Now that he is out of the House (though hoping for a short stint in the Senate) what is Barney Frank to do? Why, be in a musical, natch. No, seriously. Frank is set to make his stage debut this weekend in the Encores! production of Fiorello! at City Center. Frank will be playing a walk-on role as a senator.
How did this bit of stunt-casting come about? Apparently Fiorello!, a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about the rise of New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (not just an airport!), is an old favorite of Frank's. And according to a Boston Globe profile, it wasn't hard to hook the former Representative into the gig:
A producer friend had asked [Representative Chellie] Pingree to secure Frank for a walk-on part in “Fiorello!”, a musical about former mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York.
She asked Frank on the House floor between votes. He accepted; the show, he said, was one of his favorites. "He completely recited the lyrics by heart in the middle of the House."
We're sure it didn't hurt that the way Encores! productions work (they are fancy stage readings so you don't have to memorize your lines, helped persuade the the Massachusetts pol. However they got him, though, this should make an already interesting evening of theater even more so. And hey, there are still cheap tickets available for the February 2nd performance, during which Frank is scheduled to show up.
