Tickets are now on sale for the 18th annual New York International Fringe Festival. It is the largest multi-arts festival in North America and will take place August 8-24 in more than 20 venues across the city. With shows from over 200 companies appearing at FringeNYC, the entire program guide is intimidating. Here, we suggest a few shows that are relevant to what we care about at City Atlas: New York and its future.
The Flood, written and directed by Daniel McCabe, focuses on four friends gathered in an East Village apartment as Hurricane Sandy rages outside. The play is set on the night of Con Ed explosion, but there’s a dangerous storm inside the apartment too. The weather sets off an emotional tempest for the friends. In this work, “modern female strength collides with classic male stoicism in a city that insists upon both.” Tickets here.
The HVAC Plays (Or, Adventures in Living Without Basic Necessities, Like Heat and Air Conditioning), written by Laura Pittenger, features “6 exasperated city-dwellers. 3 crappy apartments. 1 absentee landlord.” This work explores what happens when there is no central air, and might be good to see if you want to think about what New York will be like when it’s even hotter. According to this show, when hot and cold collide it leads to outrageous acts. Attend to “discover the temperature of the human condition”! Tickets here.
Skyline, a musical by Maureen FitzGerald, is set in 1962 when urban renewal threatens Manhattan. Historic, stunning Pennsylvania Station is going to be demolished. In this new work, the “the architect Paul Silver struggles to save both the doomed landmark, and his own soul.” This show’s subject remains relevant as New Yorkers continually fight to preserve and define the culture and landmarks of their city. Tickets here.
In Dust Can’t Kill Me, an original folk musical written by Elliah Heifetz and Abigail Carney, a prophet visits a ragtag group of migrants with a promise to deliver them into paradise. Propelled by drought and desperation, two sisters, two brothers, a folk singer, and a gun-toting outlaw set off into the desert in search of this promised land. Set during the Dust Bowl, the show also serves as a fable of environmental destruction, and could offer a lesson or two on how to limit it today. Tickets here.
In Teddy’s Doll House, written by Kathleen Kaan, it’s 1985 and Alphabet City is changing. The beauty salon owned by Teddy’s family is struggling to make it. This look at past changes to New York, which Teddy confronts with his own look back, might provide a blueprint for crafting the future we want for our city. Tickets here.