It's Always About the Show

Frank Rizzo is a writer of theater, the arts and life as we know it, covering Connecticut and beyond for more than 40 years. For 33 years he was the arts/theater writer for The Hartford Courant.

Gigs: For nearly 20 years, he has been theater writer/critic for Variety and for the past five as the theater columnist for Connecticut magazine. He also writes about the business of the arts for Hartford Business Journal and New Haven Biz magazines. Other writing outlets include: The New York Times, American Theatre magazine, Theater Development Fund’s STAGES, the CT Hearst newspapers (Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Times, Ct Post, Danbury Times, Norwalk Hour), the Shore newspapers of Connecticut and again at The Hartford Courant.  He has also contributed arts commentary to CT/Fox and WNPR.

Organizations: He is currently on the executive boards of the American Theatre Critics Association (vice chair) and the Connecticut Critics Circle. He has been a members of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for nearly 30 years

Back story: He grew up in Maynard, Massachusetts and is a graduate of the University of Arizona where he received his B.A. in journalism. He received his graduate training in theater there on a Shubert Fellowship in playwriting. He is the recipient of the Hall of Fame Award from the university’s Arizona Daily Wildcat.

Teaching: He regularly teaches courses on various musical theater subjects as part of the University of Hartford's Presidents' College. He has also lectured at UConn, Yale University, and the Mark Twain House & Museum, among other educational centers,

Talking: He has led on-stage discussions/interviews with arts and entertainment figures including actors Christopher Walken, Ali Macgraw, Ryan O'Neal, composer Stephen Schwartz, directors Darko Tresnak and Mark Brokaw, playwrights Therese Rebeck and David Lindsay Abaire and authors Gregory Maguire, Michael Riedel and Jack Viertel.

More yacking: His entertaining lecture topics include: “The Secret Life of a Theater Critic” and “How to Interview the Rich, Famous and Incredibly Gifted: Secrets That Didn’t Make It Into Print,” or a combination of the two. He also speaks on “When Art Was On Trial,” his first-hand experience covering Robert Mapplethorpe’s “The Perfect Moment” tour and the NEA Four case at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Celeb world: He is also written profiles on hundreds of celebrities and artists including Elizabeth Taylor, Meryl Streep, Henry Fonda, Jeremy O. Harris, Rock Hudson, Spike Lee, Brad Pitt, Peter Brook, Lillian Gish, Ginger Rogers, Barbra Streisand, Ming Cho Lee, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Liza Minnelli and Martha Mitchell. He has a special rapport with women of a certain age who have lots to tell: Maureen Stapleton, Elaine Stritch, Olympia Dukakis, Kathleen Turner and Dame Edna, among them. He had tea with Julie Andrews, breakfast with Matthew Modine, dinner with Valerie Harper, and shared a patty melt with Arnold Schwarzenegger at a Friendly’s . His favorite interview was with Julia Child when she made lunch for him at her home in Cambridge. 

Digs: He lives in New Haven and New York City with his husband of nearly 40 years, Bill Kux.

Frank Rizzo

For writing assignments:
m: 203-530-3571
e: frank@showriz.com

or use form below (all fields are required)