Sopranos convention: Who will be there and what you need to know if you go

Jim Beckerman | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Sopranos' at 20 On the bus with "The Sopranos" sites tour

A "Sopranos" convention in the Meadowlands? Of course.

Where else would you hold a "Sopranos" convention?

This particular party, however, doesn't take place under six feet of swampy ground — or in the concrete supports of a truss bridge. This first SopranosCon will be at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus on Nov. 23 and 24.

And you'd best be there. You wouldn't want to disappoint Tony.

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"It's the perfect setting," says Michael Mota, co-founder of the event. "We had a choice to pick anywhere we wanted. But when you think of 'The Sopranos,' you think of the Meadowlands."

The Meadowlands is where the show's very first victim, Emil Kolar, is buried in Episode 1, season 1. And though the hit HBO show about Jersey mobsters, over six seasons, ranged as far away as the Pine Barrens, Asbury Park and Italy, the Meadowlands and the surrounding North Jersey towns remained its center of gravity.

"The theme of this event is: for the fans, by the fans," says Mota, an event creator from Rhode Island who has staged several "Sopranos"-themed affairs in the past. But nothing on this scale: two days of celebrity guests, panel discussions, screenings and memorabilia displays in a 65,000 square-foot space.

The guest list alone is epic: more than 45 of the original cast members, including Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior), Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts), Federico Castelluccio (Furio Giunta), Vincent Pastore ("Big Pussy"), Vincent Curatola ("Johnny Sack"), Andrea Donna de Matteo (Adriana La Cerva), David Proval (Richie Aprile), Kathrine Narducci (Charmaine Bucco), Ray Abruzzo ("Little" Carmine), Maureen Van Zandt (Gabriella Dante), Jerry Adler (Hesh Rabkin), Diana Lynn (Bada Bing dancer), and even the horse Goldee (Pie-O-My).

The English Band Alabama 3 will be making their first trip to America in 10 years in order to perform "Woke Up This Morning," the 1997 single that became the "Sopranos" opening theme. Though minus Jake Black, the song's co-writer, who died in May.

Also on the musical menu: '60s rocker Tommy James, of Tommy James and the Shondells ("Mony Mony," "Hanky Panky," "Crimson and Clover.") The Cedar Grove resident was, back on the day, signed to Roulette Records — the label of Morris Levy, the gangster-entrepreneur who was the basis for "The Sopranos'" Hesh Rabkin.

Naturally, there will be a few no-shows. Michael Imperioli (Christopher), Edie Falco (Carmela), Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi) and Steven Van Zandt (Silvio) had other commitments, Mota says.

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And of course Tony Soprano — the irreplaceable James Gandolfini, who died in 2013 — sends his regrets. But several members of the Gandolfini family will be there, Mota says. "They asked me not to say who was coming," he says.

Panel discussions, meet-and-greets, Q&As and autograph opportunities will abound over the weekend. "Sopranos" sightseeing tours, by bus, will be available from the convention site courtesy of On Location Tours. But that's just the beginning.

Sensing a theme

"We're going to have a lot of themed things," Mota says. "When you walk into the convention, you're going to walk into the show."

Visitors, he says, will begin their experience by walking through a toll booth and emerging from a mockup Lincoln Tunnel. There will be a re-creation of Dr. Melfi's psychiatrist office, a mockup of Hesh Rabkin's stable and a Pine Barrens-themed maze. There will be an Italian feast: sausage, peppers, mozzarella.

"This is a very experiential-type event," Mota says

This year marks the 20th birthday of the show that was, in some ways, a watershed in pop culture history, the beginning of TV's new "golden age."

"The Sopranos" turned cable into TV's premier platform. It set the bar for all the must-see shows that came after: "The Wire," "Deadwood," "The Americans," "Game of Thrones." And its fan base remains, two decades later, as intense as ever — and not likely to abate, now that a movie prequel, "The Many Saints of Newark," starring Michael Gandolfini in his late father's old role, is scheduled for release in September 2020.

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Some 10,000 people, some from as far away as Australia, The Netherlands and London, are expected to turn up in Secaucus this month. Four hotels, Mota says, have already been sold out.

"People still have such a passion for it," said Mota, who has joined with two other partners, Dan Trader and Joe Fama, to create SopranosCon.

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"This show broke all boundaries," Mota said. "Nothing like it had ever been done before. It didn't glamorize the mob, but it humanized it. And it was on HBO, which allowed them to have vulgar language that wouldn't have been allowed on network TV. And the casting was perfect. There isn't a single person you would recast. I think all those things were the perfect recipe."

Jim Beckerman is an entertainment and culture reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to his insightful reports about how you spend your leisure time, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: beckerman@northjersey.com Twitter: @jimbeckerman1

SopranosCon

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 23 and 24, with a special VIP event Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Where: Meadowlands Exposition Center, 355 Plaza Drive, Secaucus. sopranoscon.com

Tickets: $50 per day for basic admission. VIP tickets, with various levels of perks, range from $150 to $700 per person