Fringe Festival Preview 2016

, 2016

September 15-24

E G N I FR L A V I T S E F

Preview

n o t t a P 2016 t l a w s s O r e Headlin INTERVIEW PAGE 22

PAGE 24

Critics Picks PAGE 28

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festival’s format to workshop new theater productions, premiere new dance collaborations, experiment with music and technology, or just do something they never thought they could get away with. Those ideas come out the other side of Fringe stronger and ready to take on Rochester.

The Rochester Fringe Festival is put on by a nonprofit corporation spearheaded by some of the area’s key cultural institutions, including Geva Theatre Center, the George Eastman House, Garth Fagan Dance, Eastman School of Music, and others. What makes Fringe stand out from other arts festivals is that participating venues curate their own shows. Acts applied earlier this year and the various theaters, galleries, cafes, and other venues picked the shows that fit them best.

Tickets for Fringe Festival shows vary per venue, typically ranging between $5 and $15 (and headlining acts typically have higher ticket prices). Still, there are around 170 completely free spectacles, including Friday and Saturday on the Fringe at Parcel 5 — with the headliner STREB — and performances on Gibbs Street during the second weekend. Tickets for individual shows are available online at rochesterfringe. com, by phone at 957-9837, and in person at each venue starting an hour before show time. There will also be a Spiegeltent box office open at One Fringe Place (the corner of East Main and Gibbs).

For a full schedule of the festival, a list of venues, maps, and other information, see the official Fringe Festival Guide, included in this issue or visit rochesterfringe.com.a City Newspaper will offer extensive coverage of the 2016 Rochester Fringe Festival. Look for daily blogs during the run of the festival, with photos, reviews, and our critics’ picks for best of the fest. And make sure to pick up our Fringe Review in print in the September 21 issue.

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The First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival is now marking five years.

You can’t really say that the Fringe had “modest” beginnings — hosting a five-day festival in multiple venues around downtown Rochester is a feat of supreme coordination and good will. But I almost want to use the term in order to explain how quickly the event has grown. It’s a way to contrast the scope of this year’s Fringe, and a way to highlight its importance to Rochester’s arts community.

More than 32,000 attendees came out for that initial Fringe.

That success prompted the event to expand to 10 days the next year, which attracted more than 50,000 people.

An estimated 60,000 attended the 2014 edition, and last year — the Fringe’s largest with more than 500 performances at 25-plus venues — again set a record with 63,000 people.

This year, the Rochester Fringe Festival will again feature more than 500 performances and events, taking place Thursday, September 15, through Saturday, September 24, across more than 25 indoor and outdoor venues in and around downtown Rochester.

Still, not only has the Fringe roughly doubled in size, but the performances, events, and “experiments” that occur within the festival’s 10 days have grown increasingly more adventurous and ambitious. It’s no longer “weird” to watch a show unfold in parked cars, camping tents, or a Jacuzzi. Giant tricycles belching fireballs, acrobats dancing on the sides of buildings, and synthetic voices that lead you across the city on an adventure with your friends have become the expectation.

And that’s not mentioning the venues filled every day with stand-up and improv comedy, dance, theater, gospel choirs, drag performers, and musicians.

The effects of Fringe can be felt outside of September. Local artists have started to take advantage of the

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The 2016 First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival Thursday, September 15 — Saturday, September 24

Venues

The 5th annual First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival will host more than 500 performances

One Fringe Place

in and around Rochester’s downtown. The

The glitzy hub of the Fringe, One Fringe Place (corner of East Main and Gibbs Streets) houses the Spiegeltent and Spiegelgarden, the Fringe box office and information booth, ATMs, food trucks, and several free events throughout the event.

The Spiegelgarden will host the site-specific shows “Bushwhacked in Bed,” “Dashboard Dramas III,” and “Guerrilla

Fringe’s official website is rochesterfringe.com, where you can find a full schedule of events, purchase tickets, and get the latest information.

Art” as well as the Pedestrian Drive-In. This is also the gathering point for Remote Rochester.

Across the street is Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, where comedian Patton Oswalt will perform Friday, September 16, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $35-$80, and can be purchased at rochesterfringe.com or by calling 274-3000. Next door, the Gospel Sunday program will take place in Kilbourn Hall (26 Gibbs Street) on Sunday, September 18, 2 p.m. Free and appropriate for all ages.

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One Fringe Place

Corner of Main St. & Gibb St.

