From artist to author: Fraver, Broadway’s legendary designer, takes a shot at murder
Over five decades, artist Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo created some of the most iconic Broadway show posters for shows, including “Sweeney Todd,” “Deathtrap,” “As Is,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Follies,” and countless more. Educated at Pratt Institute, he began work in theatrical advertising in 1974, starting as a production artist, eventually becoming an art … Read More
Mark
0
2
Over five decades, artist Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo created some of the most iconic Broadway show posters for shows, including “Sweeney Todd,” “Deathtrap,” “As Is,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Follies,” and countless more. Educated at Pratt Institute, he began work in theatrical advertising in 1974, starting as a production artist, eventually becoming an art director and working at J. Walter Thompson and Grey Entertainment before forming his own company so he could concentrate on design. His work has often been the first connection an audience has with a show and sets the visual stage for a production, often long before the first tickets are sold. As art, these posters — also known as “window cards” — can be prized collectibles for Broadway fans.
So, after such an illustrious career, what an artist can — or wants to — do next is mystery. In the case of Fraver, that’s meant literally.
Starting during the pandemic when Broadway shut down, Fraver started to write. “I’ve always been a big murder mystery fan,” he says. So, he thought he’d try his hand at it. The result is a series of what Fraver calls “retro Broadway mysteries,” set in the Broadway world in the mid-1970s, an exciting time on Broadway to be sure. The genre, he notes, is “cozy mysteries,” which are tales set in small communities — think Cabot Cove from “Murder, She Wrote.” Fraver notes that the Broadway community is “intimate and insular,” essentially a small village in the heart of the big city. Fraver says that Broadway is “essentially seven square blocks where everything happens,” so it definitely qualifies as cozy.
The first two books in the series: “Scenery of the Crime” and “Sanity Claus” are charming page turners full of wonderful characters and hilarious situations, as well as exciting mystery stories that keep you guessing till the end. Perhaps not surprisingly, two of the main characters, Vic Senso and Bettie Balboa, work in a theatrical advertising agency and get drawn into the murder and mystery surrounding shows they’re working on.
[caption id="attachment_65267" align="aligncenter" width="451"]
Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo's “Sanity Claus”Frank Verlizzo[/caption]
With decades working in the theater and so close to many famous productions, Fraver accumulated a wealth of inside stories about the shows and the people involved. In the mysteries, he brilliantly weaves those together with real stars and shows of the period. Theater fans or those in the business may want to hazard a guess at the real-life inspirations for some of Fraver’s fictional characters. The author, however, was diplomatically mum as I tried to figure them out, enjoying the insider’s game he’s created in his tales.
Fraver is willing to admit that some of the anecdotes woven into the narrative are based on true stories. One of my favorites is the way nearly an entire production team was assembled to ensure that a star’s billing on a marquee was correct so as to mollify the actor. Fraver describes the scene so clearly, you just know it really happened, and it’s hilarious.
Theater fans will also recognize many of the locations — Sardi’s, The Dakota, the entire Times Square neighborhood. Yet it’s the world of the 1970s. Theaters like the Morosco and the original Helen Hayes figure in both stories, before they were torn down in 1982 to make way for the Marriott Marquis.
As you would expect, there is the potential for romance — gay and straight — and other allusions to New York of the period, all of which add to the richness of the settings. You may also laugh out loud, as I did, to see The Anvil, the notorious BDSM club on 14th Street from 1974-1985, described somewhat coyly as “an after-hours club,” which is technically true, but…
Today, when he’s not writing, Fraver lives with his husband Joe Ligammari in Stratford, Connecticut, which he stresses makes Broadway easily accessible. Fraver’s energy and sense of fun is infectious, and he's clearly having a marvelous time with these books. He says that his publisher Camel Press has committed to six in the series, so far. With the first two set in 1975, the next ones will be in 1975 and 1977.
As an artist who drew us into the theater (literally and figuratively) for five decades, Fraver now offers two on the aisle for marvelous, mayhem, murder, and mystery. As “Variety” might say, “run, don’t walk to grab your copies.”
“Scenery of the Crime” and “Sanity Claus” | Published by Camel Press | $18.95
Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo's “Sanity Claus”Frank Verlizzo[/caption]
With decades working in the theater and so close to many famous productions, Fraver accumulated a wealth of inside stories about the shows and the people involved. In the mysteries, he brilliantly weaves those together with real stars and shows of the period. Theater fans or those in the business may want to hazard a guess at the real-life inspirations for some of Fraver’s fictional characters. The author, however, was diplomatically mum as I tried to figure them out, enjoying the insider’s game he’s created in his tales.
Fraver is willing to admit that some of the anecdotes woven into the narrative are based on true stories. One of my favorites is the way nearly an entire production team was assembled to ensure that a star’s billing on a marquee was correct so as to mollify the actor. Fraver describes the scene so clearly, you just know it really happened, and it’s hilarious.
Theater fans will also recognize many of the locations — Sardi’s, The Dakota, the entire Times Square neighborhood. Yet it’s the world of the 1970s. Theaters like the Morosco and the original Helen Hayes figure in both stories, before they were torn down in 1982 to make way for the Marriott Marquis.
As you would expect, there is the potential for romance — gay and straight — and other allusions to New York of the period, all of which add to the richness of the settings. You may also laugh out loud, as I did, to see The Anvil, the notorious BDSM club on 14th Street from 1974-1985, described somewhat coyly as “an after-hours club,” which is technically true, but…
Today, when he’s not writing, Fraver lives with his husband Joe Ligammari in Stratford, Connecticut, which he stresses makes Broadway easily accessible. Fraver’s energy and sense of fun is infectious, and he's clearly having a marvelous time with these books. He says that his publisher Camel Press has committed to six in the series, so far. With the first two set in 1975, the next ones will be in 1975 and 1977.
As an artist who drew us into the theater (literally and figuratively) for five decades, Fraver now offers two on the aisle for marvelous, mayhem, murder, and mystery. As “Variety” might say, “run, don’t walk to grab your copies.”
“Scenery of the Crime” and “Sanity Claus” | Published by Camel Press | $18.95 
