Table Read – “My Lady’s Song” (Act 1)

Podcast: Table Read (Manifest Media)
Date: March 24, 2026
Writers: Dan Lauria & Frank Megna
Performed by: Top Hollywood talent
Episode Summary by [your name]

Episode Overview

“My Lady’s Song” delivers immersive, cinematic audio drama set against the gritty underbelly of late-1970s New York City. The first act introduces Sal Marino, a tough former mob soldier-turned-limo driver. Through richly drawn dialogue, layered sound design, and a cast of memorable characters, listeners are drawn into a world of organized crime, porn industry politics, and complicated loyalty. The act teems with tension, nostalgic reflection, dark humor, and the ever-present threat of violence simmering beneath the surface.

Key Discussion Points & Narrative Breakdown

1. Sal Marino’s World: The Limo Service and the Strip Club

• [01:43-05:55] The gritty atmosphere is expertly set through Sal’s nightly routine: cleaning the limo, engaging in gritty banter with Uncle Charlie (the limo manager) and Leo (his muscle), and navigating a world that’s as much about memory as it is about survival.
  • Sal’s faded glory as “Sal the Barber” is repeatedly referenced; he’s respected but reminded constantly that his prime has passed.
  • Quote (Uncle Charlie): “Sal the Barber would have any of you young punks for lunch.” (03:50)
  • The strip club, with its neon-lit decadence, serves as the crossroads for mob business and pornography.

2. Reunion with Vince: Old Bonds, New Hustles

• [06:28-08:32] Sal meets with his old friend and boss, Vincent Dilora, now back from the West Coast and running things with a more “legal” flavor.
  • Themes of family, loyalty, and generational divides are explored.
  • Quote (Vincent): “My father wouldn’t understand. Different world.” (06:47)
  • The legal veneer over vice industries—porn, gambling, prostitution—serves as a commentary on the shifting underworld.
• [08:32-09:04] Nostalgic for their past but keenly aware of the present, Vince puts Sal on a job: acting as a limo driver in a porn shoot.
  • Quote (Vincent): “You get tired of it, you let me know... Gotta take care of my favorite soldier.” (07:28-07:34)

3. The Porn Movie “Job”: Money, Secrecy, and Suspicion

• [09:33-14:09] Sal’s interactions with the director and the porn stars (Hera and Lada) are layered with uncomfortable humor and underlying tension.
  • The “job” isn’t as simple as opening a door. Huge sums are involved, raising Sal’s suspicions.
  • Quote (Sal): “Nothing’s easy, Sal.” (11:27)
  • Hera and Lada tease Sal about being in a scene with them, blurring lines of professionalism and intimacy.
    • Quote (Lada): “You ever had two at one time, Sally?” (14:37)
• The porn scene is recorded in the limo, and Lotta secretly copies the footage to tapes for unknown reasons.
  • Themes of trust, blackmail, and double-cross pervade.

4. The Morning After: Tapes, Breakfast, and Old Codes

• [21:43-23:00] At breakfast with the two women, Sal asserts he knows more than he lets on, but both agree not to say more than necessary.
  • Quote (Sal): “We both know that was no regular porno film.” (22:04)
  • The performance is peppered with noir wit and a sense of threat barely concealed under banter.

5. Family Life: Loyalty, Secrets, and Italian Food

• [24:34-32:38] The action shifts to Sal’s Bensonhurst home:
  • His relationship with his mother, Carmela, is loving and humorously overbearing.
  • Carmela embodies the traditional Italian matriarch, feeding everyone and demanding family loyalty.
  • The tape-copying subplot with Sal’s nephew, Anthony, drives home the story's themes of trust and generational difference.
    • Quote (Sal, to Anthony): “Learn something here, college boy. Dying for the real thing ain’t too bright. Dying for a piece of tape is just stupid.” (26:43)
  • A warm, food-laden family dinner reminds us these violent men are also sons and brothers.