T MAP COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

4 CITY NEWSPAPER 2016 FRINGE FESTIVAL PREVIEW

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3349 Monroe Ave. 249.9040 www.bluegroundjewelry.com Gibbs Street will host free music and performances on the second weekend of the Fringe, September 23 and 24. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

Outdoor venues

Parcel 5 (next to One East Avenue) is

the location for Friday and Saturday on the Fringe, a free program featuring performances by STREB and local bands, and “Fringe Street Beat,” a breakdancing and hip-hop dance competition. Friday, September 16, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, September 17, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The second weekend of Fringe, Gibbs Street (Between East Avenue and East Main Street) will be filled with free music — including The Campbell Brothers, Significant Other, Knower, and Castle Creek — sitespecific performances, public art, food, and an outdoor bar. Friday, September 23, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, September 24, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Part of that second weekend, The Method Machine show “Grimms’ Mad Tales” will take place in One Fringe Place and along Gibbs Street on Friday, September 23, and Saturday, September 24. 6 p.m. Free and appropriate for all ages.

Neighborhood venues

Some locations host several venues, so be sure to check show information for specifics Bernunzio Uptown Music 122 East Avenue Blackfriars Theatre 795 East Main Street Central Library 115 South Avenue Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House

900 East Avenue

Eastman School of Music 26 Gibbs Street Gallery r 100 College Avenue Garth Fagan Dance Studio

50 Chestnut Street Java’s Café 16 Gibbs Street The Little 240 East Avenue Lyric Theatre 440 East Avenue

MuCCC 142 Atlantic Avenue RAPA @ SOTA 45 Prince Street Rochester Contemporary Art Center

137 East Avenue Sproull Atrium at Miller Center

25 Gibbs Street Strasenburgh Planetarium at RMSC

657 East Avenue The Strong National Museum of Play

One Manhattan Square TheatreROCS Stage 321 Broad Street Writer & Books 740 University Avenue

Tickets

Fringe shows are separately ticketed — there is not a Fringe Fanatic pass this year — and prices vary from program to program.

All tickets can be purchased online at rochesterfringe.com; by phone at 957-9837 (except for Patton Oswalt tickets, call 2743000); in person at all Fringe venues starting one hour prior to the performance; and in person at the Fringe Box Office in One Fringe Place. Many performances will fill up quick, so it’s recommended you buy tickets in advance.

There are also around 170 free shows at this year’s Fringe, including Friday and Saturday on the Fringe at Parcel 5, and performances on Gibbs Street during the second weekend. To explore the free performances, go to rochesterfringe.com, click “Find a show,” and look for the “Only free shows” filter option.

Parking

Convenient parking for the East End venues can be found in the East End parking garage

at the corner of Scio Street and East Avenue.

Additional parking can be found in the Washington Square Garage (111 Woodbury Boulevard), Court Street Garage (194 Court Street), Sister Cities Garage (28 North Fitzhugh Street), and One HSBC Plaza (100 Chestnut Street). Daily parking at each of these locations costs $7 per car. Also be on the lookout for street parking or spots in surface lots throughout the neighborhood.

The Fringe is a pedestrian and bikefriendly event. There will be plenty of bike parking at One Fringe Place.

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Additional Information

For additional Fringe info, check out rochestercitynewspaper.com to get the online version of this guide, plus our daily Fringe Blog. City’s critics will offer up reviews and photos of the previous night’s performances, and you can post your own thoughts in comments section. New blogs will be up by 7 a.m. each morning of the festival. We’ll also post updates on our Facebook page (facebook.com/CityNewspaper), on Twitter (@roccitynews), and on Instagram (@roccitynews).

City will again host TriviaCITY during Fringe on Wednesday, September 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Spiegelgarden. The trivia night will focus on arts and culture (with rounds specifically about Rochester and the Fringe), and is free. Appropriate for mature audiences.

There is no sign-up, but teams cannot be larger than six people.

To let us know how your Fringe is going, use the hashtag #fringeCITY on social media.

KEEP UP WITH

THE ARTS with CITY Newspaper, new every Wednesday

Or get up-to-date information, searchable event listings, and exclusive online content at ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM rochestercitynewspaper.com

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Headli 2016 ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

other modern retellings. But you’ll get to see that firsthand when “Grimms’ Mad Tales” takes over Gibbs Street and One Fringe Place during the Fringe’s second week, with 200 actors performing adaptations of various tales — including “Hansel and Gretel,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and more. Method Machine, which created “Spoon River Rochester” for the 2014 Fringe, is back again to create a living gallery of characters and stories. The performance is free and all are welcome to attend.

“Grimms’ Mad Tales” will be performed Friday, September 23, and Saturday, September 24, along Gibbs Street (between East Main Street and East Avenue), and within One Fringe Place. 6 p.m. each night. Free. Appropriate for all ages.

“Miracle Cure”

Action heroes STREB will perform during Friday and Saturday on the Fringe, the event's first weekend.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

Showman Matt Morgan has performed everywhere from Las Vegas to “The Late Show”; from Lincoln Center to last year’s Fringe, where he and his wife, Heidi Morgan, presented the fantastic “Cabinet of Wonders” and the saucy “Princess Wendy’s Late Nite Tease Room.” This year, Matt Morgan has partnered with actor and comedian Mark Gindick for a new Cirque Du Fringe show, “Miracle Cure.” The “bohemian circus,” according to the Fringe, is a “mashup of burlesque comedy, eye-popping circus performance acts, and live music.”

