08/13/04
First on my list is Jesus & Mandy, which is co-written by and starring two very funny friends, Eric Bernat and Robin Carrigan. Set in the groovy '70s, the show concerns a hospital-bound yet perky preteen who (along with some imaginary friends) meets the son of God in the afterlife. Sound dreary? Well, it's not. I was lucky enough to see a reading of an earlier version of the show and it's a hoot. A clever premise, sure-fire laughs and even some kicky go-go dance numbers thrown in for good measure! What more could you ask for in a $15 Fringe show? (Click for more info!)
Beyond Jesus & Mandy, the musicals are the main attraction for me at FringeNYC 2004. I mean, it's fun to see any full-scale book musical thrown together on a shoestring budget but since Fringe musicals deal with such outlandish topics, they're even more engrossing. Past years I've found myself at shows like The Elephant Man: The Musical and Poseidon: An Upside-Down Musical and this year's lineup is ripe with a few dozen offerings, from opera to techno popera. Some of the show even feature familiar faces from the Broadway stage--taking some time off from the big leagues to lend their hands to some up-and-coming talents.
Since so many of you are fans of song and dance, I've prepared this little guide to help you navigate your way through this year's tuners. Is there a Urinetown in the mix? Maybe a Debbie Does Dallas? Or (God forbid) a Joys of Sex? Take a chance on talent and a train downtown to find out! (For complete schedule and venue information, visit the FringeNYC website.
9/11 - THE BOOK OF JOB
The Pitch: Old Testament meets New York as the biblical tale of everyman Job overlays the tragedy of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Familiar Face: Joel Briel, who was a dandy Deuteronomy in the Broadway company of Cats, stars as Job. More info!
AFRICA & PLUMBRIDGE
The Pitch: Soulful musical about a career woman and a homeless street teen who come into each other's lives unexpectedly; based on the experiences of author Sue Carey, a one-time trapeze artist and equestrienne!
Familiar Face: Original A Chorus Line star Donna Drake is the show's director. More info!
ALL GOOD THINGS
The Pitch: The story of little-known '60s Boston garage band The Remains, who once toured with The Beatles, featuring a book by '80s TV writer Michael Eric Stern (Knight Rider!, Miami Vice!!).
Familiar Face: Featured in the cast is Ryan Link, who played Roger in Broadway's Rent. The real band members will also appear for the finale at the August 16 show. More info!
ANDRU'S HEAD
The Pitch: Newcomer Paul Jason Green plays Andru, a lovable disembodied head who hosts a children's show on public access TV in this new indie rock musical.
Familiar Faces: Taboo choreographer Mark Dendy is co-director and choreographer of Andru's Head, which also boasts three of that show's stars (Brooke Elliott, Denise Summerford and Alex Quiroga) in its company.
ANGRY YOUNG TEEN-AGE GIRL GANG
The Pitch: Billed as a "startling musical of juvenile delinquency," this pulpy L.A. export follows Didi on a path of destruction in a 1950s teen reform school.
Familiar Face: Cabaret star Klea Blackhurst, who made a name for herself performing her Ethel Merman tribute Everything the Traffic Will Allow, lends her talents as bad girl Itchy. More info!
BELIEVE IN ME…A BIGFOOT MUSICAL
The Pitch: Does Bigfoot really exist? Three lost souls hope to find out the truth at a bear ranch in northern California in this socially and politically conscious (and romantic!) new musical.
Familiar Face: The score is by Michael Holland, one half of the Mac Award-winning nightclub sensation Gashole and Jamie LaVerdiere of The Producers has one of the leads. More info!
LE COMEDIE DU BICYCLETTE
The Pitch: A musical comedy written by the Chicago group The Bicycle Men, Bicyclette tells of an American whose bicycle breaks down in a deceptively quaint French village. More info!
THE COSMIC CALAMITIES OF HENRY NOODLE
The Pitch: What's a fringe festival without a sci-fi musical? According to the official site, this one offers "exploding planets, homicidal Venutians, horny alien vixens and an accordion-toting hero named Henry."
