Mario Fratti and Rupert Holmes
Take Center Stage At "An Evening With The Playwrights"

October 27, 2003, New York, NY
Press Contact: Steven Collins, Webb Communications
scollins@sitespan.com, 212-695-7022, ext 313

Webb Communications recently hosted a very unique "Evening With The Playwrights." The landmark theater district restaurant Trattoria Dopo Teatro was the scene of this delightful and entertaining night on October 20th as Broadway playwrights Mario Fratti and Rupert Holmes took the stage, charming an audience of actors, writers, business executives, and fans. The two veteran playwrights shared anecdotes about their diverse careers on Broadway and beyond.
Photos from the evening can be accessed by clicking here.

Webb Communications (www.sitespan.com) organized the evening in cooperation with Trattoria Dopo Teatro (www.DopoTeatro.com). Webb's client, Rupert Holmes, and our gracious friend, Mario Fratti, were kind enough to take a break from their busy schedules to speak to the more than 100 attendees at the event.

At first glance, Mr. Fratti and Mr. Holmes seemed like an unlikely duo to share the spotlight together. Mr Fratti, the passionate and dapper Italian / New Yorker, is well known for his politically charged, sometimes controversial dramas and dark comedies. In contrast, the jovial and eclectic Mr. Holmes started out as a singer/songwriter and is best known for his mysteries, musicals, and nostalgic plays. However, their chemistry and timing made these two outstanding talents seem more like a seasoned comedy team than a theatrical odd couple. The two writers continually joked back and forth as each took a turn regaling the audience with insightful, hilarious, and inspiring highlights from their journeys from humble beginnings to becoming the creators of hit Broadway shows.

As the evening progressed, the similarities between these two men became more apparent. To start with, both have written shows that went on to win multiple Tony awards and which have been performed internationally over the past 20 years. Mr. Fratti is the co-creator of the musical Nine--winner of two Tony awards this year (Best Musical Revival, and Jane Krakowski for Best Featured Actress in a Musical), and five Tony Awards in its original production in 1982 (www.NineOnBroadway.com). Mr. Holmes is the creator of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which he personally received three Tony awards for Best Book, Best Music, and Best Lyrics--while Drood itself won for Best Musical. This past season, his show Say Goodnight Gracie received a Tony nomination for Best Play, while Frank Gorshin won the Outer Critics Circle Award for his astounding portrayal of comedian George Burns in the play. Gracie, which has commenced a national tour, was the third longest-running "one-actor play" in Broadway history (www.SayGoodnightGracie.net).

Another similarity between Mr. Fratti and Mr. Holmes is their dynamic energy, work ethic, and talents in multiple fields. Fratti, who started out as a poet in Italy, has written more than 40 plays which have received more than four hundred productions in two dozen countries and have been translated into many languages. In addition to his writing achievements, Mr. Fratti serves as New York drama critic for nine separate European newspapers and has taught at Adelphi University, Hunter College, the New School, Columbia, and Hofstra.

Mr. Holmes' diverse career includes writing and arranging platinum albums for Barbra Streisand, including his contributions to the Grammy award winning score of A Star is Born. As a singer/songwriter, he may be best known for his #1 recording of "Escape -- The Piña Colada Song." In addition to The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Say Goodnight Gracie, Mr. Holmes wrote the Edgar-Award-Winning Broadway comedy/thriller Accomplice. He also wrote the book for the musical Marty, with score by Strouse and Adams, which recently broke all box office records at Boston's Huntington Theater. Marty is reportedly slated for Toronto sometime in the next year, with a Broadway production to follow. In the late 1990s, Mr. Holmes won an Emmy Award for the television series Remember WENN, which he created and wrote. This past summer, Mr. Holmes released his first novel, Where The Truth Lies, a mystery/comedy which has received rave reviews.

During the Evening with The Playwrights, Mr. Holmes spoke first, describing his serendipitous transition from the world of pop music to the world of Broadway musicals. His first big break came from the legendary director/producer Jospeh Papp (founder of the Public Theater and NYC Shakespeare Festival, and producer of hits such as A Chorus Line). Shortly after seeing Holmes perform some of his popular songs at the New York club Dangerfields, Papp contacted Rupert to ask if he ever considered writing a musical. Papp and his wife Gail Merrifield were fans of Holmes' music and recognized his unique talent for writing well-crafted "story songs."

