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Fringe Festival 2008
The Fringe Festival is going on until Sunday, August 24th. The festival's official site presents 26 pages of shows, a through z. My method of selecting shows is to start with with a full list, and then systematically remove categories that don't appeal to me (I don't like solo shows, musicals, Shakespeare, and a whole lot of others!). This results in a more managable list. The shows at the top are more compelling to me than those further down. Click here for venue information. Click here for the offical fringe festival website. And note that the festival has whole categories of shows that appeal to children and youth; check out the official site to view shows from those categories.
|
Title |
Synopsis |
Genre |
Duration |
Venue |
Schedule |
|
The Disappearance of Jonah |
Every year, 5,000 people go missing in New York City. Small-town golden boy Jonah Thompson disappeared two years ago. Against the backdrop of Manhattan and the scattered people Jonah once knew, his brother Finn sets out to find him. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 15m |
VENUE #10: The New School for Drama Theater |
Thu 14 @ 8 |
|
The Golden Aurora |
In this dark and modern fable, a Mid-Western town transforms into a taboo world of myth and legend. The Golden Aurora is the haunting and redemptive tale of a man who falls in love with a rare and beautiful dog. |
Drama |
1h 55m |
VENUE #15: Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street - The Bleecker Street Theatre |
Sat 16 @ NOON |
|
Maladjusted. Misappropriated. |
Take this job and shove it! A security guard bound to a chair; a primary school teacher held for interrogation. This dark and witty dual portrait by acclaimed Irish author/Editor of The Chancer makes its debut in this international collaboration. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 10m |
VENUE #2: The Schaeberle Studio Theatre |
Thu 14 @ 5:30 |
|
Mourn the Living Hector |
FringeNYC Award winners PL115 (2005 Overall Excellence) return to investigate wartime violence on the home-front, interweaving the Trojan hero's last day with the home-leave of an American Marine; a comedic tragedy about ambient violence, failed connections, and unexpected happy-endings. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 10m |
VENUE #18: CSV Cultural and Edu. Cntr. Flamboyan |
Thu 14 @ 9:45 |
|
A Nasty Story |
'I'm down with the downtrodden!' To prove just how hip and liberal he is, businessman and self-proclaimed champion of humankind Johnny Pralines crashes an impoverished employee's wedding party. Raucous Russian farce ensues. Based freely on the short story by Dostoevsky. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 15m |
VENUE #17: The Connelly Theater |
Wed 13 @ 5:30 |
|
the october crisis (to laura) |
1945. In a Havana nightclub, sultry torch singer Marguerite Stone launches her career. 1962, the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A mysterious telegram and too many whiskeys resurrect the past Marguerite had abandoned in order to sing. |
Drama |
2h 15m |
VENUE #12: The Players Theatre |
Thu 14 @ 6:45 |
|
The Permanent Night |
New York City. Blackout. Secrets and betrayals illuminate the flaws of a wealthy couple's seemingly perfect marriage, a first encounter sheds light on the scars of a young woman's past, and the night leaves an indelible mark on them all. |
Drama |
2h 10m |
VENUE #11: The Barrow Street Theatre |
Fri 15 @ 9:45 |
|
Pieces on the Board |
'Pieces on the Board' is a noir-action-mystery-thriller graphic novel come to life. A beautiful woman with a sinister secret approaches a stranger in a bar, and kick-starts a living chess game with high stakes: when you lose, you die. |
Drama |
2h 0m |
VENUE #17: The Connelly Theater |
Wed 13 @ 9:45 |
|
Psalms Of A Questionable Nature |
Descending the stairs into the basement, sisters become entrapped in their late parents disturbing hobby and realize they may not make it out of the basement alive. Toxic secrets threaten to infect the sisters relationship in this frightening and moving drama. |
Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #14: Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street - The Lafayette Street Theatre |
Sat 16 @ 1:45 |
|
Reasonable Doubt |
Two former jury members, Anna and Mitchell, reunite in a downtown hotelroom... Justice, truth, guilt, honour, courage and love are now on trial as they face the truth of each other for the first time, each revelation exposing something real. |
Drama |
1h 20m |
VENUE #9: The Studio at Cherry Lane |
Wed 20 @ 7:15 |
|
SPITE |
Five strangers. One inheritance. Infinite possibilities. People become pawns in a spiteful game of everyone for themselves in this serio-comedy. Witness how greed, self-worth, and morality govern who walks away with the loot! |
Drama Comedy |
1h 30m |
VENUE #8: The Cherry Lane Theatre |
Tue 12 @ 4:45 |
|
The Umbrella Plays |
Seven snapshot-sized plays of interlacing urban lives and the shared longing to keep out of the proverbial rain. In the search for sunny skies and shelter, sometimes an umbrella is not just an umbrella. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 30m |
VENUE #5: walkerspace |
Fri 15 @ 7:30 |
|
WALLS |
A couple wakes up and finds a WALL has split their house in half. The furniture, the bed, even the fish are severed in two. On the night of their anniversary, the confrontation begins and the secrets come out? |
Comedy Drama |
1h 20m |
VENUE #9: The Studio at Cherry Lane |
Tue 12 @ 6:15 |
|
Wildboy '74 |
Ethan Strong is a self-help guru who spent his childhood locked in a cage. Over a four-day conference in Delaware, Ethan and his assistant Elliott find themselves tied up in the lives of a missing girl and her vengeful sister. |
Drama |
2h 0m |
VENUE #5: walkerspace |
Wed 20 @ 4 |
|
Woodhull: A Play About the Woman Who Ran for President |
Woodhull tells the story of Victoria Woodhull, an outrageous and revolutionary former prostitute who--with a platform that included abolition of the death penalty, legalized prostitution, and free love--was the first woman to run for President in 1872. |
Drama |
2h 0m |
VENUE #1: The Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts |
Tue 12 @ 6:45 |
| The Alice Complex |
Who is in control? A feminist icon is held captive in her home by her student, Rebecca. Past, present, and future collide when two women of different generations create a Chinese box of inspiration and betrayal in this psychological thriller. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 15m |
VENUE #8: The Cherry Lane Theatre |
Tue 12 @ 7 |
| Anais Nin Goes to Hell |
Imagine an island in hell with Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, and Queen Victoria...waiting for their men. What happens when women's lib icon Anais Nin arrives to turn their afterlife upside down? 2007 First Prize Winner Boston Theatre Works Unbound Festival. |
Comedy Drama |
2h 20m |
VENUE #17: The Connelly Theater |
Sun 10 @ 9:30 |
| CLONE |
What if you were taken over by you? John clones himself to escape loneliness. John 2 meets Jennifer and falls in love. John wants a piece of the action. John 2 has a different idea. Actors alternate roles each performance. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 0m |
VENUE #12: The Players Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 3:15 |
| CONTROL |
Hold on to your remotes!! When vertically challenged and sexually confused Brady gets fired he's forced to move in with loudmouth college dropout Holly. Together they crash into a quarter-life crises leaving them susceptible to the manipulation of bizarrely accurate infomercials. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #9: The Studio at Cherry Lane |
Thu 14 @ 4:45 |
| The Darling Children |
After Peter Pan left for Neverland, his sisters weren't so lucky. When imagination intrudes on their lives, no one can predict what luck, or violence, might emerge. A surreal drama about being forced to leave 'never grow up' behind. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 10m |
VENUE #18: CSV Cultural and Edu. Cntr. Flamboyan |
Wed 13 @ 3:15 |
| Eggs and the Rebound Guy |
