September 9th - 26th
20 shows chosen from nearly 200 in FringeNYC 2010
3 venues: Lucille Lortel, The Players Theatre, Soho Playhouse's Huron Club
To purchase call 866.468.7619, visit http://FringeNYC EncoreSeries.com.
FringeNYC Encores Series
BOTTOM LINE: These are among the finest of performances in this year's NYC Fringe Fest. Through the magic of Encores, you can see these shows in the coming weeks, for a mere $18 a ticket. See below for titles, descriptions and show times. Click on the underlined titles to read the Theasy reviews.
BUT FIRST!! Here are some Theasy Favorites that didn't make the Encores series (we're guessing they had prior obligations or aren't New Yorkers and couldn't stay in town longer). Whatever the reason, we really enjoyed these productions.
SHINE: A NEW MUSICAL
MISS KIM
3BOYS
DEAR HARVEY
Getting Even with Shakespeare
Written by Matt Saldarelli; Directed by Laura Konsin
Five tragic heroes walk into a bar...and they're pissed. When not dying nightly, Macbeth plays paintball, Juliet deals ecstasy and Lear (unsuccessfully) avoids storms. Enter a lawyer who proves the play is the thing to catch the Playwright King. 1h 30m.
The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal
9/21 @ 8:00, 9/24 @ 9:00, 9/25 @ 7:30, 9/26 @ 4:00
Hearts Full of Blood
The New Colony (Chicago, IL)
Written by James Asmus; Directed by Andrew Hobgood
A horrifying secret forever affects the lives of a couple and their
two single friends. "Quite the riveting show." (Chicago Tribune).
"Gut-wrenchingly tragic and very, very funny." (TimeOut Chicago). 2h.
The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal, 9/9 @ 9:30, 9/10 @ 7:00, 9/12 @ 3:00, 9/14 @ 8:00
How My Mother Died of Cancer, and Other Bedtime Stories
Robert Intile, Jr. & Alina Gutierrez with The Dreamscape Theatre
Written by Chris Kelly; Directed by Laura Moss
Kate Morgan, 25, copes with her mother's death by writing a comedy about cancer and its impact on her family. She's also cast her family and friends as themselves. When they hijack the performance, the results are disastrous. 1h 30m. The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal
9/9 @ 7:00, 9/11 @ 7:00, 9/12 @ 8:00, 9/13 @ 8:00
Over and Over
No Hope Productions
Written by Tim Aumiller; Directed by Tim Aumiller
In a downtown Manhattan theatre - where relationships, both real and imagined, are forged and broken - Mitch and Jimmie meet. Two former Fordham roommates and best friends, they negotiate the complex and intimate terms of their sexual history. 1h 15m.
PigPen Presents The Nightmare Story
PigPen Theatre Co. (Pittsburgh, PA)
Written by Alex Falberg, Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Daniel Weschler, Matt Nuernberger, Ryan Melia
A boy's beloved mother shows symptoms of the mythical "Nightmare Disease". Now he must journey into the unknown to find a cure...before it's too late. Actors from Carnegie Mellon University; PigPen combines storytelling, music, puppetry, and shadow-play. 45m
The Journey Company
Written by Arlene Hutton; Directed by Beth Lincks & Lori Wolter
His first Marathon just hours away, Stephen needs a good night's sleep. Then his wife's attractive former roommate shows up unexpectedly. Will he be running on empty? A new dark comedy from the award-winning author of LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC. 1h 30m.
Saving Throw Versus Love
Rhetorical Question Players
Written by Larry Brenner; Directed by Dann Fink
Carol thinks her fiancee Sam goes to a weekly poker game. But Sam has a terrible secret-he's a seventh level Elven thief. Will Carol be able to accept Sam's hobby? And can Grolock the Barbarian slay the evil Werewolf? 1h 40m
South Pathetic
New Conservatory Theatre Center Of San Francisco/Trash de Blanc (New York, NY)
Written by Jim David; Directed by Peter Smith
An unemployed comedian directs North Carolina's worst community theatre in "Streetcar Named Desire." Blanche played by "family values" crusader, Stella's a stripper, Stanley's a porn star. Nominee Outstanding Solo Show, San Francisco Theatre Critics. "Hilarious." - SF Weekly "Sidesplitting." - TalkinBroadway.com. 1h 15m. The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal
9/15 @ 8:00, 9/17 @ 9:30, 9/18 @ 10:00, 9/19 @ 3:00
The Twentieth-Century Way
The Theatre @ Boston Court (Pasadena, CA)
Written by Tom Jacobson; Directed by Michael Michetti
Based on a little-known incident in Southern California history, this theatrical thrill ride explores the collision of reality and fantasy as two actors juggle various roles to entrap homosexuals for "social vagrancy" in public restrooms in 1914 Long Beach, California. 1h 40m.
