Since its inception 17 years ago, the New York International Fringe Festival – or FringeNYC – has always done more with less. And so it was with FringeNYC’s press conference, which doubled as their version of “the preview.” Therefore, anyone lucky enough to be welcomed into La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theater yesterday was treated to a sampling of 9 shows in just 1 hour. Selections were from Save the Date, Old Familiar Faces, Kinematik, Sheeple, Someone to Belong To, Rubble, The Rufus Equation, Gertrude Stein Saints!, and Breaking Kayfabe - an impressive array of high-caliber material and excellent performances. Afterwards, cast and creative team members stuck around to greet the press - a welcome opportunity to delve deeper, get the back-stories and big picture overview.

 

Now – lest anyone think FringeNYC trotted out their strongest productions for the press - according to Spin Cycle’s Ron Lasko, there’s a lot more where these shows came from! He explained that these 9 shows were some of the most visual of this year’s Fringe because the press conference tends to be a photo op more than a chance for critical analysis. And visual feast it was - with Kinematik being an unforgettable display of choreography, lighting and costume design to make an powerful point --- but I’ll let fellow theater critic, Alice Klughertz, tell you about that one in her coverage. There were strong stories as well. Save The Date promises a compelling look into our recent past --- but I’ll defer to fellow reviewer, Jervelle Frederick, to fill you in via his report. My responsibilities lie with Someone To Belong To, Old Familiar Faces and Rubble. 

 

At first glance, Someone To Belong To is Mad Men with a score. But not so fast! Yes, it’s 1963. And yes, our world is that of ad men (and women.) But this is not the story of an existential hero with an unconscious death wish and a back-story that echoes the theme of artifice. Rather this appears to be a sweet and tender love story with a back-story about its creation that’s a love story unto itself. Katherine Henly (Lois), Graham Keen (Kenny) and David Paul Kidder (Reed) sang, danced and performed with a touch of playfulness that gave the number its electricity. The choreography was elegant – with hints of the period that didn’t overwhelm. And the music was as beautiful as the aforementioned back-story – all of it written by the playwright’s father, David DeNoon, who passed away 8 years ago and whose dream it was to be a composer and share his music. A year ago, after Christine DeNoon discovered his songbook, she and her friend, Lorie Steele, wrote the story of the show around her father’s music. In fact, the lead character, Davis, is loosely based on her Dad, who was a Creative Director at Y&R, “the original Don Draper,” says Christine. She adds, “I wish he could be here to see it. I’m trying to make his dream come true for him.” Christine – I think you did it!

 

Deemed a “hilarious look at TV, theater, Heaven and Hell -- from one who's been there,” Rubble - by Emmy-winning Simpsons writer Mike Reiss - follows Alvin, an aging comedy writer with one last shot at a network meeting, which (I believe) is interrupted by an earthquake. Alvin survives, but is trapped under the rubble. There, immobilized by debris – Alvin is visited by key figures from his life - past and present. Alvin is played with understated terror and an army of defenses - mainly his vitriolic sense of humor - by the wonderful Bruce Vilanch, a successful Emmy-winning comedy writer in his own right, and the actor who played Edna Turnblad on tour and on Broadway in Hairspray. At the press conference, we were treated to his opening scene with Amy Wilson, who plays The Network Executive to perfection. Their repartee is really funny! But although A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life end happily, I’m not so sure Rubble will. Alvin has much to escape – the rubble, the debris of his life (which also has immobilized him) and most worrisome of all - Mike Reiss’s rapier wit and ability to cut to the truth of things. “Mike, who has been snarking up The Simpsons for 25 years, has taken that sensibility and applied it to his own life,” Bruce reminds us, “I love the play because I know these people… when this (setback) happens, you have to run or you have to attack the Beast.” Well, we all know what Mike did…

 

Old Familiar Faces by two-time NY Innovative Theatre Award-winner Nat Cassidy promises to be a work of tremendous intelligence and a big pay-off. In the opening scene, performed at the press conference, interwoven lines from Shakespeare’s masterpieces ushered in an exchange between brother and sister in shifting stages of consciousness – dreams, ghosts and life in its fleshiest incarnation – blood. Nat explains, “The Shakespeare verse “kind of spring(s) up the way songs might in a musical… when the characters can’t express what they want to express, they go into the a scene from the canon and express through that.” It was intriguing, ominous even, but also somehow lush with its period costume, masterful performances and stylized language. Cassidy based his play on the brother-and-sister writing team Charles and Mary Lamb, who interweaved the words of Shakespeare with their own. Mary also suffered from mental illness including a very dark incident, which I won’t go into in case it proves to be a spoiler. Nat is one of New York City's rising playwrights, with numerous productions and awards, critical acclaim, and a reputation for producing intelligent, darkly comic plays with one foot in horror and the other in literary allusion. Based purely on this evocative opening scene, Cassidy’s work brings to mind the “Stranger Than Fiction” complex interwoven narratives of Tom Stoppard, Dennis Potter and Charlie Kaufman – in other words, the guy’s got IQ! But he also has heart. There was great tenderness in the exchanges between Tandy Cronyn (Mary Lamb) and Sam Tsoutsouvas (Charles Lamb) and from the little I saw, Shakespeare is in good hands with James Patrick Nelson (Oliver) and Marianne Miller (Lee).

 

All said, the press conference went off without a hitch (17 years in, these people know what they’re doing!) and despite the DYI charm, there was just enough buzz – the flash of cameras, NY1’s Frank DiLella swooping in for the scoop – to remind us that many a super-star was born at the Fringe. Ask Fringe alumni Bradley Cooper, Morgan Spurlock and Mindy Kaling or the producers of Urinetown and Debbie Does Dallas. This year’s FringeNYC will be featuring 200 companies from all over the world in 1200 performances at more than 20 venues – performing for only 16 days. As always, expect to see more originality, more energy and more talent produced in less time with fewer resources for less money. And that includes your ticket price - $15 for tickets purchased in advance, $18 at the door! Don’t miss New York’s theater gem - the New York International Fringe Festival.

 

FringeNYC will celebrate its 17th Anniversary August 9th - 25th, 2013. Advance ticket sales, can be purchasd here: fringenyc.org/index.php/shows/buying-tickets