LGBTQ Highlights @ The New York International Fringe Festival

After a one-year hiatus to re-envision New York City's largest live performance festival, The New York International Fringe Festival returns for a 21st season beginning October 3, 2018.

The festival will offer 101 fully staged theater and dance productions at 17 venues. This year, the festival will offer shows in Brooklyn and Queens for the first time. There is even an immersive show that comes to your home and podplays for the Staten Island Ferry and the L, #7 and N subway lines. A complete list of shows, schedules, and prices is now available at www.FringeNYC.org

The LGBTQ highlights of the 2018 Festival include:

Almelem
Gideon Productions
Writer: Sean Williams / Director: Jordana Williams
ALMELEM is a biblical backstager, set in the first century C.E., about a small group of con artists and true disciples fumbling toward the greatest story ever told. From the team behind FringeNYC hits Viral, Hail Satan and Fleet Week.
The Brick Theater (579 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn)
SAT 13 @ 7:00, SUN 14 @ 2:00, MON 15 @ 7:00, THU 18 @ 7:00, FRI 19 @ 7:00, SAT 20 @ 7:00, SUN 21 @ 2:00, THU 25 @ 7:00, FRI 26 @ 7:00, SAT 27 @ 7:00

Among the Furies
Writer/ Director: David Scala
At a sweltering South Carolina McMansion, two couples clash over cocktails, class, and the cost of letting your past catch up to you. Add enough liquor to turn any night into a Greek tragedy - and stir, darling.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
WED 17 @ 9:15, SUN 21 @ 3:30, WED 24 @ 4:45, THU 25 @ 4:45, SAT 27 @ 7:00

Broken English, Mother Tongue
minnerican productions
Writer: Javier Morillo / Director: Beliza Torres-Narv�ez.
Funny, poignant stories of growing up on Army bases and in Puerto Rico. Since Hurricane Maria, Americans have learned a lot about that island-perfect fine to see a show where, between stories, the audience is quizzed on its knowledge of Puerto Rico!
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
SUN 14 @ 2:00, THU 18 @ 6:00, SUN 21 @ 2:30, THU 25 @ 8:15, SAT 27 @ 8:15

Cracks
Writer: Jacob Marx Rice / Director: Anna Strasser.
Nicole is trying to unboil an egg. Kat is trying to stop Global Warming. When romance sparks between the two, Nicole must confront the explosive ending of her last relationship.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
FRI 19 @ 7:00, SAT 20 @ 3:00, SUN 21 @ 7:15, WED 24 @ 5:00, FRI 26 @ 9:00

Devices of Torture
The Skeleton Rep
Writer: Caroline Bennett / Director: Ria T. DiLullo.
Four dominatrixes navigate their daily work, life, and relationships in the days following the 2016 election. Love isn't the only thing that hurts.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
SAT 13 @ 8:45, MON 15 @ 9:45, SAT 20 @ 6:30, SUN 21 @ 5:30, MON 22 @ 9:00

The Existence Formula
The Juice Factory (UK)
Writer: Sarah Rickman and devised by the company. / Director: Or Benezra-Segal.
A dark comedic commentary on the unstoppable pace of life and the chaos of existence. Two unborn twins engage in a philosophical debate moments before birth. Years later, three strangers collide seconds before death. And in-between? Life somehow happens.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
MON 22 @ 5:00, TUE 23 @ 9:15, WED 24 @ 7:00, SAT 27 @ 9:15, SUN 28 @ NOON

The F#*%ing Wright Brothers
Writer: David Zellnik, Music by Eric Svejcar / Director: Abigail Zealey Bess
An exuberant, raunchy backstage comedy about non-equity actors on a 58-city van tour of a kid's musical. Showmances! Cocaine! Talking Animals! What is the road to success in an America the Wright Brothers would never recognize?
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
TUE 16 @ 7:00, FRI 19 @ 7:30, SAT 20 @ 9:30, SUN 21 @ 1:00, TUE 23 @ 9:30

