Ingrasciotta's 'BLOOD TYPE: RAGU' Reopens Actor's Playhouse, Previews Begin 2/20

Flying Machine Productions will present the Off-Broadway premiere of BLOOD TYPE: RAGU, a new play written and performed by Frank Ingrasciotta, beginning performances February 20th, for an Opening Night on March 5th, at the newly restored Actors' Playhouse (100 Seventh Avenue South).

Blood Type: RAGU, a one-man show featuring over 20 characters, is based on the life experiences of writer/performer Frank Ingrasciotta. It tells the humorous and poignant story of a Sicilian immigrant family and their cultural struggle in America. The story takes us through four turbulent, yet comical decades as Frank jockeys between two cultures - his parent's old world views and the new world, a.k.a. America. Blood Type: RAGU is not just a comedy, not just a drama - it's 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 NY stage credits include Valley of the Dolls, Three Postcards, Dinner at 8, Edgar Degas in The Girl in the Blue Armchair and the 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 & Fascinating Gershwin. For the NYC Fire Department, he directed & 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 3 PM & 7:30 PM, Thursday at 7:30PM, Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 3 PM & 8 PM, and Sunday at 1 PM & 5 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