Pitching Center City

In the long history of the development of Center City there existed the idea of pitching it to ABC and SoapNet with Frank Valentini as the Executive Producer. Agnes Nixon's creations, All My Children and One Life to Live were based in a fictional suburban Philadelphia where the inhabitants were often going to Center City, which is what Philadelphians call their downtown area.

The critical success of General Hospital's Nightshift was the inspiration. In an earlier incarnation Center City was called Between Two Rivers. We decided to draw on that history and that of the wonderful characters in Pine Valley and Llanview and have them crossover to interact with the Fontana-De Marcos and other core families who live in a fictional Philadelphia.

It's unfortunate that iAgnes Nixon's "stories" are no more. SoapNet, too, disapeared. There is  still a strong, solid market for storytelling with a long story arc. While Center City is not precisely a Soap Opera in the sense of Daytime TV's "stories" it is a serial drama with a long story arc and rich back story. We're convinced there is a place for it and we continue to pitch it where we think appropriate. The biggest hurdles are to get the right people to look at the solid pilot script and the unique story behind it as well as attaching the right people.

It could be a mini-series or a series extending for ten episodes every season. The Bible is and we know exactly where this story is going. The back story is very clear and rich.

The center of the action is an Italian restaurant in Philly's Rittenhouse Square. A divorced Sicilian American mother of two grown sons struggles with the disappearance/death of her fraternal twin and a partner in the restaurant she now runs to keep the family legacy alive. There is an ensemble cast of characters depicting the tapestry of the Philadelphia ethnic landscape. In addition to the Italian matriarch, Anna--the most central of the matriarchs, there are matriarchal characters like Marlena, Rita, Norina and Annunziata,

Our stage readings have been memorable. General Hospital's Lisa LoCicero brought Anna to life at West Hollywood's Celebration Theatre.

Actors tend to love it: "I just finished Center City and I’m really impressed. Your dialogue is real and witty and often moving– it rolls off an actor's tongue. On a personal level, its so refreshing to a read an authentic story about a piece of my beloved hometown … you have juicy, interesting, three dimensional characters living in a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with me." ~ actor/playwright Mark Borkowski (Boardwalk Empire)

Contact: Giovanni papag@center-city.net

Center City: Origins

In the early eighties Philadelphia had an alternative to The Philadelphia Gay News. It was Au Courant. While on a short sabbatical from life on Italy I became part of the fledgling weekly. One of the things we attempted to differentiate ourselves from PGN was the inclusion of an ongoing serial. Strongly influenced by Cyra McFadden's The Serial and Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, both of which had their origins in print media, I created Between Two Rivers, an ongoing story of Anna DeMarco's world in South Philly and Center City. In its original form these characters were over the top and drawn with broad strokes. It also came about during the mid-term elections of 1982 and took more than one side way glance at local politics. Anna, in her original depiction, was a committee woman who went from door to door to get votes for her preferred candidates. One was Tom Foglietta who was considered by many to be homosexual. She defended him in the first episode on the telephone against such "slander." Unknown to her, she has two gay sons: Marc the priest and Domenic. Between Two Rivers attempted to address serious issues in a comedic and satirical manner.

We focused much of the action around landmark venues and businesses in the area.



During the run of General Hospital's spin off into cable prime time Night Shift which appeared to have a modicum of success, Between Two Rivers was revamped into Center City with a nod toward Agnes Nixon's euphemism for Philadelphia in her iconic serials, All My Children and One Life to Live. The intent was to pitch to ABC TV and draw on characters from "Llanview" and "Pine Valley".

In its current incarnation this story is being told dramatically and on its own merits while keeping its specific pedigree and history. Our intention is to continue to keep the focus on Philadelphia's identifiable venues and landmarks as well as Philadephia's diversity. The best thing about Philly is Philadelphians.

Center City the series receives very positive feedback whenever someone takes the time to take a look. These are vibrant, warm characters who are neither completely good nor completely evil. They are identifiable human beings who want to live out who they are. It is replete with family, music, food, love, passion, mystery and sex. We are quite proud of where we are taking this.


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The Center City Photo Scout

The corner of 18th & Locust

Rittenhouse Square

227 S. 18th Street, Rittenhouse Square

Parc 227 S. 18th Street

Saint Mark's Church steeple

Bike Stop Exterior S. Quince Street

CENTER CITY: The Pilot.

(l-r Kiely Williams, Tristan Colton, Chase Coleman, Ilene Kristen, David A. Gregory, Matt Walton)

To hear the words and to have the characters come to life is a very satisfying experience. Last Sunday's workshop/reading was also very rewarding with the invaluable feedback that took place. Anna De Marco and her sons, Marc and Domenic interacted with Tommy, Mike, Valerie and Marlena in what is supposed to be the first episode of Center City. To have been in the presence of intelligent and talented people gave the project more life.The feedback was invaluable not only in the constructive critique that came forth but also in the positive reception of all the participants. Another similar experience in Los Angeles will no doubt bring more enlightenment.



Special Thanks:

Ilene Kristen
Matt Walton
Chase Coleman
Tristan Colton
David A Gregory
Kiely Williams
Natalie Hiatt
Steven Bergman