From A Distance
S&S Theatricals
Writer: Keren Abreu
Swipe right on Keren Abreu's sincere and infectious song cycle about relationships in the digital age and what it means to stay connected with your loved ones from a distance!
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
FRI 12 @ 9:15, SUN 14 @ 4:45, THU 18 @ 7:15, MON 22 @ 7:15, FRI 26 @ 8:45

I Favor My Daddy
redBrick Agency
Writer: Jamie Brickhouse
Jamie's octogenarian father is a ribald Catholic conservative accepting of his son's homosexuality and arrested alcoholism. Is Jamie the full-blown version of his Daddy - all the things Daddy was, but didn't quite become: alcoholic, writer, gay?
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
FRI 12 @ 7:00, TUE 16 @ 7:45, SAT 20 @ 2:30, THU 25 @ 6:30, SAT 27 @ 2:45

Jackie and Johnny and the Whoracle Named Daphne
Not the Normal Productions, in collaboration with Dry with a Twist Theatrics
Writer: Kevin P. Joyce
In this zippy, zany, and campy new comedy, a con man, a drag queen, and a hooker set up a psychic salon to get out of trouble with the mob. An irreverent and introspective romp about life, loss, and crabs.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
FRI 12 @ 8:00, SUN 14 @ 9:00, THU 25 @ 9:00, SAT 27 @ 6:30, SUN 28 @ 6:00

James Franco and Me: An Unauthorized Satire
Epic Theatre Company
Writer/Director: Kevin Broccoli
Kevin is sitting in a hospital waiting room as his father slowly dies. Very slowly. Sitting with Kevin is James Franco. Yes - that James Franco. The two spend a long evening discussing culture, mortality, and Franco.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
TUE 23 @ 9:30, WED 24 @ 7:00, THU 25 @ 4:30, SAT 27 @ 7:00, SUN 28 @ 2:45

Late Night at the Serpent
Writer: Ally Sass / Director: Elizabeth Callahan
Set in an adult video store in New Hampshire, this new drama explores the male code, sexual identity, and the secrets revealed during a chance encounter between two former high school friends.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
SUN 21 @ 8:15, MON 22 @ 7:30, THU 25 @ 7:30, SAT 27 @ 9:30, SUN 28 @ 2:30

Latter Gay Saint
Writer: Craig Mangum / Director: Michelle Walson Kuykendall
Moth Grand Slam Winner Craig Mangum is on a mission to spread the gospel of self-acceptance in this hilarious, heartbreaking, inspiring story of a hopelessly gay Mormon's transformation from Elder to Queen.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
SAT 13 @ 9:00, MON 15 @ 7:00, SAT 20 @ 5:00, TUE 23 @ 6:30, SAT 27 @ 9:00

Mary V
Writer: Rebekah Carrow with help from William Shakespeare
As the Henry V cast rehearses, Mary V and her band of sisters arrive to stake their claim to the stage. But what are the consequences of power? Is leadership inherently masculine? Is violence? A timely investigation. With swordplay.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
FRI 12 @ 4:45, MON 15 @ 2:30, TUE 16 @ 7:15, FRI 19 @ 7:15, SUN 28 @ 11:45 AM

The Public and Private Deaths of Carol O'Grady
Writer: Frank Murdocco / Director: Jessica DiPaola, Lindsey Smith, Frank Murdocco
Carol O'Grady is found brutally murdered in her home on Christmas Eve. What follows are those around her desperately trying to make sense of their lives and their world in this heartbreaking, hilarious, and wildly vulgar solo show.
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (161-04 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica)
THU 18 @ 7:00, FRI 19 @ 8:00, SAT 20 @ 8:00

