New York City Fringe is not new to me. My mother has been a lover of Off and Off-Off Broadway theater my entire life, and even before I really knew what Fringe was I knew that between March and May I saw a lot of really great (and often really weird) theater, and I came to really look forward to it. This was the first time I’d been back in NYC for any length of time since I was eighteen, spending the first three weeks of April rushing between shows at NYC Fringe made me feel as at home as a bagel from Huston’s does.

I saw ten shows between April 1st and April 19th this year, and I’ve written micro reviews of each of them that we’ll get to later, but what I was really interested in how Fringe happens. NYC Fringe is a lottery-based festival, meaning that any eligible application has an equal chance of being selected. Something that makes this festival special is that all productions both have full ownership of their work and receive 100% of their box office, which is rare.

But, as someone with a hands-on look at making independent theater in NYC through my work with the St. Jean’s Players, what I was most interested in was what the creatives behind NYC Fringe thought of their space in the New York theater-making ecosystem. When I emailed with the artistic directors Jimmy Lovett and Martha Lorena Preve, they said that they “offer an accessible platform for artists at all stages of their careers, from emerging and long established. We are part of the infrastructure that keeps indie theater alive in New York.” As theater-makers, they said that part of what “drives us right now is the urgency to create space especially for voices that are often overlooked or under-resourced [...] right now it also feels like a necessary act of resistance.”

And that I really like. I like seeing theater-making as praxis. A lot of the shows I saw did feel like that, and it was inspiring to sit in the room and be a part of people making things. It was nice sitting outside of the theaters and talking to people who were making things. Not everyone was an actor, but everyone was someone devoted to whatever they were doing. They were curious people. New York City Fringe reminded me that I have to be a curious person too. So I often bribed people into talking to me by offering them a pink starburst from my purse and then I got to listen. And then I saw a show. And it was a great three weeks.

The Last Audition

Written & Performed by Paul Shearman

Wed April 1 at 7:40pm Streaming 60 min

An actor enters a space for his final audition. The role, of course, is Lear. Paul Sherman stuns with the Shakespeare woven throughout the piece. He passes on tons of amazing advice he’s received throughout his life! One of my favorite anecdotes is,”You pretend that I am Lear and I pretend that I believe you. In between is where the truth sneaks in.” And as an academic the show appealed to me greatly, but I wonder if sometimes his lengthy forays into the bard might seem a bit inaccessible? He had so many things to say about other people’s thoughts on Shakespeare, but what of some of his own? The plot was interesting, is there an audition today? What of his daughter? How bad is his memory? But I found myself wanting more of it. It’s an interesting story that deserves to shine, and shine as brightly as Shakespeare does in the work. I am certain it’s capable of it.

Our Price to Pay

Written by Frances Smith - New York, NY

Thu April 2 at 6:30pm Streaming 60 min

Our Price to Pay poses an interesting question: Which is worse? Republicans or Zombies? The answer it offers is also interesting: can sapphic love make it all possible to endure? The writing in this show is so naturalistic and unforced. The main two leads Gail Teirneey and Avaana Harvey have tangible chemistry that holds down the heart of the plot; especially as supernatural (and frighteningly un-supernatural) horrors try to force them apart. Credit also must be given to the fight choreography, done expertly by Brian Cecala. It was brutal to watch, often gross and endlessly creative. The Theater Under Saint Marks Place is a small space but at no point felt cramped, even as tables flew. This ended up being a real standout for me because of its creative use of the space and nuanced relationships.

