Marc Acito (born January 11, 1966) is an American playwright, novelist, and humorist.

Early life

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Acito was raised in

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,Westfield High School Westfield High School may refer to: * The Westfield School, Perry, Georgia * Westfield High School (Westfield, Indiana) * Westfield High School (Massachusetts), Westfield, Massachusetts * Westfield Technical Academy, Westfield, Massachusetts * West ...

. He studied in the BFA musical theatre program at Carnegie Mellon University but left before graduation. In 1990 he received a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

from

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

. In 2009, Colorado College awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Early career

Acito began his career as a novelist and journalist. His comic novel ''How I Paid for College'', won the Oregon Book Awards’ 2005 Ken Kesey Award for Best Novel and was voted a 2005 "Teens Top Ten for favorite young adult book" of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

. In April 2008, Acito published ''Attack of the Theater People'', as a sequel to ''How I Paid for College''. He is also the writer of the syndicated humor column "The Gospel According to Marc," which ran for four years in nineteen gay publications. His humorous essays have appeared in many publications including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (April 3, 2006) and ''

Portland Monthly ''Portland Monthly'' (also referred to as ''Portland Monthly Magazine'') is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 b ...

'' magazine (January 2007, February 2007); as well as on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' (June 2008 through February 2010).

Theatrical career

In 2012, Acito won the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play for ''Birds of a Feather'', a comedy inspired by

Roy and Silo Roy and Silo (born 1987) were two male chinstrap penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo. They were noted by staff at the zoo in 1998 to be performing mating rituals, and one of them in 1999 attempted to Egg incubation, hatch a rock as if i ...

, the same-sex male

penguins Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

who raised a chick. Acito wrote the libretto for the musical ''

Allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology From Middle English ''ligeaunce'' (see medieval Latin ''ligeantia'', "a liegance"). The ''al ...

'', which won the 2012 Craig Noel Award for Outstanding New Musical after a record breaking run at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

’s

Old Globe Theater The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

. ''ALLEGIANCE - A New Musical Inspired By A True Story'' opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in November 2015 and starred

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

and Lea Salonga. In 2012, Acito also turned his novel '' How I Paid for College'' into a "one-man monologue with songs" that premiered at the Hub Theater in

Fairfax, VA The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census the po ...

. In 2014, his musical adaptation of

E.M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stor ...

’s ''

A Room With a View ''A Room with a View'' is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society a ...

'' was presented in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

at the 5th Avenue Theater. In 2015, Acito wrote the concert adaptation of

Lerner & Loewe Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-L ...

’s '' Paint Your Wagon'' for

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and t ...

’s Encores! series. He is currently working on the libretto for a new musical commissioned by the 5th Avenue Theater. The musical, ''Dutch Master'', was awarded a development grant by the National Alliance for Musical Theater. Also in the works is ''Chasing Rainbows'', a musical based on the early childhood of

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, which premiered in December 2015 at

Flat Rock Playhouse Flat Rock Playhouse is a professional, non-profit theatre located in the village of Flat Rock, NC known for quality productions of popular musicals, comedies, and dramas. In 1937, under the direction of Robroy Farquhar, a group of actors organized ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Personal life

Acito lives in New York City with his husband Floyd Sklaver.

References

External links

; General
Marc Acito.com
- official website: columns, press reviews, excerpts, etc.
Marc Acito profile
at

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

; Social Media
Marc Acito
- official Facebook page
Marc Acito
- official Twitter profile ; Interviews

(by Dave Weich at Powells.com)
2004 interview
(by Daulton Dickey at

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

)
2005 interview
(by Andrew Hicks at PageAndAuthor.com) ; Misc

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acito, Marc 1966 births 21st-century American novelists Living people Watson Fellows American gay writers Writers from Portland, Oregon American male novelists American LGBT novelists LGBT people from New Jersey Writers from Bayonne, New Jersey People from Westfield, New Jersey Westfield High School (New Jersey) alumni 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New Jersey Novelists from Oregon