This Page Was Most Recently Updated: Sunday, July 22nd 2007
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
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Has it really been 10 years?
From relatively humble beginnings, the New York International Fringe Festival has grown to become a major force in New York theatre...and an absolutely wonderful event for anyone who loves vibrant live shows.
And this year's 10th Anniversary made for another memorable year.
The largest multi-arts festival in North America, this 10th annual FringeNYC offered more than 200 productions running from August 11th through August 27th. The festival's shows played simultaneously in 21 Lower Manhattan venues, totaling over 1,300 performances; and they reportedly attracted more than 75,000 people.
Why get excited about the Fringe? Because unlike so many commercial productions tailored to inoffensively appeal to mass audiences, Fringe shows tend to be quirky, individual, and passionate. Thanks to the efforts of Producing Artistic Director Elena K. Holy, Administrative Director Shelley Burch, and the other wonderful Fringe staffers and volunteers, the festival virtually shimmers with fresh artistic approaches, a wide range of voices and styles, high energy, and delightful surprises.
While Fringe productions are both low-budget and inexpensive to see ($15 per ticket—and even less if you buy in bulk), the best of them are as fine and memorable as the priciest play. And they're likely to take you to places that no show in midtown ever will. (This was epitomized by a teen visiting the Fringe a few years ago who told wealthy parents trying to lure her uptown, "But I don't want to see a show on Broadway. I want to see something cool.")
There's also more to the Fringe experience than what's being offered on stage. The festival gives you the opportunity to enjoy the people it attracts—which includes some of the most enthusiastic theatre-goers in New York. Talk to people standing in line, chat with the venue directors and volunteers, engage with the hundreds of artists handing out cards to plug their shows—and try to be open to everyone. You may well make some lifelong friends.
Of course, the untamed nature of Fringe shows means they're not for every taste...and in some cases, not for any taste. One of the most exciting aspects of the Fringe is that it positively encourages productions to take huge risks—which inevitably results in some jaw-dropping failures.
A memorable example is a late-night Fringe play I attended with a composer and an actress a couple of years ago. Although the show lasted only an hour, it felt like days...and as soon as we left the theatre, the actress muttered her opinion dazedly in one succinct phrase: "I wanted to kill myself." She repeated this assessment—"I wanted to kill myself"—over and over for the next two blocks, until we finally managed to calm her down. And this production wasn't even the worst at that year's festival...I personally witnessed three others even more mind-wrecking.
On some level, there's a perverse thrill in seeing a show so bad that you can't believe your eyes. But more to the point, falling prey to one of these dark beasts makes you more fully appreciate the productions that are truly great—that accept the Fringe's challenge to take huge risks with brilliance and actually succeed beyond all expectations.
It's the latter that make the festival most worthwhile. And there's a real joy to hunting for these treasures, finding them...and thoroughly enjoying them.
Starting August 11th, the hunt was on...
I've developed a habit of catching lots of FringeNYC shows—75 in 2002, 77 in 2003, 66 in 2004, and 58 in 2005. This year, I saw 65 FringeNYC shows from beginning to end (plus a number of shows left midstream), including most of the ones generally agreed to be the best of the festival—e.g., all 15 of the Encore Series productions.
Of course, there are a number of other sources of reviews besides this Web site. For example, you can typically find smart coverage of FringeNYC via The New York Times, which can be read online at www.nytimes.com.
In addition, there's a comprehensive collection of FringeNYC reviews available via nytheatre.com. Spearheaded by the site's founder, Martin Denton, this is an invaluable resource for learning about every single Fringe production. The only downside is that nytheatre.com employed a squad of 70 people to cover all the shows, which can make it hard to get a fix on the tastes of any one reviewer and figure out whether they jibe with your own.
If you read what follows, though, you'll quickly get a sense of my tastes, which is likely to help you in judging my comments about any particular show. (For example, if you discover that you love everything I dislike and can't stand everything I recommend, that still means I'll be providing you with helpful guidance—simply believe the opposite of everything I say...)
Hope you find this site useful; and hope to see you at next year's FringeNYC.
Best,
Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
Script Analysis Web: HyOnYourScript.com
Book Proposal Web: BookProposal.net
Workshop Web: www.NYScreenwriters.org
Arts Web: www.HyReviews.com
The very best show of FringeNYC 2006 was Tuesdays & Sundays. Over the course of reviewing hundreds of FringeNYC productions, I've previously given only Dog Sees God (which went on to become a star-studded off-Broadway play) **** out of four. This year, however, Tuesdays & Sundays has become the second FringeNYC show to nab a perfect rating. Here's hoping there's a producer smart enough to match this gem of a 45-minute play with one or two other superb shorts for the sake of creating a NYC commercial run.
Tuesdays & Sundays was one of this year's Alumni shows, i.e., 10 productions that previously played at FringeNYC and have been brought back in celebration of the festival's 10th Anniversary. Here's the full list of Alumni shows, along with the years they were first performed at FringeNYC and brief descriptions:
24 Is 10: The Best Of The 24 Hour Plays: 1997; 25 of the best shorts crafted during the past decade (performed over the course of five shows) via a program that forces writers, directors, actors, and other production members to create & perform a play from scratch in 24 hours.
Americana Absurdum: 1997; two one-act comedies that satirize society via quick visual cuts and rapid-fire dialogue.
