Today’s guest is Dr. Elizabeth Turner, the writer and director of the musical and book Ciao Bambino. The musical is about the Italian immigrant experience based in New York City in the 1940s. Dr. Turner grew up in New Hampshire to a large Italian family, and she talks about how keeping culture and tradition was extremely important for her family.
Elizabeth’s Upbringing
Elizabeth’s grandmother came from a small town in Italy called Gambettola. Growing up, Elizabeth says it was important for the family to maintain their Italian traditions. So she grew up with a large Italian family, and there was a lot of cooking, music, entertainment, and love for family, faith, and their country. Since Elizabeth was always surrounded by Italians growing up she actually thought everyone was Italian. Even in school, she grew up with Italian lessons and learned the Italian language.
Elizabeth says she was always surrounded by the arts—performing arts—and has been singing since she could remember. She is a musician and actor, so she went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. After college, she had the opportunity to go to Italy for a year through her employer, Disney. And then she worked on a cruise ship, and it was based out of Italy, too!
How Ciao Bambino Started
Around 2010, Elizabeth was going to auditions in New York, Broadway, etc., and she repeatedly heard the same thing: “Great voice, but we’re looking for 6’0 tall, blonde dancers,” which she’s neither. Since she got tired of hearing this, she decided to create an opportunity for herself and wrote the musical! But not only was she creating opportunities for herself but also for others who weren’t tall blonde dancers.
She started in New York with stage reading and then did a workshop off-Broadway. The musical has been in production for ten years. Elizabeth has released the book in physical format and digital e-book format. It’s now in English and Spanish.
I had the opportunity to read the book and watch the musical in Miami with my family. I highly recommend that you attend if you have the chance. It’s a feel-good musical, funny, and great for the whole family! My favorite character was the aunt – she was terrific!
I’m so excited to have been invited by Dr. Turner to watch the show in Miami and have the chance to meet her and her husband! Thank you for this opportunity!
Listen Now!
Listen to Elizabeth’s full story on The American Dream in The Eyes of Immigrants Podcast!
With Love, Heidy
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