Cirque du Fringe will perform “Miracle Cure” each night of the Fringe, at various start times, in the Spiegeltent on the corner of Gibbs and East Main Street. $29 ($21 for youth through 12th grade during matinee performances).

Appropriate for ages 13 and over.

BY KRIS KIELICH

STREB

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, STREB is an experimental dance company created by choreographer Elizabeth Streb (a Rochester native), that has evolved into a daring and pulseracing group of performers who do the impossible and make it look easy. Billed as a “fusion of slam dancing, wild action sport, and falling from height,” STREB celebrates the art of movement itself. The group has performed at the Lincoln Center, the Pan American Games, and the Vancouver and London Olympics. During Friday and Saturday on the Fringe, STREB will perform “SEA (Singular Extreme Actions),” which will find performers taking on stunts and acrobatics on structures across three stages at downtown’s Parcel 5.

6 CITY NEWSPAPER 2016 FRINGE FESTIVAL PREVIEW

STREB will perform Friday, September 16, 8 p.m., and Saturday, September 17, at 5 p.m., 7 p.m., and 10 p.m., at Parcel 5. Performances are free and appropriate for all ages.

STREB is a part of the larger Friday and Saturday on the Fringe taking place at Parcel 5. Friday performances also include KOPPS, The YellowJackets, Sisters of Murphy, and The Buddahood. And Saturday will feature The Demos, Mansfield Ave, and Fringe Street Beat, an all-style breakdancing competition. Friday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. All events are free.

“Grimms’ Mad Tales”

The original tales by the Brothers Grimm are nothing like the numerous adaptations from the likes of Disney and

The Spiegeltent has become a staple of the Rochester Fringe.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

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(Left) Cirque du Fringe will perform in the Spiegeltent each night of the Fringe. "Remote Rochester" (right) returns for a second year. PHOTO COURTESY OF

The Cristal Palace Spiegeltent

The Spiegeltent — which is Dutch for “mirror tent” — has been a centerpiece of the Fringe since 2013. With lots of rich wood, stained glass, mirrors, and a velvetdraped ceiling, it’s almost like a window into the past, or a lovely fantasy world. The venue will be the home to several of the top performances at Fringe this year, including Cirque du Fringe: “Miracle Cure”; comedian Jamie Lissow (Thursday September 22, 9 p.m.); and Pandora Boxx’s “The Worst Show Ever” (Friday, September 23, and Saturday, September 24, 9:30 p.m.).

The Spiegeltent will again host the everpopular Silent Disco. As the name implies, the dance floor of the Cristal Palace will remain quiet during the party, while dancers

use headphones to groove to the music. A three-channel system will allow people to pick between competing live DJs. Silent Disco takes place September 16, 17, 23, and 24, at 11 p.m., and is appropriate for ages 18 and older. Tickets are $11. Disco Kids, a mid-day, all ages iteration of the Silent Disco just for kids, will be offered on Saturday, September 24, at noon. Tickets are $5.

The Spiegeltent is located at One Fringe Place at the corner of Gibbs and East Main Streets. For more information on all of the events taking place in the Spiegeltent and the adjoining Spiegelgarden, visit rochesterfringe.com.

Remote Rochester

A critical hit at least year’s Fringe, sitespecific theater collective Rimini Protokoll created the “Remote X” program as a way for participants to discover more about their cities and themselves. (The German group

has created “Remote X” shows in Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam, Paris, and New York City.) In 2015, Rochester became the second US city to experience this program, and it sold out. During the “performance,” a voice in your headphones will guide you and your “horde” of 50 people through a unique journey around the city, creating a seminarrative, and prompting you to interact with the environment and each other. As we said in a review of last year’s event, “Remote Rochester is the definition of ‘fringe.’”

Remote Rochester has various start times each day of the Fringe. For specifics, visit rochesterfringe.com. Groups should gather at the Spiegelgarden 15 minutes prior to the start time. $28. Appropriate for ages 13 and older.

Patton Oswalt

See an interview with Patton Oswalt on page 24.

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[ COMEDY INTERVIEW ] BY RON NETSKY

AGHTFUL THOU E C I L S

When Patton Oswalt headlined the initial First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival in 2012, he was already a television star best known for his role on “The King of Queens,” an actor in films like “Young Adult,” and a voice actor, playing Remy in the animated film “Ratatouille.”

