Patty and Patty: Comedy Italian Style

Patty and Patty
By Dan Guarino
To paraphrase an old advertisement, you don’t have to be Italian to enjoy the humor of Patty and Patty. Certainly their 1.5 million fans across social media are in on the joke as these outrageously larger than life characters, two middle aged Italian-American women, appear at red carpet premieres, charity benefits and cabaret shows, on Access Hollywood, in person, and in their own online fast-paced series where they take on the foibles of modern life.
Crossing cultural boundaries, viewers of the pair’s two-to-three-minute episode antics have remarked on how much Patty and Patty remind them of their own relatives from all over the world.
As played by real life actors Marilyn Matarrese, as “Patty Scardino,” and Anita Salvate, as “Patty Martucci,” their video adventures, featuring plenty of gags, old world “wisdom,” wild observations and punchlines, might best be described with the comic set-up of “two Italian American women walk into a…” As in “Patty and Patty walk into a…” “sushy” bar, a séance, a pick-up spot (where they end up having a great time), a posh tea garden, the “healthy eating” and the “sauce vs gravy” debates, a makeover friendship with a cross-dressing neighbor, a “no problem” car service, seeking Bruce Springsteen at home, a ride on the New York Water Taxi, the Antiques Road Show and more.

“I am a full-time actor, and native New Yorker,” Matarrese says, living in Rockaway part-time for over seven years. “The Rockaway Times was instrumental in that. I would come out for festivals, etc. and subscribed to the paper. I started reading all the real estate ads and decided to get a place here!”
Anita Salvate, who grew up in Peekskill, notes, “I teach English and drama in a NYC public high school and enjoy using my theatre skills with my students in the classroom. I explore new scripts through readings, act in independent films and plays, and write plays, short stories and poetry.” She and Matarrese have known each other for over 30 years, meeting first as cast members in the Off-Broadway hit, “Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding.”
Both have enjoyed active stage, screen and television careers. Salvate has been performing since second grade and right through high school, “always knowing that I wanted to be an actress. I attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC and studied comedy improvisation with the First Amendment Theatre Company and Second City.” Her credits include “The Sopranos,” “Saturday Night Live,” independent films, regional theatre, Second City in Chicago and Access Hollywood (Patty and Patty).”
Matarrese, performing since high school, has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University, and a post-graduate Certificate in Acting from the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She has appeared in Off-Broadway’s critically acclaimed revival of Clifford Odets “Rocket to the Moon,” and “A Taste of Honey,” among other works. Her regional theatre credits include “Saturday Night Fever,” “Rock and Roll Redemption-The Life and Music of Dion DiMucci,” Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers,” “The Vagina Monologues,” and “A Doll’s House” in England. In television and film, she has appeared in “The Sopranos,” “Nurse Jackie,” “The Americans,” “Law & Order,” “Thirsty,” “LBS.” and “Thom & Gerry.”
Salvate notes, “‘Patty and Patty’ began as a one-act play, written by me, in the Shortened Attention One-Act Festival at the Player’s Theatre in Greenwich Village about fourteen years ago.” Knowing “ladies from my Italian family and friends” similar to the two characters was her inspiration. “After that, Marilyn and I continued to write scenes and created our own comedy web series … across all social media platforms.”
They’re “two middle-aged Italian-American broads from Hell’s Kitchen, NYC who can’t quite fit into the real world,” characters the two actors have developed though improv, which is how they write their material. Salvate says her Patty, who “works in a hair salon and part-time in a podiatrist’s office,” is based on “my aunts, friends of the family and Italian people I have known and the actual things they have said,” and on her Italian upbringing including customs, traditions and superstitions.
Matarrese’s Patty is a token clerk for the MTA, divorced from her ex, Carmine, who used to deliver for Dial-A-Mattress, (Patty: “He was delivering more than mattresses.”). “I based (her) somewhat on my older sister, and various aunts and cousins in the family,” Matarrese says.
“I love that we make people laugh,” she says, “but also make them think. Our characters are three-dimensional, and I feel we are honoring traditions and generations who came before us.”
Patty and Patty’s quick repartee includes gems like Patty S. encouraging her friend to slip her number to a gentleman at a funeral home. Patty M: “Are you crazy? We’re at a wake.” Patty S: “Exactly. You could be dead tomorrow!”
Or, when discussing alien abductions, Patty S. contends, “Think of it this way. If they don’t bring you back, you don’t have to worry about paying rent.”
“As leading Italian-American content creators,” Matarrese notes, they have been invited to events such the premiere of Ray Romano’s film, “Somewhere in Queens,” and the launch party for the History Channel’s “American Godfathers – The Five Families,” produced by Michael Imperioli. Patty and Patty are also a staple at the Feast of San Gennaro, and can be seen each year eating zeppoles, sausage and peppers, and mingling with fans.
“It’s a thrill when our fans recognize us on the street!” Matarrese says.
Salvate adds, “We are so happy to stop and talk with them as well as take pictures.” Many have sent them gifts; some have met them for dinner and invited them into their homes. “We are amazed as to the age groups, from teens to people well into their 90s and even 100s,” Salvate says. “We have fans all over the world, including Tasmania!”
Both agree they are thrilled by their success and encourage those who “like to laugh, and who doesn’t,” to follow them on social media and check their website www.pattyandpatty.com.
In the meantime, as Patty and Patty would say, “Where ya gonna go?” “What’a ya gonna do?”
“Nothing!”