• Ingrasciotta writes himself in

    05.27.2011

    “For a lot of years, I had these stories about growing up that would make people laugh,” he says. “They were rich and personal. People would tell me I should do it as a comedy piece. But I wanted it to be more than just funny.”

    And more than just Italian. As the work developed he came to understand the universality of his experience even in the very specific ethnicity of it. “It’s really about a family, and we all have those. It’s about a family that just happens to be Italian. People of all backgrounds resonate with it.”  Read more…

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • “Ragu” appeals to all tastes

    “Can I make the obvious but appropriate metaphor that boiling a life’s worth of experiences down into a one-man play is like making sauce,’ the intrepid reporter asks the actor/playwright.  “Oh, yeah,” says Frank Ingrasciotta, author and star of “Blood Type: Ragu,” which comes to Capital Repertory Theatre this week, on its first major stop outside of Manhattan. “In fact, the play starts with a recipe for all the ingredients that make up my life.”  Read more…

     

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • The man makes peace with the boy

    “The metaphor is that the culture courses through our veins,” says Ingrasciotta, speaking of the title of his one-man show, “Blood Type:Ragu,” which is at the beginning of a three-week run at Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany. Although specifically about Ingrasciotta’s life as the son of volatile Sicilian parents, the play appeals broadly to anyone raised in a strong ethnic tradition that at times conflicts with the homogenizing effect of American culture, the playwright says. ”It’s about a family that just happens to be Italian,” says Ingrasciotta.  While tempers flare in the play, potent insults fly in Italian and melodrama peaks with a Sicilian widow trying to hurl herself into her husband’s grave at his funeral, Ingrasciotta says, “It’s not stereotype, it’s not goombah, it’s not mafia — it’s a story.”As such, he says, “Blood Type: Ragu” has found sympathetic audiences among people whose heritages are South American or Indian, Middle Eastern or Southeast Asian.  “Anyone who has tried to find their independence — they understand it,” says Ingrasciotta.  Read more…

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • Blood Type:Ragu star interview by distinguished professor Fred Gardaphe

    11.04.2010

    Distinguished professor, Fred Gardaphe, talks at length with writer/performer Frank Ingrasciotta about his upcoming nyc appearances with Blood Type: Ragu, and about philanthropy and the arts in the Italian-American community.  http://livestre.am/r4my

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • Blood Type: Ragu back in NYC November 18-20

    10.12.2010

    Back by popular demand, Blood Type: Ragu will be at Manhattan Theatre Source in the heart of Greenwich Village, NYC November 18-20.  After sold out performances in April, we were asked if we could bring the show back so that those people unable to get in during the Spring run could see the show.

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • Capital Rep extends Blood Type: Ragu

    08.26.2010

    Capital Rep Theater in Albany, NY has announced changes in the season including extended runs of two shows that were originally part of the Capital Rep Play Festival, “Blood Type: Ragu” and “Kingdom of the Shore,” and additional weeks in the calendar for “A Christmas Story” and “Crowns.

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • BTR Star Guests on Fox News

    Writer/Performer Frank Ingrasciotta appears on Fox-News one man play, Blood Type: Ragu. Click here to view the interview.

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • The Sauce Is In His Blood- Ragu at Seven Angels Theatre

    With the flick of a hand gesture or the switch of an accent, Frank Ingrasciotta traipses through colorful characters drawn from his Sicilian family and Brooklyn upbringing — more than 20 of them in an hour-and-a-half.

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • New Performances Announced

    03.08.2010

    We are please to announce new performances of Blood Type Ragu at the Manhattan Theater Source. The showtimes are:

    Wednesday April 14th, 8 PM
    Thursday, April 15th, 8 PM
    Friday, April 16th, 8 PM
    Saturday, April 17th, 2PM, 8PM
    Sunday, April 18th, 3 PM

    Tickets are now on sale:
    $25 – General Admission
    Manhattan Theatre Source
    177 MacDougal Street, NYC 10011
    (bet. 8th St. & Waverly Pl.)

    Buy online: www.theatresource.org
    (Click on the Buy Tickets Ovation Tab)

    no comments Leave a Comment »

  • BTR is part of Capital Repertory’s 2010-11 Spring Play Festival

    01.05.2010

    Albany’s Capital Repertory Theater, under the artistic direction of Maggie Mancinelli, announced it’s 2010-2011 season. As part of the theater’s month long Spring Play Festival, Blood Type: Ragu will be featured as a main-stage production.

    no comments Leave a Comment »