By Ron Fassler . . .

Having worked in the theatre for the past 50 years, Frank Verlizzo is one of the highest-ranking members of an elite circle. As the designer of more than 300 posters, his genius for logos are unparalleled. Under the name Fraver, the first three letters of his first and last name, his distinguished and diverse repertoire really can’t be summed by only a few examples. But for fun, let’s try with these three, shall we?:

And:

And:

After years of this kind of exceptional caliber, Fraver has recently retired from the grind of his theatrical work but is keeping it front and center with his next endeavor. He has just published his first book, a mystery novel titled Scenery of the Crime, under the newly branded Retro Broadway Mystery Series from Camel Press (there are plans for four of them). The novel is set in 1975 and Fraver has worked in a wonderful blend of real names and fictional ones, with made up titles like Hotel Luna and Widow’s Weeds, mixed in with plays of the time like Edward Albee’s Seascape and The Wiz. The mid-70s was a wild time for Broadway with most shows struggling at the box office and audiences battling a genuinely dangerous neighborhood. Fraver, having begun his work as an artist at the Blaine-Thompson Agency in their office in the Sardi’s building on West 44th, truly knows the territory, which gives the book a delicious verisimilitude.

I chatted with the artist/author this week and here are portions of our conversation, condensed and edited for clarity:

FASSLER: You’ve set this book in two worlds you know well, advertising and Broadway. How did the whole idea of the Retro Broadway Mystery Series come about?

FRAVER: Well, I knew I wanted to write because I wanted to resign from designing posters. I felt I’d done it, and I do still love it to this day, but I wanted to do something where I could just do it myself. And although I loved the collaborative nature of poster design, I wanted to do something where I had total freedom. 

FASSLER: I’m sure working on a book freed you up to create, which is what you do.

FRAVER: Right, it was really wonderful. And during the time I was still designing posters for theatre, I’d sometimes have what you might call “writer’s block for a designer” where I thought, “Okay, I can’t think of this show anymore,” and I would start writing. I love mysteries and I read a lot of Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Masons to help as a guide. Then I’d go back to the designing and after about a year, I had a book. And I wanted to specifically write about a period of time that was still clear to me because everything was so exciting when I started out. I’d just gotten my first job with Blaine-Thompson—and it was in the Sardi’s building—and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I remember everything about it in such detail, and today I cannot tell you where I was on a Tuesday, but for this stuff it’s like yesterday. So, I thought I would harness that—those memories—all the quirky things that went on and that I have remembered fondly. But I had no intention of writing more than the one mystery. Accomplishing one felt like I conquered Mount Everest. 

FASSLER: Then how did the series come about?

FRAVER: It’s a long story but the quick version is that when Camel Press read the first one they asked if I could do more.

FASSLER: When can we expect the second one?

FRAVER: In December. I’ve written the third one, too!

FASSLER: Prolific in design, prolific with words.

FRAVER: Thank you.

FASSLER: I really loved the mix of fake stuff and real stuff in the book. But you didn’t allow for real-life characters and invented ones to intermingle. You had them playing in the same world, but you kept them segregated. Was that done on purpose?

FRAVER: Yes, it was. I know when I’m reading a fiction book and they say, “Deborah Kerr got very angry with a waiter,” it makes me go, “How do you know that? Why would she do that?” It would always annoy me, so I didn’t want to go there. Celebrities at a distance, right? And we all love watching them, but I wanted the ones that have something to do with the story to be completely made up. That said, I loved mixing the reality and the fantasy part of it. Of course, if you’re a thirty-something reading the book today, you wouldn’t know who was real or what show was real unless you were educated in it.

FASSLER: Well, for a first book you followed the age-old tenant, “Write what you know,” and done so successfully.

FRAVER: Thank you. I thought I could offer an interesting viewpoint because it’s not the viewpoint of an actor, or a director, or a producer, but someone somewhat on the outside who could stand back and watch, as well as participate. 

FASSLER: You’re hardly a neutral observer. You really were in the thick of the creative lives of some major Broadway productions. Thank you for all your contributions to the theatre as an artist and now as a writer with Scenery of the Crime.

FRAVER: My pleasure.

Scenery of the Crime is available at all major online book sellers including Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

Photo Credit: Jon Bierman