Since then, Oswalt, who returns to headline this year’s Fringe with a Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre show Friday, September 16, has made more movies, appeared on “Veep,” “Portlandia,” and “Modern Family,” and won a Critics’ Choice Television Award in 2013 for his guest appearance on “Parks and Recreation.” He’s also released his second book, “Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film.”

Despite his busy TV and film schedule, Oswalt continues to perform stand-up comedy around the country, and last month, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for his Netflix stand-up special, “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping.”

While his career has flourished, Oswalt’s recent personal life has been painful. His wife of 10 years, true crime writer Michelle McNamara, died in her sleep this past April at the age of 46.

City recently caught up with Oswalt by phone and talked about a variety of subjects, from his early comedy influences to his current fascination with philosophy. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation.

City: In your book, “Silver Screen Fiend,” you describe memorizing entire comedy albums as a teenager. Who is in your pantheon of great comics?

Patton Oswalt: George Carlin, especially the stuff off of

“Class Clown” and “Occupation: Foole” because it’s so well written, and it’s written with the thought of words having impact in mind. So it’s very easy to memorize.

Unfortunately, he’s a horrible person, but my god, what a great comedian: Bill Cosby, especially the album “Revenge,” because it’s almost like music.

Weirdly enough, I didn’t really ever memorize that much Richard Pryor because he’s so himself, it’s so another-persontalking that you end up more paraphrasing the amazing stuff he was saying rather than reciting it back. And of course your standards: Monty Python, Steve Martin, and stuff like that — people who really understood language and how it could be used for that maximum “BOOM!” effect.

Your descriptions of your rookie years doing stand-up are pretty brutal. How did you manage to stick with it?

I’ve never figured that out. I’ve never figured out why, of everything else I’ve ever tried, comedy, which could not have given me less encouragement and had more aggressive, negative, “don’t come back” — I just kept coming back. I don’t know what it was.

At this point, you’ve been successful in television and movies; why do you return to stand-up?

Comedian Patton Oswalt discusses philosophy, comedy, and how stand-up will always be his mainstay.

Patton Oswalt. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL 8 CITY NEWSPAPER 2016 FRINGE FESTIVAL PREVIEW

I never leave stand-up. That’s the through-line; everything else is just these fun little side roads that I get to do along the way of doing stand-up. It’s not like I go, “Well, I’m going to quit stand-up and just do movies,” and say, “Ah, darn it, I’ve got to go back.” I never stop doing stand-up; I never stop thinking in terms of jokes. I never stop thinking in terms of when am I going to get on stage, when’s my next show.

Most arts are secondary: you’re playing a character in a show, or representing something in a sculpture or painting.

Comedy seems like the one art form where there’s little separation between the performer and the actual person. Is it that personal, or is that an illusion?

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It depends on the comedian. Some comedians are very confessional and very personal, like me. Other comedians just do jokes, whatever makes them most comfortable in expressing themselves. I get personal, but I hope people understand that they’re seeing a one-hour slice of a 24-houra-day life, and as honest as I try to be, that’s not a full portrait of who I am.

You take comedy seriously and consider it an art form. But it’s an art form often

done in front of drunks. How do you feel about hecklers?

Whether or not people respect comedy or not — I’ve just stopped worrying about that. It’s very hard to separate the crowd from the art and look at the actual art. I think it’s as valid a storytelling art form as anything — literature or television — especially if it’s done well. continues on page 10

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TICKETS

Online: rochesterfringe.com (no extra booking fees) Phone: (585) 957-9837 (fees apply) Box Office: One Fringe Place (corner of Main & Gibbs St.) In person: Venue door one hour before start of show rochestercitynewspaper.com

CITY 9

Oswalt

continues from page 9

You are incredibly funny, but mixed in with the jokes are real issues dealing with serious subjects, like the use of religion to accentuate differences between people. Are audiences offended when you talk about religion that way?

They don’t get as offended as they used to. I always try to couch my stuff in the idea that even if I’m making a pronouncement about something, it comes from me questioning it rather than condemning it and telling people who are into it that they’re idiots.

I’m not trying to speak from on high in a lecture-y way. It’s more like hey, I have all these questions about this thing and none of these questions are being answered. It seems a little silly to me.

Also, I’m an atheist that’s very happy that religion exists. I’m not one of those we’ve-got-to-wipe-out-all-religion people. I’m glad that other people told and made up stories to explain the world to them. I think that that’s actually a beautiful thing, and I think that that’s one of the best things that humans do that sets us apart from animals. We’re able to tell stories.

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You also have some social consciousness embedded in your comedy, like your critique of the use of animals in circuses.

Can comedy have an impact on society?

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Absolutely. Comedy can. Society is having an impact on us, and then, we’re the reaction to it. And then that reaction can cause society to go a different way.

In the past you’ve gotten pretty deeply into politics. How do you feel about our current election?