Bunked! A New Musical
Written by Alaina Kunin and Bradford Proctor; Music by Bradford Proctor; Directed by Seth Sikes
Bunked features the exploits of five summer camp counselors as they embark on their first taste of adulthood. Fatal secrets, impassioned jealousy and triangular love trysts entangle the counselors as the bittersweet end of summer approaches. 1h 40m.
Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street
The Hurricane Katrina Comedy Festival
Written by Rob Florence; Directed by Dann Fink (New Orleans, LA)
The heartbreak. The humanity. The humor. Five true stories. Their own words. 1h 30m.
Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical
Written by Emma Barash, Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Steve Wargo;
Directed by Marshall Pailet.
Boldly re-imagined and retold from the perspective of the dinosaurs, Jurassic Parq is an unflinching meditation on gender, sexual, and racial identity in an evolving landscape destined to stun you with its importance. And you should probably see it drunk. 1h 20m.
9/9 @ 7:00, 9/11 @ 10:30, 9/17 @ 9:30, 9/18 @ 10:30
Just In Time: The Judy Holliday Story
Written and Directed by Bob Sloan
A fast-paced romp through the life of the Original Dumb Blond and one of the funniest actresses of all time. Featuring such exalted cohorts as Orson Welles, Katherine Hepburn, Comden & Green, Gloria Swanson, and Jimmy Durante. (90 min)
Rogue Machine Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
Written by John Pollono; Directed by Andrew Block
An embattled Boston cop family. A stranger with a secret. Sit down to dinner with the Broncatos as they grapple with personal demons and search for a place at the table in this savagely comic, emotionally gripping, dysfunctional family portrait. 1h 50m.
Written by Michelle Krusiec; Directed by Andy Belser
"A Chinese American Sandra Bullock" (NY Post). Krusiec's comedy-drama entwines dysfunctional family, cultural confusion, and suburban desperation. Pimped out by a Chinese mother, cowed by an American naval father, this coming of age story is both poignant and hilarious. 1h 20m
Pope! An Epic Musical
Written by Justin Moran; Music by Christopher Pappas; Lyrics by Justin Moran
Directed by Greg Moran; Musical Direction by Adam Podd
A popular Pope is framed and exiled from the Vatican, a tyrannical Archbishop seizes power. People are in unrest, armies of robots stalk the streets, the world is crying out for a hero… only one Pope can answer the call! 1h 30m
When Last We Flew
DRD Theatricals & Eric Louie
Written by Harrison David Rivers; Directed by Colette Robert
After stealing his library's only copy of Angels in America, misfit teenager Paul begins reading and discovers that his dull Midwestern life is about to take flight. WHEN LAST WE FLEW was developed at Lincoln Center and Sundance Theater Lab. 2h 0m Local Manhattan, NYC
The Secretaries
TOSOS
Written by The Five Lesbian Brothers (Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey and Lisa Kron); Directed by Mark Finley
Join this cult of murderous Slim-Fast drinking, high-heel wearing, big-haired secretaries who work the desks of the Cooney Lumber Mill in Big Bone, Oregon. It's just like your office, only with chainsaws. 1h 30m.
9/13 @ 10:00, 9/15 @ 9:30, 9/22 @ 9:30, 9/23 @ 10:00
Viva Los Bastarditos!
Written by Jake Oliver
A sublimely ridiculous and heartfelt tale of love, music and revolution. When dastardly villains take over a mysterious realm called Western Massachusetts, three rock heroes emerge to unite The People against the would-be dictators. Join the revolution! 1h 50m.
Amsterdam Abortion Survivor
Micha Wertheim. (Holland, Netherlands)
His controversial solo performance earned him praise in the Netherlands and at the 2007/8 Edinburgh festival. Wertheim manages to shock and charm his audiences at the same time. His US debut promises hard-hitting cutting edge comedy with an adorable accent. 1h.
Soho Playhouse's Huron Club, 15 Vandam Street
9/10 @ 9:30, 9/12 @ 8:00, 9/16 @ 10:00, 9/17 @ 8:00, 9/19 @ 8:00
Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories
Written by Faye Lane; Directed by Jay Rogers
She grew up in a Texas Beauty Salon... and lived to tell! Come hear the glittered up memories of a Green Bean Queen. "They were howling, crying, falling in love with her." New York Magazine. 55m.
9/9 @ 9:30, 9/12 @ 6:00, 9/15 @ 3:00, 9/17 @ 10:00, 9/23 @ 9:30
(Fringe Encore Series performances play from September 9 through September 26, 2010. Tickets are $18 and are available at FringeNYC-EncoreSeries.com or by calling 866.468.7619.)