Crosswords

Written by AJ Rose - Providence, RI

Fri April 3 at 6pm Streaming 60 min

When long married couple Val and Gene hear about a cryptograph in the paper after a string of murders, they suddenly decide they will have to be the ones to solve it. This is a tight muder mystery, but it’s the heart of Gene and Val’s relationship that will keep you guessing till the very end. There is a lot of truth in Val’s line early in the show “I refuse to believe he would put so much effort into something that wouldn’t be understood.” It’s about the killer’s cipher, but it also was a real crack into Gene and Val. Why do we put in effort if not for others? What happens when that effort goes away? Do we stop wanting to be understood? As the play unfolds, I wish there had been a little more narrative balance between Val and Gene. He does something bad, but he also can never be right after a certain point, and I think it did a disservice to the character and Beck Baranti who was playing him to perfection. And though there are implied high-stakes consequences of his actions, the only ones we see are between him and Val. I think if he was meant to be villainized as much as the show does, I would have loved to see the stakes get higher for him as well.

Stations of Life

Written by Trinidad Alcorta, Directed by Cecilia Wisky

Presented by Cambalache Theatre Co. - New York, NY

Sat April 4 at 3:40pm Streaming 50 min

From the illustrations of London to Argentina, Paris to New York, we follow two lovers throughout their lives. And they are doomed. I knew they were doomed the second they were getting married in New York on a whim, and still I didn’t care. I was so invested in them, the characters are magnetic. In a captivating scene, as one character speaks almost exclusively in Spanish (a language I don’t speak) and the other answers in English, we watch a marriage fall apart. It was one of the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen on stage. I was completely enthralled. Laura (Carmen Ezcurra) and Thomas (Theo Hamm) have electric chemistry onstage. Through all of their trials, you never doubt for a second their love for each other. It was marvelous to watch. This was my personal favorite show of NYC Fringe.

A “Confessional” of A Recovering Catholic: The Musical

Written & Performed by Julie McNamara - New York, NY

Sat April 4 at 5:20pm Streaming 50 min

I’ll admit I may not have been the target audience for this show. I am quite happily a United Methodist, and I saw this on Holy Saturday. Julie is a recovering Catholic, who went to Catholic school, in Catholic Boston. Who didn’t seem to know that “Mass” doesn’t happen on Good Friday. It’s actually the only day of the year where, and forgive me as I am but a Methodist, where there is no consecration of the communion and therefore transubstantiation does not occur, which is a requirement of a Catholic mass. Or so the former monk I referred to for this article explained to me. This mistake did seem to sort of sum up the entire experience for me theologically. ie: Poorly explained and more interested in grudge holding than a conversion about God. On a more practical level, I appreciated Julie’s sheer enthusiasm for her work. The show does seem to be a healing experience and I could see true relief in her eyes as she “broke-up” with God. Her story seemed to resonate with a lot of people in the crowd, inciting much laughter, if not from me.

Echoes of My Silence

Written & Performed Azadeh Kangarani - Salinas, CA

Tue April 7 at 7:40pm

I wasn’t sold on Echoes of My Silence at first. I sat in the theater expecting... something different, maybe something queer-er, something funnier, I thought the female pilot would have more to do with it I think. And then Azadeh did something better and braver than I was expecting--she changed my mind. I couldn’t get on board with her shit-talking the pilot, then I couldn’t get on board with the way she talked about the painting. I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal that she was silent in her judgments, I didn’t think she was right, so I didn’t think it mattered. It did. The story went on. The cruelty she described got younger, it got more explicit. She drew on herself, and I thought, oh God--I’m sorry! She described near kisses without any anticipation, and I thought, I’ve been there too. The show unfolded itself, and the actions that I had dismissed at the beginning, I then saw in a different light. Azadeh is an incredible performer, and this piece is incredibly tight. The sound cues, the choreography, the mirrors, are all incredibly polished. The only thing I think this show needs is perhaps a bigger trigger warning for graphic depictions of sexual assault. It’s a powerful show, but it is about more than a female pilot, and a better show description might help audiences prepare for what they are walking into.