The Bicycle Men: 2004; one of the most beloved shows in festival history, featuring very fun silly songs & characters.
The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett: 2000; clever & hilarious group of Beckett parodies.
Minimum Wage: Blue Code Ringo: 2002; terrific a cappella group parodying a McDonald's Hamburger U course.
Never Swim Alone: 1999; sharp Daniel MacIvor play co-starring superb actress and FringeNYC icon Susan Louise O'Connor.
Pith!: 2004; a one-joke gimmick stretched out to 85 minutes, in which the lead actor takes on a small army of whacky characters but fails to create any emotionally compelling stories. Why this production was selected to be an Alumni show is a mystery.
The Pumpkin Pie Show: La Petite Mortes: 1997; smart format, great band, and talented cast, but disappointing (new) material.
Todd Robbins' Carnival Knowledge: 2000; both lecture on and delightful demonstration of a once-thriving American tradition.
Tuesdays & Sundays: 2003; a two-person short play that's the best show of this year's festival.
Of my list of top 10 shows of the festival, seven of them ended up being Alumni shows. That makes me feel FringeNYC would be wise to follow a similar process every year, by actively seeking out and inviting a dozen or so productions that have already demonstrated their worth—not necessarily at previous FringeNYCs, but at other festivals and/or other non-NYC venues.
As for the new productions at this year's FringeNYC, my top picks are The Fartiste and Girl Scouts of America. With some adjustments, these shows are both strong candidates for healthy NYC commercial runs.
Some of the most memorable moments at this year's festival were unplanned ones. To learn how a mime almost killed an audience member, please read my review of Billy the Mime; and to discover how a vehicular theft led to triumphant performances, please read my review of Romancing The Terrorist: Tajiki Nights.
There was also a notable accident at the musical A Time To Be Born (which I caught only parts of and so didn't review). A large street lamp prop was placed on stage to create a romantic atmosphere; but while a man and woman sang flirtatiously to each other, the very heavy lamp suddenly swayed and toppled over, creating a loud crash that had many in the audience jumping in their seats. A prop woman rushed out and pulled the lamp upright again, but its top portion had been semi-decapitated and hung flaccidly. The singing actress had her back turned so didn't see what happened right away; but shortly afterwards the script had her walking towards the lamp. As she turned and did so, she spotted the now-limp lamp...and inadvertently giggled. She then adorably stifled the laugh and carried on with the scene; but it was a cherished moment.
On other fronts, I'm delighted to report that Micah Bucey is out of the hospital, and is looking terrific. It will probably take until early 2007 before Micah is sufficiently recovered to go on stage again, but the worst of the illness is now well behind him. Everyone who knows & loves Micah wishes him a speedy and complete recovery. For more info on Micah, and on his canceled FringeNYC show Fitz & Walloughs Get It In The End!, please click here.
For a list of the 65 FringeNYC 2006 shows I saw from beginning to end, rated and ranked in rough order of preference, please click here.
For a list of all the FringeNYC 2006 shows that sold out one or more performances via advance sales, please click here.
For a list of all the FringeNYC 2006 shows that were canceled, please click here.
The following are the 65 FringeNYC 2006 shows I've seen from beginning to end, rated on a 4-star scale and listed in rough order of personal preference. To read the review of any show, simply click the title.
Tuesdays & Sundays ****
The Fartiste ***½
Never Swim Alone ***½
Todd Robbins' Carnival Knowledge ***½
The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett ***½
The Bicycle Men ***
Minimum Wage: Blue Code Ringo ***
Billy the Mime ***
If You See Something, Say Something ***
Broken Hands ***
The Day The Universe Came Closer ***
Happy Sauce ***
24 Is 10: The Best Of The 24 Hour Plays (8/27/06 Show) ***
24 Is 10: The Best Of The 24 Hour Plays (8/26/06 Show) ***
Danny Boy ***
Thought Prints—Starring Torkova, The Postal Prestidigitator ***
Women and the Trojan Horse ***
24 Is 10: The Best Of The 24 Hour Plays (8/22/06 Show) *** (Note: For background
on the 24 Is 10 series, read this review first.)
I Was Tom Cruise **½
Grace **½
24 Is 10: The Best Of The 24 Hour Plays (8/24/06 Show) **½
Billy The Mountain And Other American Card Tricks **½
Walmartopia **½
The Deepest Play Ever: The Catharsis of Pathos **½
I Want To Be Musashi: A Clown Samurai Fantasy **½
Open House **½
Chess **½
How 2 Men Got On In The World **½
Red Herring **½
Vote McOwskey! **½
The Prostitute of Reverie Valley **½
Dis/Appearing **½
Diving Normal **½
Lulu **½
Hermanas **½
Band Geeks: A Halftime Musical **½
Only a Lad **½
In Transit **½
The Blue Martini **½
Romancing The Terrorist: Tajiki Nights **½
The Pumpkin Pie Show: La Petite Mortes **½
House **½
Perfect Harmony **½
Full House **½
Blue Balls: In & Out Of Uniform With The NYPD **½
58!: A Comedy About Bike Messengessengering **
Sunday Night Live: On Tour! **
Reviews of all 65 of these shows follow on the next two Web pages. To read them, please click a title above; or click for Reviews 1-33 or Reviews 34-65.
Please click the links below to jump directly to what you're after:
Shows That Sold Out Performances
Other Sites:
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
