Here, via email, we hear from playwright-actor Frank Ingrasciotta, the writer-performer of the acclaimed one-man play Blood Type: RAGU. Ingrasciotta was the United Solo Award winner for Best Comedic Actor last year for Blood Type and will offer an encore performance Oct. 31 at 9 PM as part of the 2013 United Solo Festival; click here for tickets.
What show recently impressed you?
The revival of Pippin blew me away. When I was 12 years old, my older sister treated me to the original production. It held a warm place in my heart because it was my first Broadway show and the moment I knew I wanted to be an actor. Fast forward 40 years later, and I got to experience a full-circle moment by treating my sister to the revival. At first, I was apprehensive about seeing it, but from the moment the curtain opened, I was taken on an enthusiastic ride of imagination and creativity chocked with powerhouse performances. Andrea Martin’s rendition of "No Time at All" was pure joy. I can’t remember the last time a musical number stopped the middle of a show with a standing ovation!
What production are you most excited to see?
I am looking forward to seeing Cherry Jones in The Glass Menagerie. In every stage role I’ve seen her portray, she’s one of the most interesting and compelling stage actresses of our day, leaving no emotional moment unrealized.
What play/musical would you most like to revive on Broadway, and which role would you want to play?
Wow, great question! It’s fun to dream! I know a few years ago there was a Broadway revival, but I would love to portray Tateh in Ragtime. Emotionally, it would be great fun to journey the arc of his character as he struggles to overcome the hardship of his old life turning it into the American dream of success.
What are your current/upcoming projects?
Next, I’ll be directing a production of Fiddler on the Roof for a youth theatre company in New Jersey. It’s one of my favorite all-time classic musicals. In addition, I’m adapting my one-man play Blood Type: RAGU into a screenplay and preparing to perform it in Chicago. I also have an idea for writing a new play, don’t know yet if it will be a multi-character or solo piece, about my experiences teaching a memoir writing class to mature residents in an assisted living facility. I went into the project thinking I was only going to teach writing, but unexpectedly the participants blessed me with new insights on how to appreciate life.
