August 8 - 14, 2013
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A flurry of activity, at FringeNYC Continued from page 21 TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA: A SWASHBUCKING COMEDY Queens-based director and choreographer Michael Hagins took the text from one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, filled in some missing plot holes and then added swordfights, crazy chase scenes and random violence — while, he says, managing to keep the integrity of the language and the theme of love having the power to conquer all. “Two Gentlemen” is part of the FringeHIGH program, which means it’s highly recommended for teens. After the August 24 performance, there will be a Talk-Back at which you can discuss the show with members of the cast and/or creative team. At CSV Flamboyan (107 Suffolk St., btw. Rivington & Delancey Sts.). Sun., 8/11 at 5:30pm, Mon., 8/12 at 2pm, Thurs., 8/22 at 7pm & Sat., 8/24 at 2:15pm. ANTONY & CLEOPATRA: INFINITE LIVES First seen at the 2001 FringeNYC with their beautifully titled collection of one-acts (“Burt Reynolds Amazing Napalm Powered Oven”), the film and theater company known as The Porch Room returns with co-founder John Dowgin directing this politically charged adaptation — in which an Egyptian expat’s loyalties are divided between her activist fiancée (an American director working on a commissioned Shakespeare production) and her brother (an Egyptian nationalist recently arrived in America, having fled the violence of Tahrir Square). At The Lynn Redgrave Theater (45 Bleecker St., btw. Bleecker & Lafayette Sts.). Sat., 8/10 at noon, Sun., 8/11 at 2pm, Fri., 8/16 at 9:30pm, Sun., 8/18 at 4:45pm & Sun., 8/25 at noon. THE NIGHTMARE ‘DREAM’ Rest assured, there will be blood. “No ruffled neck is safe,” the producers promise, in this hemoglobin-heavy, slash-and-suck mashup of “Dracula” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that plays Bram Stoker’s melodrama for laughs and puts a slasher film spin on Shakespeare’s puckish tale of the wrong people falling in love. Despite the assured carnage and “sexy vampires galore,” the Bloody Shakespeare creative team asserts their production will do very little long-term moral or psychological damage to theatergoers 13 and up. As for the 12 and under set… stay home or wear garlic (and earplugs)! At The Theater at the 14th Street Y (344 E. 14th St., at First Ave.). Sun., 8/11 at 6pm, Mon., 8/12 at 9:30pm, Thurs., 8/15 at 9:30pm, Fri., 8/16 at 3:45pm & Sun., 8/18 at 4:15pm.
Photo by Edward Elder
Slings, bards and arrows: Danny Ashkenasi and Bob Homeyer play all the parts, in “The Accidental Hamlet.”
FringeNYC THEME #2: GO, PLAYS IN THE SNOW
Bring a sweater or dress in layers — because in addition to each Fringe venue’s promise of air conditioning, these three plays will chill you to the bone. Each offers a different spin on how cabin fever forces us to confront our true selves BLIZZARD '67 Four carpooling businessmen lost in the horrific 1967 Chicago blizzard happen upon a stranded car, and then must choose between assisting a stranger or saving themselves. That plot reads like an ill-advised, high-concept Hollywood pitch (“You’re gonna love it, Cecil — It’s “Mad Men” meets “Glengarry Glen Ross” meets “Survivor!”). Not to worry. Rave reviews from the windy city production of “Blizzard '67” indicate that playwright Jon Steinhagen has brought exceptional depth to this study of morality and alpha male dynamics. As it starts to really come down out there, ruthlessly competitive rivals Lanfield, Henkin, Emery and Bell head to the burbs instead of riding out the storm in a companysponsored hotel room. They should have stayed put. Soon stranded by whiteout conditions, the close quarters — plus simmering
tension from a revelation that shakes up the pecking order — sets in motion a series of character-defining actions whose effects will linger long after the spring thaw. At Robert Moss Theater at 440 Studios (440 Lafayette St., third floor, btw. Astor Place & E. Fourth St.). Tues., 8/13 at 2pm, Thurs., 8/15 at 8:30pm, Sat., 8/17 at 2:30pm, Tues., 8/20 at 8:45pm & Sat., 8/24 at 4:15pm.
TRACK TWELVE Brooklyn’s own Emily Comisar, who edits the New York Burger Club blog and co-created the alternately droll and outrageous therapy parody web series “Group,” came up with the idea for her latest play while waiting out the 2009 blizzard inside Washington
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