Entertainment :: Theatre
Missed Some Fringe Fest? No Worry - Encores Are Here by Scott Stiffler
EDGE ContributorWednesday Sep 5, 2007 What did you do to survive New York City’s steamy, sweaty, dependably miserable dog days of August? Bereft of a coveted Fire Island time share, I know of at least one intrepid art hag whose preferred method of coping was to park his gay ass in a blur of air conditioned downtown theaters and take in a sizeable chunk of the nearly 200 plays, solo shows and uncategorizable happenings that comprised the New York International Fringe Festival. For the tenth year, FringeNYC presented a slew of GLBT-friendly offerings; and where were you? If your greatest August nod to cultural enrichment was desecrating a pint of Haagen Dazs while watching that lame Will & Grace rerun for the umpteenth time, here’s your big chance to become a legitimate patron of the arts. Through September 16, the FringeNYC Encore Series brings back a handful of breakout shows for brief revivals at The Bleecker Street Theater and The SoHo Playhouse. The slightly more expensive ticket ($18 vs. $15) is a small price to pay for a socially respectable answer to that nosy prude at work who’s always laying traps by asking what you did last night.
Although not a production of The NY International Fringe Festival, the FringeNYC Encore Series is the brainchild of veteran Fringe producers John Pinckard and Britt Lafield. Pinckard explains the logic of presenting these thirteen works in rotating repertory: "One of the great things about FringeNYC is that it creates this unique atmosphere in which really exciting work can get a level of attention that would otherwise be impossible. The downside is that just as your word-of-mouth has caught fire, your run is over." That, plus the fact that positive word of mouth and pre-Fringe hype often makes it impossible for casual theatergoers to score tickets. To that end, Pinckard "wanted to give a handful of worthy shows a chance to be seen by more people."
The Series was brought to our attention owing to the fact that many shows have explicit gay content or inherent gay appeal. More on them shortly. But first, a nod to the straight shows. They may not be GLBT-centric, but the exclusive nature of the series (thirteen chosen out of almost 200) makes for a fairly safe bet. Hopefully, though, any heterosexual hand-holding or kissing will take place offstage or be implied by highly stylized movement (I don’t pay good money to watch that sort of filth, and neither should you).
Paper Son (through 9/9) is Byron Yee’s tale of growing up in Oklahoma, moving to California, and discovering his Chinese heritage through a disastrous movie audition and a visit to the Angel Island Immigration Station. It won a Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Solo Show. Riding the Bull (through 9/16), chronicles the "love affair between a devout rodeo clown and a hellraising rancher." Jamaica Farewell (through 9/16) is a true story of "revolution, heartbreak, machetes, prostitutes and bullets." Bombs in Your Mouth (through 9/16), which won a Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Playwriting, showcases a brother and sister who have a few things to work out when their father dies.
Naked in a Fish Bowl (through 9/16) won a Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Ensemble. It’s "an improvised play that eavesdrops on the lives of four young women in NYC." Double Vision (through 9/16) documents the tribulations of "six singles navigating the tricky waters of urban, modern relationships." As Far as We Know (through 9/10) was NY Magazine’s #1 Pick of the Fringe. It’s a "gripping, gritty ensemble performance that chronicles the struggles of an Ohio family tortured by the absence of their son, a soldier abducted during an ambush on a Halliburton transport in Iraq."
Now, finally, for the queer and queer-friendly stuff: Hillary Angonistes (through 9/16) won a Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Direction. It stars Priscilla Barnes (of Three’s Company fame) as newly installed President Hillary Clinton. When 65 million people disappear without warning on a bright Spring 2009 day, Clinton and her advisors huddle in the oval office and try to avert Armageddon. I Dig Doug (through 9/16), which won a Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Play, charts "a teenager’s journey from New York to Iowa as she discovers the presidential electoral process is the ultimate reality television." GLAAD Media Award winner Bert V. Royal directs.
Lights Rise On Grace (through 9/9), winner of a Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Play, follows "the lost love, new love and tough love of three desperate New Yorkers as they defy tradition and uncover secrets." Piaf: Love Conquers All (winner of a Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Musical), plays through 9/8. It recreates the tragic, talented songbird Edith Piaf and invites you to "Come share a cocktail with a French legend as she shares her passion for music, men and morphine!"
Those preferring a more distinctly American icon of substance abuse and psychic pain will find it in A Beautiful Child. Performed through 9/16, it was taken from Music For Chameleons (Truman Capote’s 1980 collection of short fiction and nonfiction). Set in 1955, Capote and Marilyn Monroe attend the funeral of her acting coach. Afterwards, they wander the streets of Manhattan - drinking champagne and spilling secrets.
Next: Putting Capote and Monroe onto the stage
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