Holmes couldn't believe his luck. Not only had he dreamed about writing a Broadway musical, the concept for his hit show The Mystery of Edwin Drood had been percolating in the back of his mind for many years. He seized the opportunity, and pitched his original idea to Papp and Merrifield, which was a musical based on Charles Dickens' unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Holmes' idea included a very ingenius twist--creating multiple plot endings for the story, allowing the audience to vote on how each performance should end. He met with Papp and Merrifield and performed the entire play for them, acting out each part himself. They loved it. The rest is history.

Mr. Holmes also spoke about his pivotal first meeting with Barbra Streisand in Los Angeles. Still in shock from Ms. Streisand's invitation for him to work with her on an album and movie soundtrack, Rupert joined her for a studio screening of her latest film and a star-studded Hollywood dinner engagement. Before he knew what hit him, the young Holmes found himself sitting down to dine at a table with Barbra Streisand, Frank Capra, Groucho Marks, Charles Bronson, and several other show biz luminaries. Always gracious and self deprecating, Holmes felt that the scene needed the caption "Which person doesn't belong in this photo?"

Holmes wound up the Evening With The Playwrights with a hilarious recounting of how he came up with the main lyrics for his #1 hit "Escape -- The Piña Coloda Song." Hopping between the piano and the podium, the multi-talented Holmes had the audience in stitches as he described his creative thought process and the syrupy lyrics he discarded before penning the famous line "If you like Piña Colada...."

Mario Fratti was equally eloquent, humble, and entertaining. Referring to his many years as a writer struggling for success, he said that his biography would have to be written as a great tragedy. In reality, Mr. Fratti's success has been astounding and is directly related to his combination of creative genius and stubborn determination to never give up on a project he believes in. Before leaving Italy for New York in 1963, Mr. Fratti had already won 33 literary contests in Venice, each earning him notoriety and a cash prize which enabled him to continue refining his craft.

Fratti spoke candidly about his seven long years developing the musical Nine (inspired by Fellini's film 8½), in collaboration with composer / lyricist Maury Yeston. When Fratti felt like the project was stalling and that he might lose Yeston's interest in continuing the work, he secretly applied for the Eugene O'Neill prize which they won, gaining the funding and support needed to stage the production in Connecticut. Yeston and Fratti became re-energized and the show went on to win the Richard Rogers Award, helping to make a Broadway production a realistic goal.

Katherine Hepburn, who was a friend of Fratti and his wife, saw the play at the O'Neill Center in Connecticut and loved it, calling it a masterpiece. Fratti explained how Hepburn wrote to Fellini and asked him to permit the play to be shown on Broadway.

After receiving Fellini's consent, the two men approached four Broadway directors all of whom felt the project was too risky. Ever resourceful, Mario sent the script for Nine to Tommy Tune. Fratti didn't know Tune at the time, but remembered from his theater bio that Tune was a big fan of Italian movies. Within 24 hours of receiving the script, Tune called Fratti back agreeing to direct the play and help get it funding. Tune also brought in writer Arthur Kopit, who added some new elements and a new scene to the play. The production opened on Broadway in 1982, winning five Tonys and running for two years.

The 2003 revival of Nine came after Fratti and Yeston saw the production of Nine in London directed by David Leveaux. It was Leveaux who convinced Antonio Banderas to take on the leading role of Guido Contini, the Fellini-inspired film director, giving the latest Broadway production an added level of star power and exposure.?

Afternotes: Plugging the names Rupert Holmes and Mario Fratti into a "Six Degrees of Separation" analyzer yields at least three connections: (1) Mr. Holmes received his big Broadway break from Joseph Papp, producer of A Chorus Line. Mr. Fratti was introduced to his collaborator on Nine, Maury Yeston, by Ed Kleban, the lyricist of A Chorus Line; (2) Barbra Streisand recorded Ed Kleban's song Better in 1975 during the recording sessions for her album Lazy Afternoon, which was arranged and co-produced by Rupert Holmes. The song remains part of Ms. Streisand's unreleased collection; (3) John Tillinger, Director of Holmes' play Say Goodnight Gracie also directed the play Tea At Five, about the life of Katherine Hepburn. Fratti and his wife were friends with Ms. Hepburn and she played a key role in bringing the original production of Nine to Broadway.