Familiar Face: Insomniacs may recognize Ken Kleiber of the public access show That's Kentertainment in a variety of roles. More info!
DIE, DIE, DIANA: A MUSICAL
The Pitch: Who killed beloved Princess Diana of Wales? This musical comedy digs into the lives of the rich and powerful looking for answers into one of biggest tragedies of the 20th century. More info!
ELLEN CRAFT, A NEW OPERA
The Pitch: A new opera by performers Sherry Boone (who started in Marie Christine on Broadway and recently in First Lady Suite off) and Sean Jeremy Palmer (national tour of Martin Guerre) that tells the real-life story of a slave who escaped to freedom by disguising herself as a white slave owner.
Familiar Face: Donna Lynn Champlin, best known for her breakout work in Hollywood Arms on Broadway, stars as Mistress Craft. More info!
THE GATHERING ROOM
The Pitch: A family living away in isolation in a gatehouse of a cemetery with a collection of ghosts is forced reenter society in this "story of the living, the dead and those in between."
Familiar Faces: Broadway veteran cast members include Robin Lyon (A Chorus Line), Mark Bove (Chicago, The Life, Urban Cowboy) and young Anthony Colangelo, who played Young Guido in Nine opposite Antonio Banderas. More info!
GRANOLA! THE MUSICAL
The Pitch: This musical comedy spoof pits a group of carefree farmers (who live in a land where "the granola is so fresh you can eat it right off the vine" against an evil corporation. According to press materials, Granola! is "Better than Taboo… Better than The Boy from Oz… Not quite as good as Les Miz…" More info!
HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AND FIND TRUE LOVE IN 90 MINUTES
The Pitch: A tour guide at the United Nations suddenly develops the ability to read people's minds after an unfortunate incident with a barrage of Guatemalan melons, kicking off this contemporary musical comedy.
Familiar Faces: Lead Michael McEachran was seen on Broadway in Little Me, Nicole Ruth Snelson was the original Winnie Tate in the Annie Get Your Gun revival and Anika Larsen was unforgettable in off-Broadway's Zanna, Don't!. Want more familiarity? Stage regulars Trent Armand Kendall (Into the Woods, Bat Boy) and Robb Sapp (Johnny Guitar, Zanna, Don't!) co-star as "pretentious assholes." More info!
INFERTILITY, THE MUSICAL THAT'S HARD TO CONCEIVE
The Pitch: With songs like "I've Got Sperm In My Pocket and I'm Talkin' to Eileen" and "Mio Sperma Funzionna Nell'Abondanza," Infertility is set in a modern day infertility clinic where baby-hungry urbanities try to make little ones the unnatural way. More info!
JOHN WALKER: THE MUSICAL
The Pitch: A rock musical that dares to tell the story of John Walker, that creepy California kid that made international headlines in the wake of 9/11 when he was found fighting on the Taliban front lines in Afghanistan. More info!
JONESTOWN, THE MUSICAL
The Pitch: Speaking of musicals based on disturbing real-life events, Jonestown details the events that led up to the mass suicide of 914 in South America under the direction of cult leader Jim Jones.
Familiar Faces: Les Miz vet J. Mark McVey plays Jones, Jane Eyre Tony nominee Marla Schaffel co-stars as wife Marceline and Urban Cowboy hunk Matt Cavenaugh is also onboard as cult member Samuel Foreman. More info!
LOVE POLLUTION: A TEKNOPOPERA
The Pitch: I'll let them tell it: "A contemporary anarchist fable. A voluptuous fembot and her creators struggle to unite heart and mind in a pre-apocalyptic world of vapid pop consumerism." Okay… More info!
LULU: A NEW MUSICAL
The Pitch: A jazzy score tells the story of a young femme fatale's search for love in the burlesque underbelly of the early days of the film industry.
Familiar Faces: A lot. Broadway and FringeNYC regular Brooke Sunny Moriber (Parade, The Wild Party) plays the titular heroine. Also featured: Kevin Kern (Les Miserables, Finian's Rainbow), Daniel C. Levine (Mamma Mia!) and Bill E. Dietrich (Les Miserables, Jekyll & Hyde). More info!
