Barney Frank Assumes Senate Role at Last

Plenty of people have been conjecturing what Barney Frank would be up to after the 72-year-old Massachusetts Congressman left office this month (especially after he hired Hollywood's Ari Emanuel as his agent). But none of us could have predicted it would be playing a conservative Senator in the musical Fiorello! on the New York City stage.

Is it a dress rehearsal for an actual Senate seat? Maybe. But it sounds like he just wants to have a little fun. His stage debut will take place this weekend when Encores! revives the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that tells the story of New York City's Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia's rise "from an immigrant's son to the feisty congressman whose guts and determination to fight corruption brought down the crooked Tammany Hall political machine," according to the press release. Frank will play "an outspoken senator who disagrees with LaGuardia's policies."

He joins cast members Kate Baldwin, Jeremy Bobb, Ray DeMattis, Erin Dilly, Jenn Gambatese, Adam Heller, Shuler Hensley, Richard Ruiz, Danny Rutigliano, Andrew Samonsky, Emily Skinner, and Cheryl Stern as Fiorello LaGuardia. Fiorello! is directed by Gary Griffin with choreography by Alex Sanchez and music direction by Rob Berman. The show runs for seven performances from January 30-February 3 at New York City Center.