he Dysfuctional Guide to Perfection, Maritial Bliss, and Passionate Hot Romance
Never mind the rest of the festivals (the Fringe, the New York Musical Theatre, the Midtown Theatre) because the Frigid Fest has them all beat, if only because instead of spreading its shows out in tiny theatres you’ve never heard of, they utilize only three performance spaces.
Now in its third year, the 2009 Frigid Fest is the only festival in which the artists take home all of the box-office receipts, offering those truly on the fringe the chance to see their works performed at an affordable rate. And this year’s festival promises more off-beat and thought-provoking shows than ever before! Of the 30 shows premiering, here are the ones we’re most excited to check out.
Like the upcoming Lincoln Center musical Happiness, from the creators of Grey Gardens, Son of Man also features a disparate group of eight strangers meeting on a subway platform—except these eight are all dead and merely stuck in the rut of a daily commute. Likewise, Y looks at another member of the deceased: Marilyn Monroe, who unravels “truth, rumor and delusion” to investigate her own unsolved death. And the real life John Hefner plays himself, Hugh Hefner’s estranged cousin, in The Hefner Monologues, a one-man show about trying to make a name for yourself when someone else already has.
In the more experimental department comes Jet of Blood or the Ball of Glass, by Antonin Artaud, in which actors, painters, musicians, choreographers, puppeteers and designers collaborate for a truly revolutionary show about the collision of love, loss, sex, religion and violence on the edge of the apocalypse. End of the Trail also examines the approach of the apocalypse, as two old friends play a board game called “The End of the Trail,” the sole object of which is to not die alone.
Luckily, not all of the Frigid Shows are quite as dark. How Does a Drug Deal Become a Decent 3rd Date looks at one woman and her awful relationship choices, wondering where all the good guys are and why she keeps attracting so many creeps. And The Dysfunctional Guide to Home Perfection, Marital Bliss and Passionate Hot Romance weaves together vintage and original writings to create a hilarious guide to becoming the perfect housewife or househusband.
Two one-man shows also promise a little magic with their stage illusion. Rory Raven’s Brainstorming! stars Raven, neither a magician nor a mind-reader, but someone who uses “his knowledge of the inner workings of the psyche to lead a tour through the world of the mind and its powers, real and imagined, revealing thoughts and bending minds.” Now, and at the Hour, meanwhile, features critically acclaimed magician Christian Cagle as he brings magic, mind reading, storytelling and theater into one interactive “slightly creepy” experience.
If experimental theater away from the mainstream gets you hot, then The Frigid Festival is clearly the place for you to be this winter.
The Frigid Festival. Feb. 25–Mar. 8. For a complete list of the shows in the festival, as well as tickets and more information, visit www.frigidnewyork.info.
Now in its third year, the 2009 Frigid Fest is the only festival in which the artists take home all of the box-office receipts, offering those truly on the fringe the chance to see their works performed at an affordable rate. And this year’s festival promises more off-beat and thought-provoking shows than ever before! Of the 30 shows premiering, here are the ones we’re most excited to check out.
Like the upcoming Lincoln Center musical Happiness, from the creators of Grey Gardens, Son of Man also features a disparate group of eight strangers meeting on a subway platform—except these eight are all dead and merely stuck in the rut of a daily commute. Likewise, Y looks at another member of the deceased: Marilyn Monroe, who unravels “truth, rumor and delusion” to investigate her own unsolved death. And the real life John Hefner plays himself, Hugh Hefner’s estranged cousin, in The Hefner Monologues, a one-man show about trying to make a name for yourself when someone else already has.
In the more experimental department comes Jet of Blood or the Ball of Glass, by Antonin Artaud, in which actors, painters, musicians, choreographers, puppeteers and designers collaborate for a truly revolutionary show about the collision of love, loss, sex, religion and violence on the edge of the apocalypse. End of the Trail also examines the approach of the apocalypse, as two old friends play a board game called “The End of the Trail,” the sole object of which is to not die alone.
Luckily, not all of the Frigid Shows are quite as dark. How Does a Drug Deal Become a Decent 3rd Date looks at one woman and her awful relationship choices, wondering where all the good guys are and why she keeps attracting so many creeps. And The Dysfunctional Guide to Home Perfection, Marital Bliss and Passionate Hot Romance weaves together vintage and original writings to create a hilarious guide to becoming the perfect housewife or househusband.
Two one-man shows also promise a little magic with their stage illusion. Rory Raven’s Brainstorming! stars Raven, neither a magician nor a mind-reader, but someone who uses “his knowledge of the inner workings of the psyche to lead a tour through the world of the mind and its powers, real and imagined, revealing thoughts and bending minds.” Now, and at the Hour, meanwhile, features critically acclaimed magician Christian Cagle as he brings magic, mind reading, storytelling and theater into one interactive “slightly creepy” experience.
If experimental theater away from the mainstream gets you hot, then The Frigid Festival is clearly the place for you to be this winter.
The Frigid Festival. Feb. 25–Mar. 8. For a complete list of the shows in the festival, as well as tickets and more information, visit www.frigidnewyork.info.