'...Bad dates, heartache, and broken condoms.' At thirty, Dru decides to have a baby and embarks on a comical quest for her true happiness. After meeting Terrence, she asks herself, do you really need a husband to have a baby? |
Drama Comedy |
2h 0m |
VENUE #18: CSV Cultural and Edu. Cntr. Flamboyan |
Wed 13 @ 7 |
| FOR REASONS UNKNOWN |
Bradley comes home and finds a present on his sofa. The gift? A big poo. What does he do? Or perhaps, what did he do? Inspired by a true story, this new whodunit comedy explores what happens when shit happens. |
Comedy |
1h 30m |
VENUE #11: The Barrow Street Theatre |
Tue 12 @ 7:45 |
| GALATEA |
Present-day New York, 'Galatea' weaves together a retired fireman and his wife, with a neurotic, obsessive sculptress. First impressions can be misleading. 'Galatea' is an insightful examination of relationships and commitment, with unexpected, postmodern twists on conventional wisdom. |
Drama |
1h 45m |
VENUE #11: The Barrow Street Theatre |
Sat 16 @ 4:15 |
| Good Pictures |
Good Pictures charts the course of one bloody night in an upstate town jail, where an ailing immigrant and a young hustler construct an uneasy alliance and a desperate escape plan. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 35m |
VENUE #9: The Studio at Cherry Lane |
Thu 14 @ 7 |
| Heaven Forbid(s)! |
Life's a bitch and then you die! The ultimate multi-cultural experience! Outcast souls-pimps, transgender, and others, convene in 'purgatory' to convince the man upstairs to let them in. 2007 Dallas/Fort Worth Critic's Award Winner for Outstanding New Play. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #6: The Jazz Gallery |
Mon 11 @ 3:45 |
| Other Bodies |
The creators of last year's FringeNYC Village Voice Audience Favorite Riding the Bull return with this seductive battle of the sexes between a notorious player and mysterious woman that deepens into a haunting parable of how our bodies betray us. |
Drama Comedy |
2h 25m |
VENUE #18: CSV Cultural and Edu. Cntr. Flamboyan |
Sat 16 @ 8:45 |
| Panopticon |
Trapped in a sinister prison known as the Panopticon, Patrick is stripped of his identity to become prisoner 67401. In his cell he is confronted by the demons of his past only to realize the true nature of his incarceration. |
Drama |
1h 5m |
VENUE #10: The New School for Drama Theater |
Wed 13 @ 9:45 |
| Secrets of Lamp Lit Blinds: Three One Acts by Jason Williamson |
Why did the preacher cross the road? To get to the fresh, feisty widow on the other side. This and other tales of death, redemption and voyeurism in 'Secrets of Lamplit Blinds'. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 30m |
VENUE #5: walkerspace |
Wed 13 @ 9:45 |
| SHOTS: A LOVE STORY |
HER, HER AGAIN, and HER ONCE MORE are beaten to a bloody pulp by HIM... repeatedly. Direct from two sold out runs in the Phoenix desert, SHOTS is an addictive, assaulting and humorous look into the psyche of the addict. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 15m |
VENUE #14: Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street - The Lafayette Street Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 5 |
| The 70% Club |
Can a woman find lasting love these days--- especially a black woman? Can two people stay together - ''til death do us part'? As one couple prepares to say 'I Do' and another couple separates, these issues are explored. |
Comedy Drama |
2h 0m |
VENUE #14: Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street - The Lafayette Street Theatre |
Thu 21 @ 4:45, Thu 21 @ 9:45, Fri 22 @ 9, Sat 23 @ 4:30, Sun 24 @ NOON |
| The Boy in the Basement |
This live action romance novel is the story of four co-eds whose lives change when they find a striking stranger trying to rob their house. Watch what happens when Lance Speedworth breaks into their home- and steals their hearts. |
Comedy |
1h 15m |
VENUE #7: The SoHo Playhouse |
Thu 14 @ 3:45 |
| Carl & |
With a little help from 80s sitcoms, poetry and hot glue, Carl and Shelly bonded for life. Then, the 'other woman' and ravenous roaches separated them. Will they remain Best Friends Forever? A one-act comedy about friendship, Alf and forgiveness. |
