| Midtown International Theatre Festival Serves Up Eclectic Fun Fare |
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| Written by Administrator | |
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The Midtown International Theatre Festival showcases a broad spectrum of Off-Off Broadway from a romantic comedy musical about vampires to a one-woman show about the Columbine massacre. Something for everyone in this diverse and talented group of shows July 16 to August 5 Beginning on July 16th and running through August 5th, MITF8 will take place at the MainStage and Jewel Box spaces at the WorkShop Theater, located at 312 West 36th Street (on the 4th floor), the Where Eagles Dare Theatre, located at 347 West 36th Street (also between 8th & 9th Avenues) on the ground floor, and Stage Left Studio, located at 348 West 37th Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues), on the 5th floor. "It's always exciting when we prepare for the Festival," noted MITF executive producer John Chatterton. "We always have a wide-ranging and eclectic line-up to pick from. We naturally hope each of them will strike a chord with the audience, and each year more than a few do just that." Inaugurated in 2000, the Midtown International Theatre Festival was created to offer an opportunity for productions and performances that might otherwise not be seen by as broad an audience as possible. Since its inception, the MITF has presented over 300 different works. The lineup for the 2007 Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF8) is as follows): MainStage Space WorkShop Theater 312 West 36th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues) Fourth Floor Bloody Lies (comedy/thriller) by Greg Machlin directed by Samantha Shechtman presented by Purple Pillow Thief Productions In the spirit of Charles Ludlam and Joss Whedon comes the ultimate Dracula-meets-Monty-Python play: Bloody Lies. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll bleed from the neck! Fresh from the hit production at the University of Iowa: A young man named Clem travels to a mysterious Eastern European country to save his family's house from the clutches of his evil landlady. While there, he and his best friend Barney meet the menacing Count and his beautiful daughter Nina. Nina and Clem are smitten with one another, but Nina is strangely pale, doesn't like the sun, and certainly seems to enjoy biting Clem's neck. But then Clem discovers then Count's plans to take over America and turn everyone into blood slaves. And that's when things really get cooking! Can Clem find love with a beautiful vampire? Can he stop the evil Count? Find out in Bloody Lies! Show Times for Bloody Lies are as follows: Monday, July 16th at 8:30pm Sunday, July 29th at 11:30am Saturday, July 21st at 4:45pm Sunday, August 5th at 3:30pm Sunday, July 22nd at 7:30pm The Executioner written by Jon Kern directed by Pedro Salazar Cross over into a world saturated in the red hues of death, love and cherry pie in The Executioner, a new play that combines dark humor and violence to interrogate the meaning of justice in America. Set in Texas, the story centers on a young waitress, Barbara Ann Quartermain, and her kung fu- obsessed brother Cort, as they take revenge on those in the state penal system who executed their mother. The local sheriff is hot on their trail, but can she overcome her attraction for Barbara Ann, or will she turn away from the law and follow her aching heart? A contemporary noir in the Coen Brothers tradition, The Executioner features a live band and original music and was created by recent graduates of Columbia University's MFA theatre program. Show times for The Executioner are as follows: Tuesday, July 17th at 8:30pm Tuesday, July 24th at 6:30pm Friday, July 20th at 7:30pm Sunday, July 29th at 3:30pm Saturday, July 21st at 8:45pm Saturday, August 4th at 9:45pm Exhibit This! - The Museum Comediesby Luigi Jannuzzidirected by Elizabeth Rothan Produced by The Metropolitan Theatre Company (Jannuzzi/Rothan) www.LuigiJannuzzi.com The Metropolitan Museum of Art has come to life! This is a fast-paced series of comedic plays and monologues based on more than 40+ different works of art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What happens when paintings, sculpture, antiquities, drawing, and