Hurt, betrayed and mortified by Angelo’s coming out, Nino faces his widowed mother’s reaction - a full-on barrage of hysterical excess so profound it gives even Angelo’s shocked parents pause for second thoughts and prompts a hilarious and touching re-examination of their own outraged response to their son. Both families struggle to come to terms with their sons' new lives, eventually planning a setup dinner in the desperate hope of "converting" their sons. Their plan is to introduce Pina, a nice Italian girl, to Angelo, and igniting a passion between Nino and Anna - "he likes the brother, how hard can it be for us to get him to like the sister?" is Lina’s logic. Disaster, of course, is inevitable.

Mambo Italiano achieves its overwhelming power through a perfect balance of fast-paced comedy and poignant drama.  It is about the dynamics of family, about the vast spaces between the old world and the new, and about grasping the resonant codes embedded in what is said and what is meant in ordinary speech.

“I was on the brink of tears during one scene and trying not to wet myself laughing during another. The script is priceless, driving the plot along brilliantly.” - Hollyfeld

Galluccio—who is fluent in Italian, French, and English—subsequently produced works outside of the Fringe to great success and acclaim. These included Sexual Success in Montreal and Peter ’n’ Paul Get Mary’d. He also began writing for television, notably winning three Gemini Awards for the CBC Radio-Canada hit Un gars, une fille. Galluccio’s Mambo Italiano premiered, in French, at the Jean Duceppe Theatre. It was translated by Michel Tremblay. An astounding hit, the play has toured Québec in French and was seen by over 100,000 theatre goers in its English language production at the Centaur Theatre. It has since been produced all over North America and Europe. Riding high on its flourishing popularity, this stage phenomenon was then adapted into a full-length screenplay—penned by Galluccio himself and directed by Emile Gaudreault—which was released worldwide in 2003. Galluccio also wrote the Gemini-award winning television series Ciao Bella shot in English and French versions which aired on both Radio Canada and CBC. Ciao Bella was broadcast in Italy, Africa, the Middle-East, and the United States. Galluccio’s last film project, released in 2007, Surviving My Mother won the Audience Award at the Montreal World Film Festival for favorite Canadian Feature. Shooting on Galluccio’s next feature film, Funkytown began in 2009, and his new play, In Piazza San Domenico had its world premiere at The Centaur Theatre in 2009.