Veteran Theatrical Press Agent David Rothenberg To Release New Book In April

David Rothenberg, a theatre producer, playwright, and Broadway press agent, will release Manhattan Mayhem, a collection of short fiction, inspired by his nine decades in the entertainment industry. Manhattan Mayhem will be officially released April 2.

Manhattan Mayhem is a must-read for anyone who loves New York, or anyone who has got the rhythm of New York coursing through their veins. A mensch with a big mouth a big heart, and big ideas, Rothenberg's 18 stories capture the mood and heartbeat of the planet's most pulsating plot of land. With heartbreak, humor and hope, Rothenberg shares personal urban fables reflecting on friendships, faith, family and fortune.

“I began writing these short stories during the Pandemic, but most of them had been floating around in my head for years,” says Rothenberg. The stories are, at once, a mix of fact and fiction, most of them containing a little bit of both. My first novel, read in the third grade, was Toby Tyler or 10 weeks in The Circus. Since then, I have always had a book in my hand or my back pocket. Reading books took me around the world. As a result, I have never been lonely. Novels, biographies, and political tracts have been my company. I hope the stories in this book will be your companion for a time.”

Rothenberg will celebrate the launch of Manhattan Mayhem with a special event at The Castle, 625 West 140th Street (between Broadway & Riverside Dr.) at 3PM. The event will include a reading from the book as well as discussions with Rothenberg and friends including two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole; former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey; former CEO of Fortune Society JoAnne Page; Fortune Society CEO Stanley Richards; from the cast of Rothenberg's The Castle, Casimiro Torres; and a performance by actor Richard Hoehler and The Fortune Society Choir. For information and reservations, email dprfortune@hotmail.com.

On April 14 at 7PM, Rothenberg will read selections from of Manhattan Mayhem and discuss his ccelebrated career at Ernie O O'Malley's, 140 E 27th Street (between 3rd and Lexington Aves).

Prior to Manhattan Mayhem, Rothenberg authored Fortune In My Eyes: A Memoir of Broadway Glamour, Social Justice, and Political Passion. (Applause Theatre Books, 2012), and co-authored and directed an off-Broadway play The Castle, which continues to be performed in prisons, colleges, and with civic groups. Upcoming performances of The Castle will take place March 23 at Ethical Culture Society, 2 W. 64th Street, NYC; April 4, at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, Bedford Hills, NY; and May 26, at the Alternative To Violence Project 50th Anniversary Commemoration at Manhattan University, Purchase, NY.

His one man play, Namedropping, also played off-Broadway and Rothenberg continues to perform the work around NYC. This spring, David will present Namedropping at Theater 555 (555 W. 42nd Street, NYC) on Sunday, April 27 at 6PM, a benefit for the New York Civil Liberties Union.

David is also a subject of Broadway, Bars and Fortune, a 40-minute documentary film from Dr. Shuvendu Sen and Professor Karl Bardosh of NYU's Tisch School of Arts. A social take on the relevance of art and theater in transforming lives of people with trauma, this documentary is a story of four formerly incarcerated-turned actors under the philosophy and mission of David Rothenberg. The film will premiere May 19, 2025 at the Cannes Film Festival, and will be screened at the Indian Consulate New York City and other Consulates, globally.

David Rothenberg‘s multilayered life has thrust him into Broadway‘s brightest lights, prison riots, political campaigns, civil rights sit-ins, and a Central American Civil War. After reading the script for Fortune and Men's Eyes by former prisoner and playwright John Herbert, he was instrumental in producing the play in New York. He started The Fortune Society on the stage after a performance. Moved by the performance, 16 audience members contributed $2 each, Rothenberg opened a bank account for $32, and The Fortune Society was born. 58 years later, The Fortune Society has a staff of 600 people and six residences for formerly incarcerated men and women. Unique in the history of the American Theatre, this was a social change movement with national implications that penetrated through the proscenium arch.

Later, he was a civilian observer during the Attica Prison riot, which left a deep impression on him and spurred his lifelong activism for prisoner's rights. This inspired him to found the Fortune Society in 1967, now one of the nation's leading advocacy and service organizations in criminal justice.

As a theatre publicity agent, he represented some of the most heralded and successful productions in the second half of the 20th century including Richard Burton‘s Hamlet; the original production of Hair; Beyond The Fringe; Sir John Gielgud's production of The School for Scandal; Tennessee Williams' Night Of The Iguana and Slapstick Tragedy; Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party; and several plays by Edward Albee including Everything In The Garden, Box Mao Box, Sandbox, Death of Bessie Smith and The American Dream; Blue Man Group; Tony and Tina's Wedding; An Evening with Maurice Chevalier; and nearly 200 other productions.

Rothenberg conceived and directed The Castle which played off-Broadway for over a year with a unique cast of formerly incarcerated men and women. Productions continue to be performed in colleges, churches, civic groups and prisons around the country. Rothenberg's one-man show Namedropping was first presented off-Broadway in 2003 and is still performed in the New York City area. As a social activist, he was appointed to the NYC Commission of Human Rights. He also served on several special state and city commissions in New York City, including a Governor's Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice, a Mayor's Task Force on Child Abuse, and the American Bar Association Commission on Correction. He has testified before numerous government committees, including several in Washington DC, before Senate and House Committees, and before State Legislative Committees around the nation. 

In 1985, Rothenberg ran for city councilman in Manhattan to raise AIDS awareness. An openly gay candidate, Rothenberg was widely endorsed, including by the Daily News, the Village Voice, and the Amsterdam News, among others, earning the moniker “The Gay White Hope.” He garnered 46% of the vote, collecting the third largest number of votes of any candidate in the city's 38 council race. (Unfortunately, his opponent had the second greatest number of votes, thus winning the race.)

David Rothenberg has been a guest columnist for several newspapers and continues to host a weekly radio program on WBAI in New York, an assignment he has held for over 50 years.