Salome
M-34
Writer: Oscar Wilde (trans. James Rutherford) / Director: James Rutherford / Choreographer: Jess Goldschmidt
A cloud cuts across the face of the moon. A woman dances to kill. A clown king's rule begins to crumble. A tragic parable of queer longing, Salome is Oscar Wilde's surreal symbolist masterpiece of forbidden desire and social destruction.
Irondale Center (85 S. Oxford Street, Brooklyn)
SAT 6 @ 8:00, MON 8 @ 8:00, WED 10 @ 8:00, THU 11 @ 8:00, FRI 12 @ 8:00, SAT 13 @ 8:00, MON 15 @ 8:00, WED 17 @ 8:00, THU 18 @ 8:00, FRI 19 @ 8:00, SAT 20 @ 8:00, MON 22 @ 8:00, WED 24 @ 8:00, THU 25 @ 8:00, FRI 26 @ 8:00, SAT 27 @ 8:00

Skylar
Theatrical Gems
Writer: Jonathan G Galvez / Director: Kristen Keim
When Skylar, a trans high school student, ends up in the hospital after being attacked during a school dance, their girlfriend, father, and teacher consider the events that led them there
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
TUE 16 @ 8:45, SUN 21 @ NOON, THU 25 @ 7:00, SAT 27 @ 4:45, SUN 28 @ 5:15

Starcrossed
Ticking Clock Theatre
Writer: Rachel Garnet
In this Romeo and Juliet re-imagining, Tybalt and Mercutio now fill the roles of the star-crossed lovers. Constructed around Shakespeare's original dialogue and expanded upon, two beloved characters get new life in a world where their sexuality has no voice.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
SAT 13 @ 7:00, SUN 14 @ 2:45, THU 18 @ 7:30, TUE 23 @ 9:45, WED 24 @ 9:30

Striking Out
The Annoyance Theatre
Writer: Book and Lyrics by Adam Levin and Ryan Ford, Music by Ryan Ford / Director: Adam Levin and Ryan Ford
Baseball. It's America's pastime, a time-honored tradition, and, of course, it's gay as hell. Part Damn Yankees, part Hairspray, this musical comedy tells the story of the first straight baseball player in a world dominated exclusively by gay athletes.
FringeHUB (685 Washington Street at Charles Street)
TUE 16 @ 8:00, THU 18 @ 9:15, FRI 19 @ 8:00, SAT 20 @ 9:15, SUN 21 @ 2:30

With attendance topping 75,000 people, The New York International Fringe Festival is New York City's fifth largest event (just behind Tribeca Film Festival and New York Comic Con).

Founded in 1997, FringeNYC is a production of The Present Company, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Elena K. Holy. FringeNYC has presented over 3000 performing groups representing every continent, prompting Switzerland's New Zurich Zeitung, to declare FringeNYC as "the premiere meeting ground for alternative artists." FringeNYC has been the launching pad for numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway transfers, long-running hits, and regional theater productions including Urinetown, Matt & Ben, Debbie Does Dallas, Dog Sees God, Dixie's Tupperware Party, The Irish Curse and Silence! The Musical; movies including WTC View and Armless; and even a TV show ('da Kink in My Hair).

The festival has premiered plays by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Rolin Jones, Edna Walsh, David Greenspan, Arlene Hutton, Daniel MacIvor, Conor McPherson, and Mike Daisey, among others. FringeNYC alumni also include Bradley Cooper, Melissa Rauch (Big Bang Theory), Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me), Mindy Kaling, Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Pippin), Leigh Silverman (Violet), W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty), Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham), David Anders (iZombie), Billy Eichner (American Horror Story) and Kristen Schall (Last Man on Earth), among countless others.

All tickets are available for purchase up to 15 minutes prior to the performance at FringeNYC.org or via smartphone/device at fringeonthefly.com. Discounted multi-show passes (Fiver, Fiver Pairs, and Flex) are available and are redeemable online during the month of September. The unlimited "Lunatic" pass is redeemable online throughout the festival. All passes can be redeemed for both FringeNYC and FringeBYOV performances.

For more information visit visit the event's website.