The Square

Loosely based on the neighborhood of Wooster Square in New Haven, Connecticut, THE SQUARE (La Piazza) is a comedy-drama (a comedy, mostly) about a "Little Italy" community just prior to World War Two (1940-41) and has a large cast of delightfully complex characters, such as Caesar the policeman-philosopher who quotes Marcus Aurelius, Dan the poet-news editor, and Michael the photographer-womanizer. The central focus of the story is a young woman from Sorrento, Italy, who has fled to the US, accompanied by her young lover, to avoid a forced marriage to an older, wealthy businessman she abhors. But escape is not achieved so easily -- her betrothed sends his henchman to assassinate the man she loves. When the attempts to kill him fail, her bethrothed himself arrives. At this point, a desperate but elaborately planned deception saves the day, and all goes well -- until President Roosevelt signs a Declaration of War against Italy and Germany and the lives of the neighbors around the Square are changed forever.

The first play in Maulucci's series about Italian American life just prior to and after World War II. The other play in this series is The Rose Garden, also available in a Nook edition.