New Anthology of Mario Fratti Plays Announced

Lots of news today and not much commentary. That'll come later in the week.

For now, first up is an emailed press release I got this afternoon from Rochelle Denton announcing a book party in honor of a new anthology of plays by my colleague, drama critic Mario Fratti, and in honor of Fratti's upcoming 80th birthday.

Publication Event at Drama Book Shop on July 21, 2007

“Fratti's particular gift … choosing a dramatic situation, keeping it alive with sharp dialogue, drawing unequivocal characters and driving to a point. (Richard L. Coe, The Washington Post)

July 5, 2007 – In celebration of the 80th birthday of renowned playwright Mario Fratti. The New York Theatre Experience, Inc. (NYTE) proudly announces publication of Unpredictable Plays, a new anthology of works by Fratti.

Unpredictable Plays features 28 short works by theatre’s master of unpredictability, including several never before published plays and many that have been long out of print. A list of the 28 plays and other information is attached.

The book will be officially launched in a free public reading/book signing event at Drama Book Shop, 250 West 40th Street, on Saturday, July 21 at 4:00pm. The event will feature readings of three of the plays featured in Unpredicatable Plays by some of indie theater’s finest actors, including Arthur Aulisi, David Fuller, and Annie McGovern. Please visit http://www.nyte.org/unpredictable_dbs.htm for additional details about the event.

Mario Fratti is a playwright and a drama critic. He was born in Italy but has been living and writing in English in New York City since 1963. He has written more than 90 plays, which have been performed in more than 700 theatres in 19 languages. His most popular work is probably the musical Nine, which he adapted from Fellini’s 8½, and which went on to win seven Tony Awards in 1982 and will be soon be a major motion picture.

The book is edited by Martin Denton, who has also edited NYTE’s Plays and Playwrights collections as well as the recent Playing with Canons: Explosive New Works from Classic Literature by America’s Indie Playwrights. NYTE is a nonprofit corporation providing advocacy and support for New York theatre. This book furthers NYTE’s mission of preserving important American dramatic work and bringing national and international attention to deserving works.

Unpredictable Plays is a trade paperback, 342 pages, ISBN 978-0-9794852-0-7. The suggested retail price is $20. It will be available for sale at Drama Book Shop and other bookstores, as well as online at amazon.com, bn.com, and stageplays.com. For more information about Unpredictable Plays, visit http://www.nyte.org/unpredictable.htm.

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