Comedy |
1h 10m |
VENUE #14: Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street - The Lafayette Street Theatre |
Tue 12 @ 3 |
| Fell |
Something's wrong with Jesse Metcalfe. His wife and kids know it -- even the family ghosts know it. But they don't know how to get him up off the kitchen floor...and why his white boss keeps popping up in their dreams... |
Drama Comedy |
1h 45m |
VENUE #10: The New School for Drama Theater |
Mon 11 @ 5:15 |
| A Gathering of Eagles |
Fighter pilot veterans of WW II, including former enemies, convene prior to the dedication of a controversial memorial for all deceased war pilots. They reveal why men fight, why men kill, why Hitler killed... A new world order or hell on earth? |
Drama |
2h 0m |
VENUE #17: The Connelly Theater |
Fri 15 @ 2:30 |
| George the Fourth |
When Diana brings home yet another fiance to seek her acerbic parents' approval, she doesn't anticipate quite so much honesty from all involved. A comedy this dark will make you wish you too had a coyote for a drinking buddy. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 54m |
VENUE #12: The Players Theatre |
Mon 11 @ 5 |
| Hidden Fees* |
Capitalist Moscow is booming, as two siblings struggle to read the fine print of their dreams. A new comedy that takes a closer look at the price of progress. Here's a hint: it's more expensive than you think. |
Comedy |
1h 45m |
VENUE #8: The Cherry Lane Theatre |
Tue 12 @ 9 |
| HOW TO FOLD A SHIRT |
When Tuesday falls in love with Tony who falls for Trevor who's boyfriend Troy just hung himself things get a little sticky! This balls to the wall comedy is about what happens when love and death get punched in the groin. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #7: The SoHo Playhouse |
Tue 12 @ 5:30 |
| I Love You Petty & |
She had the name of a football legend, he had Tom Petty tickets. It was a match made in heaven. For anyone that has loved, lost, persevered, or played air guitar: a heartwarming tale of life, family, football, and 'runnin' down a dream'. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 40m |
VENUE #11: The Barrow Street Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 3 |
| Keep Your Eyes Open |
Journey into the world of Winnifred - a tech savvy 10-year-old determined to navigate the wacky waters of an age run a-mock thanks to tabloid magazines, reality TV, Soulja Boy, Disney, sexist gym teachers, and...a history of unsung superwomen! |
Comedy Drama |
1h 5m |
VENUE #8: The Cherry Lane Theatre |
Wed 20 @ 6:45 |
| The Legislative Process |
Dexter is thrilled to be spending his junior year of high school as a congressional page. He discovers however that Capitol Hill is not so different from high school. For one thing, only the pretty boys seem to get ahead. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 30m |
VENUE #2: The Schaeberle Studio Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 9:15 |
| Mare Cognitum |
A country on the brink of war. A city wracked by ineffectual protests. An extraordinarily odd job interview. Faced with such perils, three young idealists do the only thing they can: fly to the Moon in a homemade rocketship. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #2: The Schaeberle Studio Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 7 |
| One Seat in the Shade |
Scott thinks Randall has a much younger lover. To save their twenty-seven year relationship, Scott pays their way to Spain. In their sweltering, dilapidated hotel they encounter Jeff, an abandoned, beautiful, American student who turns their world upside down. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 45m |
VENUE #7: The SoHo Playhouse |
Mon 11 @ 3 |
| The Pantyhose Grid |
A Lesbian English Professor teams up with an oversexed Religion Professor in order to examine a lost diary by Jane Austen. What they discover promises to reveal the hidden key to the mysteries of sexuality, gender, and the very structure of the Universe. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 0m |
VENUE #17: The Connelly Theater |
Tue 12 @ 3 |
| Paper Dolls |
