Mario Fratti
Born(1927-07-29)29 July 1927
L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy
Died15 April 2023(2023-04-15) (aged 95)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationPlaywright
Years active1959–2023

Mario Fratti (29 July 1927 – 15 April 2023) was an Italian playwright and drama critic. In his lifetime, he produced over 70 works, which were translated into over 20 languages and shown worldwide.[1] He was best known for writing the first script for the musical Nine.

Life and career

Born in L'Aquila, Fratti graduated in foreign languages and literatures at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.[2][3] In 1962, Fratti presented his one-act play Suicidio at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, and Lee Strasberg, a guest of the festival, was impressed by it and invited him to stage it at the Actors Studio.[2][3] Fratti eventually decided to stay in New York, where he found work as a professor of Italian literature at Columbia University.[2][3] In his later life, he was named as professor emeritus of Italian Literature at Hunter College.[4]

Fratti was an avowed communist.[5] He died in his home in Manhattan on 15 April 2023, at the age of 95.[6]

Plays

References

  1. ^ "Mario Fratti". Concord Theatricals.
  2. ^ a b c "Morto Mario Fratti, autore del musical 'Nine' e leggenda italiana a Broadway". La Repubblica (in Italian). 15 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Addio a Mario Fratti il drammaturgo italiano che conquistò Broadway con "Nine"". La Stampa (in Italian). 15 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Mario Fratti, playwright, critic, past ATCA member, dies at 95". American Theatre Critics Association. 17 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Mario Fratti, un comunista a Broadway". La Voce di New York. 26 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Mario Fratti, Famous Italian Playwright, Dies at 95". La Voce di New York. 15 April 2023.
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