News Releases

Anthony Laciura Cast in HBO Pilot, ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ to be Produced AND Directed by Martin Scorsese

Anthony Laciura of Teaneck, an adjunct professor of voice at New Jersey City University, has been cast as Eddie Kessel in “Boardwalk Empire,” an HBO pilot in development that will be produced and directed by Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese with a script written by Terence Winter. Filming for the pilot, which will star Steve Buschemi as Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, will begin in June.

Based on Nelson Johnson's book, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, the project chronicles the rise and fall of Atlantic City.

An internationally renowned tenor, actor, and director, Mr. Laciura, who has taught at NJCU since 2008, has appeared in more than 59 roles in more than 860 performances at the Metropolitan Opera House and hundreds more throughout the world over a career that has spanned more than 25 years.

Born in New Orleans, Mr. Laciura has been performing since the age of 12 when he sang the role of the newsboy in a rare staging of Charpentier’s opera, “Louise.” Following his studies at Loyola and Tulane Universities, Mr. Laciura performed in many roles that he would later reprise with the Metropolitan Opera, including Goro in “Madama Butterfly,” Monostatos in “Die Zauberflote,” Incredibile in “Andrea Chenier” and Basilio in “Le Nozze di Figaro.” His most recent performance was as Dr. Blind and the Jailer Frosh in the New Jersey Opera Theatre’s production of Johann Strauss’s “Die Fledermaus.”

As a director, Mr. Laciura’s most recent work has included Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” and Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at New Jersey City University and Puccini’s “Tosca” for the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera.

News releases by Ellen Wayman-Gordon, and Kelly Resch, Office of Public Information.