As the second act begins, Giovanni's has reopened and the new money-saving system delights our enterprising band. All is not so rosy at Uriti, however. The general manager has swooped down on the hapless Bellardi with the disquieting news that his is the only branch of Uriti that is losing money, although sales are soaring. A frantic inspection of the Uriti Kitchen, with its ballet-like efficiency, nets the manager only a pizza wrapped around his head. The baffled Bellardi, accused of stealing the profits, contemplates the unpretty pass to which honesty has brought him. As time passes, Giovanni is faced with a curious dilemma. He has been too successful, and Uriti is about to give up the inexplicably unequal match. And if Uriti leaves so will that wonderful kitchen from which all goodies flow. How then can they keep from having to cook their own goose, but continue to feather their nest with those golden eggs? Clearly, they must steal less. They must cut down on their clientele and raise their prices. They will decorate the restaurant with Etruscan relics, charge exorbitant prices and serve only forty meals a day. Six months later, Giovanni's is the toast of Rome. Decorated with great oil lamps, Etruscan statuary, vases and treasures beyond measure, it is filled with film stars, Oriental potentates, mannequins in furs and jewels. With all the suavity and elegance of his famous operatic namesake, Giovanni serves his savoury fare with savoir faire. The bellicose Bellardi is near apoplexy when he finds that Giovanni gets such fantastic prices for exactly the same dishes as he serves. Giovanni is incensed that he should dare to compare Uriti's massproduced food with his own elegant cuisine. While Giovanni basks in adulation, poor Miranda slaves away in the tunnel and galley, bemoaning that she is still apart from her beloved Giovanni. Signora Pandolfi takes matters into her own all-too-capable hands when she badgers Amadeo to matrimony. But sixty years of carefully protected bachelorhood are clearly no match for the determination of the Signora. Success has gone to Giovanni's handsome head. He plans to set up branches complete with tunnels wherever there are Uritis, with each of his partners, including Miranda, installed at a different branch. In addition, as a fashionable ristoratore he is, of course, an "authority" on everything from real estate to investments to politics. Miranda realises that Giovanni is growing further and further away from her, and it is only after she has run away that Giovanni realises he loves her. In Miranda, he sees that without her all his success means niente. A double-level stage showing both the piazza above and the tunnel below reveals a finale of Marx Brothers zaniness. The police, prompted by an antiques expert's tip, arrive to confiscate the Etruscan treasures. In the ensuing pandemonium, Giovanni and Miranda are united and the conspirators escape couple by couple through the Uriti dumbwaiter to freedom as the curtain, in a final observance in honour of Breachy's Law, comes down. Curtis Brown . - from the original liner notes CAST (in order of appearance): • Giovanni Venturi • Signor Bellardi • Uríti Waiters • Amedeo • Furniture Dealer • Nino • Gino • Dino • Miranda • Moscolito • Carlo • Signora Pandolfi • Musicians • Night Club Manager • Professor Panfredoni • Troubador • Celestina • Head Chef • Pizza Maker • Salad Chef • Bakers • Soup Cook • Helpers • Signora Elli • La Contessa • Signor Brancusi • Professor Musa • Brigadiere • Policeman
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