I’m a combination of very entertained and very frightened. When Hillary picked her vice presidential choice, a writer named Louis Virtel wrote: “I was worried that Tim Kaine was too boring and then I remembered entertainment is what got us into this mess.”

That idea that this is really interesting — Donald Trump — part of you wants to say, “You want to be entertained in 2016 when all it is is entertainment?

F*** you!” I think politics should be a little boring. I don’t think every single day there should be some crazy entertaining thing happening.

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Jerry Seinfeld declared a while ago that he will not play colleges anymore because there is too much political correctness.

Do you ever worry about that?

657 Park Ave | 270-4467 10 CITY NEWSPAPER 2016 FRINGE FESTIVAL PREVIEW

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No. As long as your stuff is funny, even if someone is offended, you hope they say, “Oh, I don’t agree with that, but it’s funny.” Also, this PC thing is nothing new. The only thing that’s new is now

they have platforms like Twitter to vent their frustrations.

But there was always a segment of the population that just does not like comedy, does not have a sense of humor, and gets angry when they see comedy about anything. There was always that section of the audience that said, “I don’t think that’s funny, I don’t think that’s funny at all.” But now they have a way to vent that.

You have not been hesitant to plunge right into controversies like the recent one about whether it’s ever appropriate for a comedian to tell a rape joke.

A lot of the controversy is hilarious to me. For the first time we have these people who are building a career on telling people not to make jokes. That, to me, is like a Lewis Carroll level of insanity. It cracks me up.

Is anything taboo?

No! No! With context nothing is taboo. And keep in mind the thing that brought down an actual, real-life rapist like Bill Cosby was a comedian making a rape joke about him!

Comedians these days make us think deeply about our lives. Are comedians like you in some ways modern day philosophers?

I would have taken that as a compliment a year ago, but I’ve started reading philosophy, and whoa! … I am really not thinking as deeply as these guys.

I’m going to so disagree with that only because I’m reading Camus’s “The Rebel” and David Hume’s “A Treatise of Human Nature,” and if an apple is a philosophical question, a philosopher takes apart the skin, the stem, the core — he peels the husks off and carves it out, and looks into it. A comedian just finds the juiciest slice that can — “BOOM!” — make you think that’s a great tasting apple. So to say that we’re modern day philosophers is an insult to philosophy.

I can make people begin to think, but it takes a philosopher to make that person want to take a journey, and take that journey long enough that when they end that journey, they’re then able to walk themselves. At best, I’m trying to get people to think and then agree with me, and then I want to move on.

A philosopher dwells. That dude goes deep, and maybe some comedians are philosophers. But it’s like some people say comedy is like jazz. No it’s not.

Well the improvisational element is there if you’re quick-witted enough to come up with something on the spot, so it’s a little like a jazz solo.

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No it’s not. Jazz is jazz; comedy is comedy. A wedding cake has sugar in it.

That doesn’t make it a bottle of coke.

Okay, well then I have to ask, what’s a comedian doing reading philosophy?

I love to read. I read a lot, and I want to keep expanding my head, I guess. It keeps you feeling young and limber and it makes you …

Especially when you read really great work, it’s a way to slow down time, because as you get older you have less and less totally brand new experiences, so when you pick up some piece of writing by an author with an incredibly strong voice, it slows your life down a little.

You can enjoy more time and live a whole other life. The more books you read, the more lives you

get to live, including your own. It feeds into your own life. In other words, my life is not a function of my art. Obviously I love doing stand-up, but I also want to live a full life. I don’t want to just do stand-up. I don’t want every action of every day just to be in my stand-up career.

You have recently experienced a devastating tragedy. Will that have an effect on your comedy?

What does the Emmy nomination mean to you?

Lean on your friends.

It means I get to do more standup, I hope. Everything that I do in the business, if I get an award or a nomination, it just means I’m being recognized in the company of some really amazing people that I look up to, like John Mulaney, Tig Notaro, and Hannibal Buress.

That’s really important to me.

In an essay that you wrote about losing your wife, you quoted your 7-year-old daughter saying something incredible. “When your mom dies you’re the best memory of her. Everything you do and say is a memory of her.”

I don’t know yet. I haven’t gone back on stage. I’ll let you know later.

Is there anything you would recommend to people in terms of how to deal with something like this?

Put your arts and culture knowledge to the test!

This free event will include a series of rounds of questions based on the arts, pop culture, and Rochester.

Prizes will be awarded to the top teams

including 2 tickets to Cirque du Fringe!

(Teams are limited to 6 people, per team, maximum)

QUESTIONS?

TWEET US: @ROCCITYNEWS

When she said that that morning it really kind of blew me away.

