Centennial Casting (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780573707414)

Vincent DiDonato is an overweight, unattached, and unevolved goombah in his late forties who spends most of his time doing as little as possible at Centennial Casting, the metal casting shop he owns with his mother on Manhattan's Lower East Side. When Vincent's mom dies suddenly, he inherits the shop and is thrown into the front office, where he discovers a pile of headshots sent in by actors over the years that had mistaken the metal shop's casting service for a theatrical casting agency. Vincent is struck by the photo of one Edie Keaton. Ms. Keaton, a down-on-her-luck actress in her late thirties, is trying to return to the business after a difficult divorce. Vincent, who has never been in a successful relationship, saves the picture and r�sum�. When his assistant and boyhood chum, Doo-Doo, realizes his boss is interested in Edie, he sets up an "interview" for the actress, hoping it might lead to a date for Vincent, his first in many years. Vincent reluctantly agrees to pose as a casting director in order to meet the actress, and when Edie walks in for her "audition," he falls head over heels in love with her. Edie, in turn, is interested in Vincent, but is even more interested in getting an acting job.

As the ruse continues, Vincent and Doo-Doo realize they must heighten the stakes in order to keep the relationship going. What will happen when Edie discovers that Vincent is only posing as a casting director? Will true love triumph, or will the characters drown their sorrows in cannolis? The answer is a heartwarming, hilarious tale of two ordinary people in an extraordinary situation who find dreams can come true at Centennial Casting.