fertility gods, emerge from their molds, frames, and cases? Mix in artists, guards, critics, lovers, curators and one very special night, and you have "Exhibit This: The Museum Comedies." The play has won 4 Samuel French Finalist Awards, an OOBR award, the 2006 Perry Award for Best Original Production in New Jersey Theatre. The playwright has six plays published by Samuel French Inc. Show times for Exhibit This: The Museum Comedies are as follows: Friday, July 20th at 9:30pm Tuesday, July 24th at 8:30pm Sunday, July 22nd at 1:30 pm Saturday, July 28th at 1:00pm Monday, July 23rd at 8:30pm Saturday, August 4th at 7:45pm The House of Blue Leaveswritten by John Guarepresented by Metzler Productions A zookeeper/nightclub pianist struggles to improve his lot in life despite his hypochondriac wife, insistent mistress, homicidal son, absent best friend (he's famous too!) and a gaggle of nuns. The clock is ticking and their opportunities to be rich, famous, and successful - or at least geographically near to those enjoying such fortune - are slowly expiring. Against the backdrop of an overseas war, one apartment in Queens becomes, briefly, the battleground for an entire empire. Show times for The House of Blue Leaves are as follows: Thursday, July 19th at 6:00pm Saturday, July 28th at 7:15pm Sunday, July 22nd at 11:00am Monday, July 30th at 8:00pm Friday, July 27th at 7:00pm Sunday, August 5th at 9:30pm Patriot ActsA world premiere by Marshall Jones IIIdirected by Rico Rosetti produced by Emerge Theater Company www.EmergeTheater.org A pair of short comedies that examine the civil liberties of Americans in the post-9/11 world of today. The first work is a series of vignettes that follow the zany adventures of two federal agents vigorously enforcing provisions of the Patriot Act. The second one-act looks at a pair of NYC roommates who become entangled in a farcical case of "identity fraud" that leads to an eventful undertaking of vaudevillian proportions. Show times for Patriot Acts are as follows: Saturday, July 21st at 6:45pm Sunday, July 29th at 1:30pm Sunday, July 22nd at 3:30pm Monday, July 30th at 6:00pm Saturday, July 28th at 11:00am Friday, August 3rd at 6:15pm Secrets Women Sharepresented by Dancing With The Moon Productionswritten by Meri Wallace directed by Leah Bonvissuto www.meriwallace.com Secrets Women Share is a series of intimate and unexpected encounters, depicting six situations (in such places as the ladies' room, the hair salon and the mammography waiting room) in which women confront each other and themselves, and celebrate the innate bond they share: their strength and their unique ability to be intimate. Show times for Secrets Women Share are as follows: Monday, July 16th at 6:45pm Friday, August 3rd at 8:15pm Saturday, July 21st at 11:00am Saturday, August 4th at 1:30pm Sunday, July 29th at 7:45pm Sunday, August 5th at 5:30pm Sons of Molly Maguirewritten by John Kearnsdirected by Candace O'Neil Cihocki Presented by Boann Books and Media LLC In the coal mining towns of Pennsylvania circa 1869, first-generation Irish American Jack Kilbride, dismayed at the brutal working conditions and the corrupt mine bosses (who usually had the local law and the courts in their back pockets) joins a secret society known as the Molly Maguires: a group who made their point via intimidation, violence, arson, and murder. However, those in power would not sit still for these methods for long, and schemes are hatched to destroy the society via the power of the yellow press and, more insidiously, by a betrayal from within. Inspired by actual events still remembered today, Sons of Molly Maguire looks at a time when life was cheap and rights were for the privileged only. (June 21, 2007 marks the 130th anniversary of the Molly Maguire hangings.) Show times for Sons of Molly Maguire are as follows: Tuesday, July 17 at 6:30pm Sunday, July 23rd at 6:30pm Friday, July 20th at 5:30pm Saturday, July 28th at 3:00pm Saturday, July 21st at 12:45pm Saturday, August 4th at 3:15pm Stray Dog Hearts written by Padraic O'Reilly directed by: Jennifer Gelfer produced by Kimberly Bailey / Velocity Theatre Company www.velocitytheatre.org "Glengarry Glen Ross meets Ab Fab!" When a mysterious dwarf crashes the office of a failing art book publisher, what