Was she channeling something? I don’t know; that was amazing. rochestercitynewspaper.com CITY 11

s c i t i S r K C PIC ADAM LUBITOW

“Ruts! The Oregon Trail Experience”

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got fond memories of whiling away the hours in your elementary school’s computer lab, avoiding homework and playing The Oregon Trail. Fording rivers, hunting for squirrels, and doing everything you could to avoid dying of dysentery; good times. So I’m hoping for a wagon train loaded with nostalgia when I head off to “Ruts! The Oregon Trail Experience,” a musical that depicts what happens when a group of actual pioneers somehow get transported into the popular educational game. Let’s hope for pleasant weather, because my health is good, my oxen are ready, and I’ve got axles to spare. Westward ho! (Friday, September 23, 6 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Saturday, September 24, 6 p.m. The Strong National Museum of Play. $12. All ages.)

Pandora Boxx’s “Worst Show Ever”

Hometown queen Pandora Boxx makes a triumphant return to Rochester as she performs “The Worst Show Ever,” a cabaret-style show about her experiences as a reality show contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Some comedy, a little shade throwing, and even musical performances like “I Can’t Death Drop” and “Everybody Loves Dick.” Yaaas, queen! (Friday, September 23, 9:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 24, 9:30 p.m. Spiegeltent. $21.

Mature audiences.)

“Spooky Stories in the Stacks”

It’s fall, and Halloween is just on the horizon, so what better way to get into the spirit than with some chilling, true tales of Rochester lore? “Spooky Stories in the Stacks” offers a backstage tour through the Rundel Memorial Building of the Central Library — site of many reported supernatural occurrences over the years — while being steeped in the ghoulish (and sometimes gruesome) stories of Rochester’s macabre underbelly. Beware, foolish mortals. (Saturday, September 24, noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Central Library. $8. Appropriate for 13 and over.)

“Murder Night: Don’t Fear the Re-Purge”

Every day, our society seems to grow more and more like the vision depicted in “The Purge” series of films, which imagines a not-too-distant future where for one night every year all crime — including murder — is legal. So the time seems right for “Murder Night: Don’t Fear the RePurge.” Inspired by the movies, writer-director Bryan Smith delivers a satirical, acoustic rock opera about the fate of two suburban couples who decide to participate in their city’s annual purging. It should be a scary — and maybe thoughtprovoking — good time. (Saturday, September 17, 2:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. TheatreROCS Stage: Main Stage. $10. Appropriate for ages 18 and over.)

12 CITY NEWSPAPER 2016 FRINGE FESTIVAL PREVIEW

“Dracula”

WallByrd Theatre Company, which was behind this past summer’s production of “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” at the Highland Bowl, present this theatrical staged reading of Bram Stoker’s classic gothic novel, “Dracula.”

The story’s always been one of my favorites, so I’m looking forward to their take on this romantic tale of love, death, and bloodsucking fiends.

(Wednesday, September 21, 10:30 p.m.; Thursday, September 22, 10:30 p.m. Lyric Theater: Main Stage. $12. Appropriate for ages 13 and over.)

“St. John Fisher College 2016 Student Film Festival”

Full disclosure: I helped curate the film lineup for the Fringe’s Pedestrian Drive-In this year, but I haven’t had the opportunity to view any of the films included in the St. John Fisher College 2016 Student Film Festival.

This selection of long and short-form films from the undergraduates of St. John Fisher College’s Department of Media and Communication spans a variety of genres and, as with the Fringe’s annual presentation of the RIT Student Honor Awards, it’s always a blast finding out what emerging local filmmakers are up to. (Tuesday, September 20, 7:30 p.m. Spiegelgarden. Free. All ages) “The Man With Bogart’s Face”

“The Man With Bogart’s Face” is the latest live radio play from Rochester Screen Plays, a group dedicated to performing stories from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Using live sound effects and vintage equipment, they’ll present this comic caper about a man who undergoes surgery in order to look like his idol, Humphrey Bogart, and sets up shop as a private eye. If you’re a fan of retro film noir and old Hollywood cool, it’s the stuff that dreams are made of. (Sunday, September 18, 5:30 p.m.; Monday, September 19, 7 p.m. RAPA @ SOTA: Allen Main Stage Theatre. $17. Appropriate for ages 13 and over.)

(Top) Pandora Boxx; (middle) "Ruts! The Oregon Trail Experience; and (bottom) "The Man with Bogart's Face."

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

LEAH STACY

“The Shadow of the Hummingbird” “The Kiss”

This short piece by South African playwright Athol Fugard (known for his sharp analysis of South Africa during apartheid) begins when a 10-year-old granddaughter plays hooky from studying and visits her grandfather instead. The show features a Rochester-based director Lindsay W. Baker (co-writer of “Austen’s Pride: A New Musical of Pride and Prejudice”) and cast Alden Duserick (Scout in Geva’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”) and community theater favorite Donald B. Bartalo. (Wednesday, September 21, 7 p.m.; Friday, September

One of Rochester’s most experimental theater companies, WallByrd Theatre Co., will present not one but two shows during this year’s Fringe. One is a theatrical reading of a new “Dracula” adaptation; the other is “The Kiss” by award-winning playwright Murray Watts. The twoperson show centers on a mysterious meeting at a park bench. It’s déjà vu meets how-do-I-know-you as two strangers struggle with the surreal feeling of their lives being intertwined — and how even the smallest human interaction can have a lasting impact. (Thursday,

23, 7 p.m. MuCCC. $10. All ages.)