Book Club

Written by Francesca Bolam

Presented by Nice Enough Productions - Brooklyn, NY

Thu April 9 at 6pm

Sitting in the audience of Book Club felt more like eavesdropping than it did watching a play. The crowd was very enthusiastic, and the show was very captivating, but I’m not entirely sure what it was saying at the end of it. The characters are five brilliant-ish women who each had their own goals, motivations, and secrets coming into the book club. And while they are each interesting in that regard, I think the show lacks in their relationship to one another. Rachel, Zoe, and Claire obviously have history (I believe they’ve known each other since college?) But I can’t fathom how they know Yaz and Debbie. Maybe one of them one on one, but all of them? And they are all close friends? They act like it, but I don’t know how they got there, and I think there is a very interesting story in those dynamics. All this being said, the audience, and I, were captivated through the story that was being told. I hardly wrote anything in my notebook because it would have required taking my eyes off the stage and missing all the minor interactions these characters have with each other. The acting was spectacular. If you like spending an evening eavesdropping on other people’s drama, and then spending two days thinking about it after, this show is definitely for you.

Miracle of the Star

Written by Makie & Jerel Armstrong

Presented by The World Voice Ensemble - Bronx, NY

Fri April 10 at 6pm

This show reminds us that we have to follow our dreams. It does so, over and over again, and while one reminder that following our dreams is nice, when it’s done in a song that refuses to end over a backing track that is drowning out the actors, for the fifth or sixth time, it gets just a bit overwrought. I will say that our younger characters Hiro played by Misuzu Hirano and Mike played by Ethan Mathais were the standout of this cast for me. They took sometimes unnatural dialogue and played it very authentically. Hirano especially has a lovely voice when singing with her older self in (what I believe was) Cantonese at the end of the show. I do believe this production believes that it should be “true to yourself” and at the end of the day, who am I to judge them doing that? Everyone onstage clearly believes in this production and really gave it their all.

Slut Liturgy

Written & Performed by Hope Brannon - Chicago, IL

Directed by Max Kantor

Sat April 11 at 12:20pm

Slut Liturgy often comes across like two kids trying to convince us, the audience, to let them have a sleepover. That’s not a bad thing, but that is the vibe. It’s charming and funny and more sad than it wants you to think. Hope reminds me of myself, we both have bipolar one, and her descriptions of mania are almost too romantic. She makes herself and her life seem chaotic and crazy... but in a bad way. Right? Hope does a great job articulating how fun they feel. My heart ached alongside hers as she lusted for substances and women, and then I saw how far she has to come in therapy, still indulging in delusions. I’ve been in the same sort of Intensive Outpatient Programs, I know that part of the process is realizing that Mania is bad, and that doesn’t seem to be a place that Hope is at yet. This piece resonated with me so deeply and also made me worried. For Hope, for her friends, for the people in the audience that got one very interesting side of what Bipolar looks like, and not the side where people are able to heal. That’s not the story Hope is telling though, and I don’t fault her for it. It’s not as entertaining! From a production standpoint, the costumes were numerous and impressive. Hope’s altar boy was adorable. Hope’s therapist was commanding and calm. The graphics were funny and the video hilarious. I want to see a play about the taking of the dancing nun video. I really enjoyed this production and it touched my heart.

New York City Fringe is a festival that ran from Wednesday April 1st through Sunday April 19th in five venues: UNDER St Marks and Wild Project; the Chain Mainstage and Studio and The Rat NYC.

I attended these performances on a press pass from Emily Owens PR.

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And I can’t dance. I can’t, but I spent my childhood sitting against mirrors watching classes, I know the vocabulary and I count to eight easier than ten. Dance is a language I understand and appreciate, but cannot speak.

I turned to theater, where they did not require me to tendu, and studied Shakespeare mostly. Which was fine, but not what I turned to when I was required to feel something; for my higher academic work, I turned back to musical theater, and Pippin. When I wrote my undergraduate thesis I argued that: When we revive a show, we say:

This is important for other people to know, it’s important for them to know now, and something will be lost if we don’t do this show. If we do not preserve these shows, we risk losing them altogether.

I compared the original 1972 production to the 2013 revival to prove it.

Gotta Dance! at Stage 42 is a testament to that notion. Instead of preaching a new message, it preserves some of the best and most important choreography in our musical theater canon. It is an active celebration of the American Dance Machine for the 21st Century’s mission statement and a beautiful live display of their Reconstructed Works catalog.

