By Amelia Mola
On a rainy Saturday night in Toronto, I sat on the subway jutting across the city towards the Paradise Theatre on Bloor Street.
As I stepped out from the subway and into the rain, I was guided towards the theatre by its iconic marquee. The theatre’s old school sign was brightly lit up, with bold, black block letters indicating what was in store that night for its guests.
“Marc Anthony Sinagoga – Sold Out!”
The night was dreary, wet, and cold – yet walking through the front doors of the Paradise, the atmosphere awaiting was anything but. Groups of friends and family stood around the bar of the theatre, sipping cocktails and sharing a few pre- show laughs.
Smiling faces stood at a table selling branded merchandise. A particular hat catches my eye, a ball cap with “Nonna’s Favourite” inscribed across the brim. Cheekily, I think about wearing that hat to the next Sunday lunch at Nonna’s with my cousins to see what tensions flare.
As the lights dimmed down and the show began, the audience was treated to two hours of laughs presented by Sinagoga. From jokes about air-tagging his Nonno after his family lost him for a day, to the story of him visiting his family in their hometown of Casino, Italy – Sinagoga has a way of sharing his family stories in a way that connects with a broad audience, whether they’re Italian or not.
So much of the Italian-Canadian experience is rooted in the generation of our Nonnas and Nonnos. Once they’re gone, it’s up to us to pass on the torch of our culture.
— MARC-ANTHONY SINAGOGA
On this particular weekend in March, Sinagoga held two back-to-back sold-out shows in his native Toronto. As I would learn later in my conversation with him, this is a goal the comic has been working towards for years, since he started performing at comedy bars across the GTA and Canada over 10 years ago.
Family Style – in my humble opinion, the best way to serve a meal – is also the name of comedian Marc Anthony Sinagoga’s tour. Since February, the 34-year-old comic from Toronto has been making his way across Canada and parts of the United States, bringing laughs to the many people who have been filling up the venues to see him night after night.
A few nights after the show, Sinagoga and I sat down to talk more about the Family Style Tour. Sinagoga, who comes from a proud Italian-Canadian family, told me about the meaning behind the tour’s name.
“It’s kind of the stage that I’m at now. In the poster for the tour, it’s all these family photos that are giving their opinions and their unsolicited advice, just the family drama and chaos that comes from, you know, getting married, having a kid, being on your own, doing things the way you want to do it.”
Besides the chaos, drama, and unsolicited advice – family is a significant part of Sinagoga’s success, with his impersonations of his Italian grandparents resonating with an audience of over 170,000 followers on Instagram.
“The only things that have ever worked for me in comedy have been pulling from my life experience and everyday family stuff. I did that on stage when I started out – some of my best jokes that really got me known in the scene were about my grandmother making homemade pepper spray that she uses to defend herself. What works is when I’m pulling from my own family, and you realize how many people can actually relate to this, especially the Italian stuff…it’s huge.”
Sinagoga’s grandparents come from a town in Italy called Casino, but he grew up in a neighbourhood in Toronto with their family being the only one of Italian descent on the street.
“It was a fun place to grow up. I was the Italian guy, representing my culture to these other cultures. You kind of lean into your background even more when you’re in that environment, but you also learn a ton about others. We’d bring lasagna to our neighbours, and they’d bring us kebabs, it was a really beautiful exchange.”
Feeling that urge to lean more into his Italian heritage, Sinagoga started centering his comedy around his experiences growing up as an Italian-Canadian, and his life with his Nonno and Nonna. He recounted a story about going to his Nonno for an extension cord that translated into one of his popular Instagram videos.
“I was renovating my house and I needed an extension cord, and my Nonno told me to come over to pick it up. Of course, there was stuff all over the garage and it took us forever to find this cord, but it was hilarious. As soon as he left the garage, I put my phone on a tripod and filmed it immediately and put it out within 30 minutes. I was like, there’s no way that I’m the only one who has gone through this.”
The audience can feel when you’re not being true to yourself and your experiences. I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing, because it’s what we need, you know what I mean? Everyone needs to laugh more.
— MARC-ANTHONY SINAGOGA
Nearly 2 years ago, Sinagoga’s first daughter Gigi was born. He proudly took her on the Family Style tour, bringing her on stage at the end of every show. Keeping a strong sense of Italian heritage for his daughter is fundamental to Sinagoga, regardless of the three generations that separate her from Italy.
The first year of Gigi’s life was spent living with Sinagoga’s Nonna and Nonno, an experience that both him and his Nonna, hope she never forgets.
“When we moved out, my Nonna said ‘I just hope she remembers me’, and that really choked me up. So much of the Italian-Canadian experience is rooted in the generation of our Nonnas and Nonnos. Once they’re gone, it’s up to us to pass on the torch of our culture.”
With the words of his Nonna in mind, Sinagoga has already brought Gigi back to the family’s hometown in Italy – at not even 2 years old. He plans on keeping up classic old-school traditions like making sugo every September, making their own salami, and maintaining Sunday lunches with family.
As for his comedy, there’s no plan to stray from the very things that have borne his success.
“This thing doesn’t work for me if I’m not pulling from my own truths and authenticities. The audience can feel when you’re not being true to yourself and your experiences. I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing, because it’s what we need, you know what I mean? Everyone needs to laugh more. And if I can do that and make money off of it at the same time, that’s awesome.” – VV