September 15, 8 p.m.; Saturday, September 24, 9 p.m. RAPA @ SOTA: Black Box Theatre. $12. All ages.)

“No More Words”

Masque, an art form consisting of masked individuals performing a dance or skit, was a popular form of theatrical entertainment in late-16th and early-17th century Europe. This year’s Fringe will feature a similar performance with “No More Words,” a masque and physical storytelling show built around the vast theme of human experience. (Sunday, September 18, 6:30 p.m.;

Dangerous Signs: “Hands Full of Shakespeare”

The last time Dangerous Signs performed at Fringe, a scout happened to be in the audience and invited the group to audition for “America’s Got Talent.” This year, in collaboration with RIT’s Masquers Drama Club, the group will meld classic theater with sign language, spoken word, dance, and song to present “Hands Full of Shakespeare.” Get there early to reserve a seat. (Saturday,

"A Blue Sky Like No Other" writer-performer Steven Fetter.

September 24, 1 p.m. The Little: Theatre 1. Free. All ages.)

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

“Don Quixote”

“Underground Episodes: Interactive Theatre Experience”

Fringe is full of visually stunning options guaranteed to captivate children — but when done creatively, sometimes puppets are for adults. Open Hand Theater, a Syracuse-based company that focuses on puppetry, masks, and international theater traditions, will perform an adult adaptation of the classic “Don Quixote.”

The play-within-a-play features Russian master puppeteer Vladimire Vasyagin in the title role. (Thursday, September 15, 7:30

Rochester’s subway isn’t functioning anymore, but locals can imagine that a lot of human interaction once took place on those train platforms. In “Underground Episodes,” a Philadelphiabased troupe blends poetry, acting, and music to create an interactive experience centered on experiences that take place within a subway. (Saturday, September 17, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.;

p.m. MuCCC. $10-$12. Appropriate for ages 13 and over.)

DAVID RAYMOND

“Dangerous Theatre: Hallie Flanagan”

As director of the government’s Federal Theatre Project, Hallie Flanagan gave opportunities to such politically minded artists as Orson Welles, Marc Blitzstein, and John Houseman, with results that were controversial and, to some, unpatriotic.

“Dangerous Theatre” dramatizes Flanagan’s 1938 testimony to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee – a minatory slice of modern American history. (Sunday, September 18, 5:30 p.m. MuCCC. $10.) Appropriate for teens and adults.

“The Oboe Show”

“The ill wind nobody blows good,” as somebody once referred to the lovely but very-difficult-to-play oboe?

Probably not in this case, as two virtuoso oboists team up for a variety show combining “sophisticated culture and highbrow comedy in perfect harmony.” (Sunday, September 18, 1 p.m.; Saturday, September 24, 4 p.m. Writers & Books. $10. Appropriate for teens and adults.)

“The Geriactors Present!”

No Fringe Festival is complete (to me, at least) without this absolutely charming group of veteran actors and their performances of one-act plays by local writers (this year they are Ken Klamm and Mark Jabaut) and vintage vocal numbers from The 1910 Rochester Songbook. (Tuesday, September 20, 7 p.m.; Wednesday, September 21, 2 p.m.; September 24, noon.

Writers & Books. $15. All ages.)

“Janine Mercandetti: Out of Costume”

Definitely not a wardrobe malfunction! Who needs costumes when you can hear standards, contemporary

Sunday, September 18, 4 p.m. TheatreROCS Stage: Main Stage. $15.

Appropriate for ages 13 and over.)

Wednesday, September 21, 8 p.m. Lyric Theater: Prince Street Chamber. $8-$10. All ages.)

“A Blue Sky Like No Other”

This September marks 15 years since the 9/11 terror attacks, when 343 members of the New York City Fire Department sacrificed their lives to save others. At the time, “A Blue Sky Like No Other” writer-performer Steven Fetter was living in New York City. This tribute show — a Time Out NY critics’ pick — uses slides, video, and original music to chronicle Fetter’s journey from Wall Street to the West Coast following 9/11. (Sunday, September 18, 1:30 p.m.; Monday, September 19, 6:30 p.m.; and Tuesday, September 20, 6:30 p.m. RAPA @ SOTA: Ensemble Theatre. $10.