Of course, I think my absolute favorite piece in the show was “All I Need Is the Girl” from Gypsy. I saw Drew Minard at the Sunday matinee I attended; I actually went to high school at the same time as Drew, though I could almost guarantee he doesn’t remember me. I remember him though, and his intense and somehow effortless talent I watched from the audience in high school was recognizable as soon as he stepped on stage in the opening number. As Tulsa, I realized that that talent has matured; lines are longer and edges softened. His acting was naturalistic and believable, but heightened enough to maintain the Golden Age energy of the material. It was very nuanced. “All I Need Is The Girl” is my favorite song in Gypsy because of that nuance from Tulsa. He needs to be intense and ambitious, but also gentle and kind. You have to both be Fred Astaire, and a gangly sixteen-ish year old kid. Drew balanced it effortlessly, as he has for years in my memory.

I have a memory of sitting on the floor of my father’s photo studio and looking up at a black and white photo of a woman in a white fringe dress full of movement. It wasn’t until “Teach Me How to Shimmy” from Smokey Joe’s Cafe that I realized that was both a real memory and from a show. Sitting in the theater brought me back to doing kindergarten homework, looking up at a stunning woman in an exciting dress. The energy between the performers was electric, the dress capturing every moment. It’s sexy and makes you shiver, or better yet, shimmy in your seat. Shout out to the sultry and delicious “Love Potion #9” that directly precedes this number, the potion was tasty and works.

And in a show about dance, and ostensibly, dancers A Chorus Line had to come up eventually. And of course it had to be Jessica Lee Goldyn. Goldyn played Cassie in the revival of A Chorus Line in 2008, and I know this for two reasons. One, because it was in the program. And two, because it said so under her name on the Alumni Spotlight bulletin board outside the main office at PPAS. Jessica Lee was my successful imaginary friend for seven years, and it was an honor to see her actually do what I read about her doing everyday.

And, God, did she.

You can tell this is a role Jessica has been mastering for over a decade. She embodies the choreography. I almost want to say it looks comfortable, but that’s not quite true, there is no laziness in the way that she moves, it is entirely controlled. But in comparison to the way she sings, when Jessisica starts to dance she is entirely free. The song is one long build up to the moment where tension snaps, and Jessica Lee Goldyn is allowed to dance. She is a dancer, and she dances.

Gotta Dance! presents itself almost simply. No plot, good dancers, old favorites, fun. It doesn’t ask a lot from its audience. But under its film of joviality, it also allows us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. It allows us to bear witness to our history as artists, to stop for a moment and appreciate some amazing things that our community has created, both historically and on the stage in front of us. Gotta Dance!—in that respect—is nothing short of reverent.

Gotta Dance! is playing at The Theater at Stage 42, and I attended the show on Sunday April 12th at 3pm.

I attended this performance on a press pass from Keith Sherman & Associates.

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This is Seeing is Believing.

I consider myself primarily a theater history publication; memoir is big part, critique is a smaller part then I anticipated, but theater history is my passion. It’s what my degree is in!

I believe that art, like history, is built like a skyscraper; you have to start at the bottom before you go up. Even as the floors below start to look outdated and antique, demolishing them would cause the building to crumble. So we have to re-examine them, maybe renovate them, and see what we can learn from the skilled builders of the past. Revivals are an opportunity to reinterpret and contextualize those lower floors.

But, current theater is the opportunity for the application of that history. And what is the point of learning and studying history if we aren’t using what we’ve learned?

Seeing is Believing is my answer to that question. I aim to challenge myself by stepping out of my comfort zone and engaging with more modern works. I will try to focus on shows that engage directly with theater history (shows like Gotta Dance! Coming out on Saturday) or festivals that have something to say about the place of theater in NYC (like NYC Fringe which will be coming out on Sunday!)

I can’t wait for you to come along with me on this journey!

See you tomorrow!

Ava

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