RAGU'S Frank Ingrasciotta To Guest On Giambotta Dolce 2/18

Frank Ingrasciotta, writer and star of the upcoming Off-Broadway production Blood Type: RAGU, will be this week's guest on the Dolce Channel's "Giambotta Dolce" this Wednesday, February 18 at 8 p.m. Hosted by comedian, singer/songwriter MaryAnn Maisano, "Giambotta Dolce" was recently launched in January 2009 on the Dolce Channel, the premier source for new and quality entertainment for those who love all things Italian. The broadcast can be seen at www.DolceChannel.com

Blood Type: RAGU is set to begin performances this Friday, February 20th with an Opening Night set for March 5th at the newly restored Actors' Playhouse (100 Seventh Avenue South).

Directed by Ted Sod, Blood Type: RAGU is a hilarious and poignant exploration of the Sicilian immigrant experience based on The Life of writer/performer Frank Ingrasciotta. This one-man-show features more than 20 characters, who live, love and laugh as they struggle to thrive in a new culture, while nurturing the traditions of the old. It's not drama . . . it's just family! And we all have one.

You don't have to be Italian to enjoy Blood Type: RAGU. Its universal themes have delighted audiences around the country. The play's twice-extended four-month run at the Belmont Playhouse broke records, becoming one of the longest running shows in the theatre's ten-year history. The show has also been performed at Dixon Place, HERE, Manhattan Theatre Source, Ensemble Studio Theatre (as part of its Octoberfest), Manhattan Repertory, Authors Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, Westchester Music Conservatory, Riverspace Arts (Nyack), Metropolis Port Theater Company (Atlanta, GA) as well as Westchester Community College, CUNY Lehman College, SUNY Stony Brook. Blood Type: RAGU was recently featured in Prof. Fred Gardaphe's book From Wiseguys to Wise Men.

Frank Ingrasciotta began his career as stage manager for the original Off-Broadway production of Godspell. His New York stage credits include Valley of the Dolls, Three Postcards, Dinner at 8, Edgar Degas in The Girl in the Blue Armchair, and Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. TV credits include recurring roles on "Guiding Light," "One Life to Live" and "The Equalizer." He was also the director, writer and producer for the annual NY Cable Follies, a live musical satire of the year's events in the cable industry, performing to TV network CEOs and executives. He has directed cabarets, corporate shows and productions regionally and in NYC including Neil Berg's musical The Life & Times of Fiona Gander, A Day in Hollywood, The Prince and the Pauper, Grease, Chicago, Sondheim Tonight, Once on This Island, and Fascinating Gershwin. For the NYC Fire Department, he directed and choreographed firefighters in a benefit production of Guys and Dolls, raising over $20,000 for the New York Burn Center.

Performances will be Wednesday at 2 PM & 7:30 PM, Thursday at 7:30PM, Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM & 6 PM. Tickets will be $47.50 on Wednesday & Thursday and $52.50 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and are available at Smarttix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444. The historic Actors' Playhouse is located at 100 Seventh Avenue South at Sheridan Square, in the heart of Greenwich Village. For more information visit www.BloodTypeRagu.com.

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