unfolds is an irreverent black comedy with hothouse intensity and whip-smart humor. Stray Dog Hearts skewers the art world, corporate culture and the search for the perfect mate. Brianna's pregnant, Brodsky's nostalgic, and Lila's a firecracker who's always "in her cups". When the three of them are confronted with an interloping well-dressed dwarf on the day that they are handed over to their new parent company, the hostile takeover is the least hostile thing that happens that day. Show times for Stray Dog Hearts are as follows: Wednesday, July 18th at 6:30pm Wednesday, August 1st at 10:30pm Saturday, July 21st at 2:45pm Thursday, August 2nd at 8:30pm Wednesday, July 25th at 10:30pm Friday, August 3rd at 10:00pm Thursday, July 26th at 6:30pm Saturday, August 4th at 11:30am Saturday, July 28th at 9:45pm - SOLD OUT!! Sunday, August 5th at 1:30pm The Street (musical comedy) libretto by Ronnie Cohen (with support from Jane Beale) music/lyrics by Ronnie Cohen director/choreographer: Heidi Lauren Duke musical director: Daniel Cataneo Killer Dames take on Wall Street! Stock shorts, long odds, undercover moles and a misanthropic metrosexual all collide on America's "Street of Dreams". It's a wild ride as we take on the big g uns of Wall Street... only to run head-on into accounting improprieties and business shenanigans. Show Times for The Street are as follows: Wednesday, July 25th at 6:00pm Wednesday, August 1st at 6:00pm Friday, July 27th at 4:30pm Saturday, August 4th at 5:15pm Tuesday, July 31st at 8:15pm Sunday, August 5th at 11:00am Take Me America book and lyrics by Bill Nabel music by Bob Christianson directed by Gregg Wiggans produced by Double Play Connections, LLC and Meredith Lucio www.takemeamerica.com Take Me America is a new musical about asylum in America, inspired by the P.O.V. documentary "Well-Founded Fear." Follow nine refugees in their quest for asylum in the U.S. and the three INS agents who decide their fate. Do they stay or do they go? How would you decide? Get it wrong and you might as well sentence them to death....or worse. Inspired by true stories from the asylum process, these are stories of life and death. They are real, sometimes humorous, but always compelling. Show times for Take Me America are as follows: Monday, July 16th at 10:30pm Thursday, July 26th at 4:30pm Thursday, July 19th at 10:45pm Monday, July 30th at 10:30pm Sunday, July 22nd at 9:30pm Friday, August 3rd at 4:15pm To The Contrary written by Craig Jacobs directed by: James Valletti presented by Jonathan Tessero The story of Bernice "Bernie" Phillips, a savvy, successful New York City photographer who, in a moment completely against character, falls in love with Michael, one of her most inexplicably attractive subjects. With him and her best friend, the aging-and ageless-soap opera star Leslie, at her side, Bernice explores the ins, outs, ups, and ultimate downs of life, love, and sex. With the writer's eye targeted toward imbuing the play with elements completely "contrary" to the norm, this work demonstrates that love is not always all you need. Show Times for To The Contrary are as follows: Tuesday, July 17th at 10:30pm Sunday, July 29th at 9:30pm Sunday, July 22nd at 5:30pm Tuesday, July 31st at 10:30pm Tuesday, July 24th at 10:30pm Thursday, August 2nd at 11:00pm Twist book & lyrics Gila Sand music by Paul Leschen additional music by Gila Sand & Garrit Guadan directed by Gila Sand www.themusicaltwist.com A pop-rock musical based on "Oliver Twist," with a Drama Desk 2007-nominated score. By turns outrageous, provocative, and emotionally riveting, Twist weaves Victorian erotica, dark comedy and gender-bending into Dickens's famous tale as it re-imagines Oliver as an attractive young man, still searching for love, but driven by physical desire. Whether submitting to punishment at the Workhouse, or succumbing to the charms of a flirtatious Artful Dodger, Twist is always begging for more. Set in London's late 1800s, Twist's journeys land him in underworld household of prostitutes and pickpockets, ruled over by Fagin, a stunning male dominatrix with a nasty temper. A unique retelling of a classic, Twist entertains with exquisite drag, arch wit, a bit of kink and a catchy set of new contemporary songs. Yet the show remains surprisingly true to Oliver