NYC GOSSIP COLUMNIST CAUGHT IN SEX SCANDAL! Claire Cunningham loves to dish the dirt...until she gets dirty. With her movie star brother, conniving assistant, and a mysterious stranger, she's about to rock the pages of the New York tabloids. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 50m |
VENUE #12: The Players Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 7 |
| Parental Indiscretions |
Two brothers-one gay, one straight-discover their mother may not be, and their Aunt Pearl's prize winning petunia patch holds more than just the key to their past. It's a two actor, multi-character comedy. |
Comedy |
1h 30m |
VENUE #5: walkerspace |
Thu 21 @ 7 |
| Pawnshop Accordions |
'God leaves, but the devil is always here.' Opposite Port Authority, a cynical EMT, a mute accordionist, a sinister Albanian, and a prophetic schizophrenic struggle to protect one another. A hallucinatory drama of community and violence in New York's netherworld. |
Drama Comedy |
1h 30m |
VENUE #14: Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street - The Lafayette Street Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 7:15 |
| Prayer |
In a world of religious fundamentalism, Jacob Bergson finds himself wrongfully imprisoned. His only hope is Sophia, his strangely absent wife. Prayer will challenge your ideas about the nature of morality through one man's search for justice and redemption. |
Drama |
1h 45m |
VENUE #2: The Schaeberle Studio Theatre |
Tue 12 @ 4:45 |
| Sad Sad Sad |
Four men in Nevada steal a newly developed bomb to kill all the unborn children in the world. Two men from Purgatory are sent to assassinate God in exchange for another shot at living. Sad, Sad, Sad, explores necessary evils. |
Drama Comedy |
2h 0m |
VENUE #5: walkerspace |
Mon 11 @ 9 |
| A Sagacious Hunch |
Two NYC detectives, with a wire tap on a degenerate gambling car thief, must choose between arresting him and profiting from his football bets. Rita, the thief's wife, puts her own spin on the rules of 'tough love'. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #11: The Barrow Street Theatre |
Wed 13 @ 9:30 |
| Scratch |
Oh, go ahead and kill your kids. It's stimulating, gratifying, and a great way to get back at your unfaithful hubby. Scratch is a dark comedic adaptation of Medea. We're bringing the fun back into filicide. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #19: CSV Cultural and Edu. Cntr. Milagro |
Mon 11 @ 2:30 |
| Sennentuntschi |
My Fair Lady meets Silence of the Lambs. Based on a classic Swiss legend, three bored, lonely shepherds create a 'Sennentuntschi,' a female doll in their hut in the Swiss Alps, not knowing that she will come to life and seek revenge. |
Drama |
1h 30m |
VENUE #19: CSV Cultural and Edu. Cntr. Milagro |
Fri 15 @ 7:15 |
| time et. al.: a cautionary tale about love and time travel |
When William starts receiving letters from 1921, it's certain he's found his soulmate. But can two slightly unstable lovers find a rupture in the space-time continuum and their happily ever after? The paleo-futuristic dark comedy of the year! |
Comedy Drama |
2h 0m |
VENUE #17: The Connelly Theater |
Thu 14 @ 4:15 |
| Untitled Masterpiece |
Untitled Masterpiece is a fresh take on life after college graduation. Everyman Joe Meursault struggles to find himself through a barrage of changing scenes and rotating characters that try to reduce his life to a series of TV shows. |
Comedy Performance Art |
1h 0m |
VENUE #11: The Barrow Street Theatre |
Tue 12 @ 3:45 |
| WE ARE THE LAWMAKERS |
Friends and family in a comfortable middle class home are held hostage by three dinner guests. They are forced to enact a cruel political play called We Are the Lawmakers. |
Comedy Drama |
1h 15m |
VENUE #14: Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street - The Lafayette Street Theatre |
Thu 14 @ 5:45 |
| We Three |
Amory loses his grip on reality, as his loved ones lose their grip on Amory. A struggle for understanding and dignity in a changing world. What do we do with forgotten ones? or those we wish we could forget? |
Drama |
1h 10m |
VENUE #11: The Barrow Street Theatre |
Mon 11 @ 9:15 |