Tomatoes
tried to Kill me
but Banjos Saved My Life show
An Award Winning, Inspirational True Story

Keith Alessi playing a banjo

Since its humble beginnings as a six-show experiment, Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life has grown into a powerful force for good, raising money for important causes and touching countless lives. Keith's Italian-American heritage and his unique life journey make his story all the more relatable and inspiring, and his message of hope and resilience is one that resonates with people from all walks of life.

Tomatoes Tried to Kill me Awards

Sold Out Run
Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Pick of the Fringe
Mervyn Stutter's Pick
Edinburgh
Sold Out Run
Edinburgh Fringe 2023
Winner
Fringe Encore Series
New York City
Sold Out Run
Off Broadway
Sold Out Run
Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Pick of the Fringe
Mervyn Stutter's Pick
Edinburgh
Sold Out Run
Edinburgh Fringe 2023
Winner
Fringe Encore Series
New York City
Sold Out Run
Off Broadway
Winner
Most Inspirational
New York City
Sold Out Run
Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Pick of the Fringe
Mervyn Stutter's Pick
Edinburgh
Sold Out Run
Edinburgh Fringe 2023
10
10
-
13
Jul
2025
Fort Myers Florida
Venue
Buy Tickets
TICKETS COMING SOON!
01
01
-
25
Aug
2025
Edinburgh 2025
Edinburgh, Scotland
Venue
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TICKETS COMING SOON!

Upcoming Shows

10
10
-
13
Jul
2025
Fort Myers Florida
Venue
Buy Tickets
Sold Out!
TICKETS COMING SOON!
01
01
-
25
Aug
2025
Edinburgh 2025
Edinburgh, Scotland
Venue
Buy Tickets
Sold Out!
TICKETS COMING SOON!

INSPIRING COMMUNITY STORIES

Discovering Success: A Journey of Self-Introspection and the Power of Attitudes, Beliefs, Opinions, and Truths

I was born in 1954 & in 1985, as I was gazing down the road I was traveling on at the time, there were 2 abstract questions that preoccupying me. “Where will this journey of life take me? Will I be happy?” So I embarked on a self-introspection program to guide me in my pursuit. Visually, I suppose one could say I pulled off the road and found safe haven at a road-site rest area. Oddly, this is really when my journey began. In the interest of brevity, I will leave out many details.  We have all been in social settings where people ask “So what do you for a living?” You see, I never wanted to be remembered for this. So, the 1st trail I embarked on was to clearly define what success meant to me. No easy task…but in the end I settled on this. “Success, for me, is adding value to myself, the people I meet & the environment that surrounds me.”  I concluded that if I chose to live my life with this affirmation, I would be happy. In discovering this definition of success, there was a 2nd affirmation that really became embedded in me. This is “I am in the right place, at the right time, always!”  I also always wanted to publish a book, that in an abstract way, would define who I am, not a biography of sorts that would detail what “I did for a living and what happened along the way.” I’ve also always believed people enter our lives for a reason, and the timing of these encounters is more than coincidence. In 2008, one evening while in Montreal, I met two strangers, now friends, who gave me the inspiration on my book. On 9/11/2008 I completed the unpublished draft. Including front & back covers, in tiny font, it is 8 pages long. My search now is to source an illustrator to co-author the book.   If you are still following my story, the one question in your mind now might be what is the book all about. Well, it’s a book about me and the title is “It’s all about A.B.O.T. ”My Attitudes. Beliefs, Opinions & Truths influence how I perceive reality around me, which affects my behavior, which in turn, determines my results.  If I am not happy with my results. I must do more than change my ‘behavior’ or how I ‘perceive’ my situation. I must closely examine my A.B.O.T. ‘s and make changes at this deep level. I am at cause in the creation of my experience, not at the effect of it. This is true for all of us. As I was discovering this, I came to realize that 4 other elements come into play as we proceed to our personal destiny. These are imagination, dreams, chance & coincidence. 

Majella Morin
From Novice Quilters to Community Pillars: A Journey of Crafting Comfort and Connection Through Quilting

My husband and I purchased a long arm quilting machine in February 2020. We had only been quilting for a few years but we knew we wanted to do more. There was a need for Comfort Quilts: veterans, foster children, cancer patients, babies, nursing homes, etc. And then, of course, Covid happened! But we had plenty of time to practice with the machine and it was all charity work so we spent months getting better. And that first year we completed 300 quilts. We have learned a LOT and attracted a few customers and many more quilty friends. The journey continues and we are still turning out 300 plus quilts each year. The work is immensely rewarding and we are together 24/7 (retired), grateful and blessed to be able to help our community.

C.Y.