MANKYNDE
The Pitch: An update of a 15th century hit among farmers and wool-makers of East Anglia, England, Mankynde promises a wickedly funny musical mix of Election 2004 and TV's Fear Factor.
Familiar Face: Andy Paris, who starred in The Laramie Project both off-Broadway and on HBO, is a member of the company. More info!
MARTHA & ME: A MUSICAL
The Pitch: This all-American musical satire doesn't tell the rise and fall of Martha Stewart, but rather of Thanksgiving dinner at the home of Betsey Parsait, a woman obsessed with the homemaking icon.
Familiar Faces: Jennifer Allen, who played roles like Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Grizabella in Cats on Broadway in the '90s, makes a return to the New York stage as Betsey. Other performers familiar to the Broadway stage include Edward Prostak, Kimberly Mahon, Larry Swansen and Eric Millegan, who is set to play Harold in Harold and Maude: The Musical later this season at Paper Mill. More info!
MIMI LE DUCK
The Pitch: With the urging of the ghost of Ernest Hemingway, duck painter Miriam Sanders leaves her married live in Idaho for a bohemian existence in Paris.
Familiar Faces: Playing Miriam is the fabulous Annie Golden, the most recognizable name in a cast of stage vets like Robert DuSold, Allen Fitzpatrick, Donald Grody, Louis Tucci and Kristine Zbornik. More info!
MOSSADEGH
The Pitch: A 45-minute rock concert/theater piece revolving around the C.I.A.'s 1953 coup that put the Shah of Iran in power of the formerly democratically-elected government. Written by New York-based actor and composer Michael Minn. More info!
THE PASSION OF GEORGE W. BUSH
The Pitch: It had to happen, no? Just in time for the Republican National Convention, a full-blown musical tribute to the commander in chief.
Familiar Faces: Colin Stokes of off-Broadway's I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change plays Bush and Thursday Farrar (Parade, Aida) takes on the juicy role of Condoleezza Rice. More info!
THE PSYCHIC HOUR
The Pitch: A wannabe psychic meets a skeptic (who's psychic) and the two get lost in the world of reality television. More info!
RINGS - A SPACE/ROCK MUSICAL
The Pitch: In the year 2050, rocker Les Vegas' career is drifting in space--literally. As he plays gigs on the outer planets, he has to deal with the fact that his ex-girlfriend Selene is the biggest star on Earth. What will happen when these star-crossed lovers are reunited?
Familiar Face: Cast member Shani Lynn Nielson was Miss Indiana 1996! More info!
SAVE THE GOONDOCKS!: A MUSICAL PARODY
The Pitch: A tribute to The Goonies, the 1985 Steven Spielberg-penned kiddie adventure flick that helped launch the careers of Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman and Martha Plimpton. More info!
THE SPICKNER SPIN
The Pitch: Can a good campaign manager get anyone elected into office? That's the challenge for Steven Spickner, who must prove a rival wrong by getting a bum off the street voted mayor of Center City.
Familiar Faces: Spickner is played by Patrick Wetzel, recently seen in the Los Angeles company of The Producers and on Broadway in shows like Thou Shalt Not and Annie Get Your Gun. More info!
SUBWAY TRAIN
The Pitch: A beat poetry musical inspired by the authors' tales of riding on the New York City subway system.
Familiar Faces: Among its fresh-scrubbed cast: Rent veterans Joshua Kobak and Scott Hunt. More info!
YOUNG ZOMBIES IN LOVE
The Pitch: Teen lovers Nick and Lu seem to have everything going for them as they prepare to graduate from Tombtown High. But what will happen when the town falls victim to a full-on zombie attack?! More info!
Good luck to all of the shows at FringeNYC 2004! That's it for now. Talk to you next week. Please e-mail me any of your questions, comments or critiques! Or let me know if you saw a really great FringeNYC show that you think I should check out!
Paul Wontorek
Editor-in-Chief
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