Mazzetti is making his Moon debut as a member of the ensemble cast.

The play centers around the life of Fiorello H. La Guardia, considered one of the greatest mayors in American history, as he rose from a crusading lawyer to Congress, to running New York City. He was considered a champion of his less-fortunate, immigrant constituents, he supported women in the labor movement, and believed that true leadership meant serving all members of the community equally. This is an exciting debut for Mazzetti, as only one year earlier he was a member of the audience for 42nd Street Moon’s staging of “Ain’t Misbehavin,” hoping that one day he’d have an opportunity to perform on its stage.  As a member of the ensemble, Mazzetti will play six different characters. FIORELLO! features lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, music by Jerry Block, and is based on the book by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott.

Mazzetti came to the College from Lake Zurich, Illinois after visiting Davis Schneiderman’s and Carla Arnell’s English classes. He was inspired to study English, and the opportunity to participate in theater on the side was very appealing.   

Armed with a vocal performance scholarship, Mazzetti began his studies at the College, and dabbled in his first love, theater. But, one lead role led to another and another, and Mazzetti quickly became an English and Theater double-major. He also performed as a member of the College choir, and was the founder of “Son’s of Pitches,” a men’s acapella group.

Mazzetti had an opportunity to work behind the scenes, as well. He became the student Costume Shop Director while staff costume shop director, Janice Pytel ’93, was working on Broadway, an experience Mazzetti found immensely valuable. 

Although the opportunity to work in film would be very welcome, Mazzetti claims theater is his first love, and he is grateful he didn’t take his high school advisor’s advice to stay away from theater. So are we!

FIORELLO! is playing at San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon from February 27 to March 17, 2019.