April 8 - 13
Artwork from the collection of Mario Fratti
Mario Fratti, playwright, educator and theatre critic, was a supporter of visual artists, as well as playwrights, actors and directors. In fact, he would encourage anyone to pursue their work.
The art in this exhibit is comprised of work that he purchased over the last 30 years. Many of the pieces are by international artists. The sale of these pieces will go to the transposing and translation of newly discovered manuscripts.
Mario Fratti was an Italian playwright and drama critic. Born in L’Aquila, Italy on July 5, 1927, Fratti graduated in foreign languages and literatures at the Ca’Foscari University of Venice. In 1962, he presented his one-act play Suicido at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto and Lee Strasberg, a guest of the festival, was impressed by his work and invited him to stage it at the Actors Studio. He then moved permanently to New York, where he worked as a professor at Columbia University and Hunter College, where he was named Professor Emeritus if Italian Literature.
Many in the theater world know him as responsible for the Italian play Six Passionate Women adapted from Federico Fellini’s film 8 1/2 that was also adapted by Arthur Kopit for the book of the musical, Nine. Others know him for his prolific international writing playwriting and critical career — more than 100 works translated into 21 languages and performed in 600 theaters in more than two-dozen countries. He also served as a drama critic for many European newspapers and was Vice President of the Outer Critics Circle Award.
Opening Reception: Monday, April 8, 5-7pm