Summer Festivals Sizzle

In an average season, fewer than 40 productions open on Broadway. Off-Broadway that figure roughly doubles, and Off-Off-Broadway—depending on how you define it—as many as 300 or more shows might celebrate opening nights. During July and August, however, three festivals offer about 300 shows combined in what is one of the largest and, in terms of aesthetics and sensibility, one of the most freewheeling theatrical convocations in the world. The festivals are the sixth annual New York International Fringe Festival (Aug. 9-25), the HERE Arts Center's 13th annual American Living Room (July 13-Sept. 1), and the third annual Midtown International Theatre Festival (July 8-Aug. 4).

With 195 productions and countless ancillary events, the Fringe is the pink elephant of summer theatre—something impossible to avoid noticing. And more than that, why would you want to? After all, the list of productions which have graduated from the Fringe and gone on to productive, profitable lives is headed, naturally, by "Urinetown," now playing on Broadway. The American Living Room, meanwhile, sports over 100 new works, over 1,000 participating artists, and unapologetically calls itself "New York City's oldest downtown summer performance festival." (One of the Living Room's conceits—transforming HERE into "a cozy, relaxing living room, complete with comfy couches, relaxing lazy-boys, funky table lamps, and kitschy coffee tables" is still the coolest idea since air conditioning.) Finally, the Midtown Festival plays its upstart role well, with over 25 productions.

In total, it's an entire New York theatrical season in eight frenetic weeks.



The Fringe on the Balance Beam

The challenge in programming this year's Fringe Festival—coming weeks after "Urinetown" took three Tonys—is in finding a balance between cutting-edge works by complete unknowns and cutting-edge works by well-known artists.

And, in essence, that's what the production list for the 2002 Fringe Festival looks like. Here are five examples: "Him and Her," a new musical by Paul Scott Goodman ("Bright Lights, Big City") starring Liz Larsen; "Five Frozen Embryos," a one-act by actor/playwright David Greenspan; "Sleepers," a short play "about two guys who meet while masturbating" by Christopher Shinn (author of last season's "Four"); "The Death of Frank," by Stephen Belber (author of last season's "Tape"); and "Beat," a world premiere drama tracing the life of poet Allen Ginsberg—in particular his obscenity trial for "Howl." Described as "part poetry slam, part rant, part musical jam session," the piece stars Danny Pintauro, famous for his seasons on the TV sitcom "Who's the Boss?" and various gay-themed theatrical showcases in New York in recent years.

Contrast that list with three