts for '' Entre deux draps'', a Quebec television comedy series, into English for the adaptation ''

Pillow Talk ''Pillow Talk'' is a 1959 American romantic comedy film in CinemaScope directed by Michael Gordon and starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The supporting cast features Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter, Nick Adams, Allen Jenkins, Marcel Dalio and ...

''.Marc-André Lemieux
"Pillow Talk: Un copié-collé d'Entre deux draps"
'' La Presse'', February 7, 2022.

Personal life

Galluccio is openly gay.Marilla Steuter-Martin
"Italian-Montrealer Steve Galluccio takes on love and loss in new play dedicated to his late husband"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, October 21, 2020. His husband, Yves Dionne, died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in 2020, and the challenges of their relationship after his diagnosis form part of the basis for ''At the Beginning of Time''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galluccio, Steve 1960 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male screenwriters Canadian male songwriters Canadian LGBTQ screenwriters Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Canadian gay writers Writers from Montreal Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers Gay screenwriters Gay dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people Screenwriters from Quebec