Twist, a coming-of-age tale of loneliness, craving, adventure, and finally, redemption. First performed in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in the fall of 2006, the show went on to New York workshops at the Kraine Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Source. For the MITF production, the author and composers have added new material, expanding on a score that has already been called "instantly memorable". Show times for Twist are as follows: Thursday, July 26th at 10:30pm Sunday, July 29th at 5:30pm Friday, July 27th at 9:30pm Tuesday, July 31st at 6:00pm Saturday, July 28th at 5:00pm Sunday, August 5th at 7:15pm Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? written by George Axelrod directed by Holly-Anne Ruggiero produced by Wildcat Theatricals A new production of the rarely-produced Broadway smash about sex, stardom, and the silver screen. A novice reporter gets more than he bargained for when he interviews silver screen sex goddess Rita Marlowe in this devilishly funny satire by George Axelrod (author of the play "The Seven Year Itch" and the screenplays "Bus Stop", Breakfast at Tiffany's", and "The Manchurian Candidate".) Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? was originally produced on Broadway in 1955, where it ran for 444 performances. The original Broadway cast included Orson Bean, Jayne Mansfield, and Walter Matthau. Show times for Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? are as follows: Wednesday, July 18th at 8:30pm Thursday, July 26th at 8:30pm Thursday, July 19th at 8:30pm Wednesday, August 1st at 8:30pm Wednesday, July 25th at 8:30pm Thursday, August 2nd at 6:30pm Jewel Box Space WorkShop Theater 312 West 36th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues) Fourth Floor As Long a Time as a Long Time is in Long Time Land written by Todd Pate directed by Barbara Suter produced by Broken Blade Theatre Company www.aslongatime.com Two men are trapped in a single cell. One believes that amnesia will set him free as the other goes to the depths of pain to remember everything beyond the locked door. Which man holds the key to their freedom? Show times for As Long a Time as a Long Time is in Long Time Land are as follows: Saturday, July 21st at 4:30pm Saturday, July 28th at 11:00am Monday, July 23rd at 8:00pm Wednesday, August 1st at 6:00pm Tuesday, July 24th at 9:30pm Saturday, August 4th at 5:30pm DupleX (suspense thriller) written by Scott Brooks directed by Sam Viverito presented by Badlands Theatre Companys There's no doubt that we live in greedy times, and it is no accident that Scott Brooks' new play is set in a Manhattan apartment for rent. The American dream of working hard and getting rich somewhere along the line has gotten abbreviated to just the "getting rich" part. But "found money" rarely has no strings attached. Nick, a young man just "passing through" the real estate business by renting luxury apartments, one night decides to "crash" in a furnished duplex he's been showing. There he meets a mysterious woman who seems to have gotten the same idea. Before they have a chance to compare notes, they witness the brutal murder of a diamond salesman who somehow let himself right into the apartment. While the smart thing to do would be to call the police, the two strangers become complicit in the deed after greed drives them to hide the body and keep the diamonds for themselves. Soon, Nick finds himself in a game of nerves with grifters, killers and cops, where his dream of easy money becomes a prayer to stay alive. Brooks' last work, "Bag Fulla Money", also directed by Viverito, and also looking at the theme of getting something for nothing, (albeit as a farce) was presented at the Clurman Theatre on New York's Theatre Row this past January. Show times for DupleX are as follows: Monday, July 16th at 6:00pm Tuesday, July 31st at 9:30pm Saturday, July 21st at 9:00pm Thursday, August 2nd at 9:45pm Sunday, July 29th at 2:45pm Saturday, August 4th at 1:00pm Five By Three written by Nicole Greevy, Uma Incrocci, & Erica Jensen directed by Nicole Greevy & Erica Jensen presented by Numerical Productions Learn how to breakup with a friend, move without packing, bite your friend's face and hide from zombies in these five short plays by three funny women. |