6. Setting Up the Next Big Job: “Babysitting” the Girls

• [32:38-35:13] Vince gives Sal a special assignment: drive the girls out west and keep them “on ice” while union negotiations unfold.
  • The implication is that the girls’ secrets (and possibly the tape) could become weapons.
  • Quote (Vince): “I need to know where those girls are the next two weeks. I just want to cover my ass in case anything goes wrong with the union negotiations.” (33:27)
  • The scene is suffused with mutual respect and a sense that the past is never too far behind for these guys.

7. The Road Trip Begins: Alliance with Hera, Rising Tension

• [36:44-39:10] The next morning, only Hera is present; Lada’s absence triggers suspicion. Sal and Hera’s rapport is uneasy, sometimes flirtatious, mostly combative.
  • Hera tries to charm Sal, but he rebuffs her:
    • Quote (Sal): “Kid, get your hand off me or I’ll slice it off.” (37:25)
  • Uncle Charlie sets the rules: if Lada doesn’t show up in two days, there will be consequences.
    • Quote (Charlie): “…If she’s not there in two days, she’s not gonna be anywhere in two days.” (38:32)

8. Violence and Vulnerability: The Gas Station Incident

• [40:18-44:00] At a rest stop, Hera is harassed by two bikers. Sal, reverting to his old ways, defuses the conflict with a mix of violence and intimidation, underscored by real danger.
  • Quote (Sal): “If you don’t move from that car, there’ll only be one of you…” (41:34)
• Afterwards, conflict between Sal and Hera boils over into a physical and emotional confrontation on the highway.
  • Hera declares her independence and wounds; Sal shows a rare moment of remorse.
  • Memorable Exchange:
    • Hera: “Nobody tells me how to dress. Nobody tells me what to do… No one ever, ever will.” (44:24)
    • Sal: “Well, maybe it’s time… maybe if someone had…” (44:41)
    • Hera violently slaps Sal in response, ending the scene on a charged, unresolved note.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the past and loyalty:
  • “We understood what family meant. The bond, loyalty. It’s like a dirty word today.”
    (Vincent, 08:39)
• On changing times:
  • “Now it’s all legal… All legal and all disgustingly weak.”
    (Vincent, 08:24)
• On survival:
  • "Nothing’s easy, Sal."
    (Vincent, 11:27)
• Hera’s assertion:
  • "Nobody tells me what to look like. Nobody tells me what to do. No one. No one ever has. No one ever, ever will."
    (Hera, 44:24)
• Sal’s dark wisdom:
  • “Learn something here, college boy. Dying for the real thing ain’t too bright. Dying for a piece of tape is just stupid.”
    (Sal, 26:43)

Notable Segment Timestamps

• [01:43] — Main story begins: cleaning the limo, setting the atmosphere
• [06:28] — Sal and Vince reunite, establish themes of family and generational divide
• [09:33] — Sal gets the job: inside the world of porn filmmaking and city vice
• [13:21] — Hera and Lada enter; Sal’s uncomfortable interaction with the actresses
• [17:13] — The illicit tape subplot starts
• [21:51] — Tense breakfast at the diner: hints of blackmail, secrets
• [24:34 & 27:44] — Scenes at Sal’s home: family interactions, tape-copying
• [32:38] — Big family dinner, Vince gives Sal the “babysitting” assignment
• [36:44] — Hera ditches Lada, road trip begins
• [40:18] — Gas station harassment & Sal’s violent intervention
• [44:24-45:11] — Sal and Hera’s intense emotional clash

Tone and Style

The dialogue is gritty, witty, and colloquial, dripping with nostalgia and regret but always anchored in the tough, transactional language of streetwise New Yorkers. The sound design and music (Peggy Lee, Billy Holiday, Etta James, Dinah Washington, Rosemary Clooney) augment the atmosphere of danger, longing, and loss.

Conclusion (End of Act 1)

Act 1 closes with Sal and Hera on the open road, their partnership—tense and unresolved—poised for further danger. The mystery around the tape lingers, and the threat of mob violence is ever-present. With its rich emotional palette, sharp dialogue, and authentic sense of time and place, “My Lady’s Song” draws the listener deep into its noir world.

For listeners:
This act sets up a potent mix of character-driven drama and criminal intrigue, introducing major players and the moral complexity of their choices. The episode is as much about family and faded dreams as it is about crime and survival.