Appropriate for ages 13 and over.)

songs, and Broadway belters, performed by a Rochester actor who has shown she can do it all in such musicals as “Parade,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” and “The Last Five Years”?

(Tuesday, September 20, 7 p.m.; Saturday, September 24, 5 p.m. Blackfriars Theatre. $15. Appropriate for ages 13 and older.)

“The Eulogy”

It’s a collection of “inept and inapt” eulogies from ill-prepared individuals speaking at funerals.

Public embarrassment is a universal condition, and so “The Eulogy” has been a Fringe Festival fave from Adelaide to Atlanta, not to mention a 2015 Quirky Award winner (which sounds like something a Fringe Festival offering should be).

(Thursday, September 22, 7 p.m.; Friday, September 23, 7 p.m.; Saturday, September 24, 2 p.m. Writers & Books. $15. Appropriate for teens and adults.)

“Theater Lieder”

A recent classical-music performing trend is presenting a song recital with “something extra” – readings or imagery that enhance the work’s theatricality and (we hope) the meaning of the words. This presentation, by singer Andrea McGaugh, pianist Shichao Zhang, and guest actors, tries the experiment with one of the great works of German lieder, Robert Schumann’s cycle Frauenliebe und -leben (“A Woman’s Life and Love”). (Tuesday, September 20, 8 p.m. Lyric Theatre Prince Street Chamber. $12. Appropriate for teens and adults.)

“Monologues on Clarissa Street”

Old-time Rochesterians will remember the days when Clarissa Street was, as author Karen Culley puts it, where

"The Eulogy."

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

“the soul of Rochester began”: a thriving, tightly-knit urban neighborhood and also a thriving location for jazz and soul music. Memories abound in these monologues of Clarissa Street neighbors. (September 24, 4:30 p.m.; MuCCC. $10 Appropriate for teens and adults.) continues on page 14 rochestercitynewspaper.com CITY 13

FRANK DE BLASE

Critics Picks

continues from page 13

“Flatfoots, Floozies & Murder”

Set in 1920’s Chicago and overflowing with hot music, gin mills, and gangsters, the audience is invited in to help Dick Tracey solve a murder — or add to the confusion.

This is classic fun with the era starring as a character itself, interspersed with language and style that is beautifully antiquated, but still relevant today. It’s on the level, see? (Saturday, September 17, 9 p.m.; Sunday, September 18, 6 p.m.; Friday, September 23, 8 p.m. RAPA @ SOTA: Black Box Theatre. $12.

Appropriate for ages 13 and over.)

Bad Idea Entertainment

Norristown, Pennsylvania’s resident vaudevillian, Douglas Stafford, plays it safe as a popular juggler-magiciancomedian working for yucks from children and families.

However this particular show has Stafford performing stunts based on bad ideas, like juggling fire or performing with a mouthful of needles. Not for the faint of heart … or brain. (Friday, September 16; Thursday, September 22; Friday, September 23; 8 p.m. each night. RAPA @ SOTA: The DS Comedy Club. $16.

Appropriate for ages 18 and over.)

“East of the Sun, West of the Moon”

This beautiful show will wash over the audience with the winds and magic of ancient Norway.

Using layered vocals and physical sounds, Didrik Söderström weaves story, song, and poetry into an immersive experience based on a Nordic fairy tale.

(Thursday, September 15, 10 p.m.; Saturday, September 17, 10 p.m.; Sunday, September 18, 5 p.m. Writers & Books. $11. Appropriate for ages 5 and over.)

“Dance Macabre”

People are simply dying to see the Chanson String Trio (two violins and a double bass) as it interprets classical pieces centered around the big adios. The group defiantly addresses pieces composed by Ravel (“Pavane for a Dead Princess”), SaintSaens (“Danse Macabre”), Mussorgsky (“Night on Bald Mountain”), and Barber (Adagio for strings). The feel good show of the Fringe.

(Friday, September 16, 6 p.m. TheatreROCS Stage: Main Stage. $10. Appropriate for ages 5 and over.)

Left for Dead Improv

Possibly the only senior improv troupe in the United States, Left for Dead Improv boasts more than four centuries of combined experience.

As its moniker suggests, this blue-haired group is steeped in selfdeprecating humor and theatrical talent. Age ain’t nothn’ but a number. (Friday, September 16, 8 p.m.; Saturday, September 17, 4 p.m. Writers & Books. $8. Appropriate for ages 18 and over.)

Estrofest

Women are funnier than men — they need that sense of humor to deal with male shenanigans. As proof, just dig the characters (Dresden Engle, Andrea Holland, Norma Holland, Allison Roberts, and Freyda Schneider) that play the characters who will have you laughing milk, or beer, out of your nose with their clever sketch comedy. Don’t forget to bring napkins. (Friday, September 16, 9 p.m.; Saturday, September 17, 5 p.m.; Friday, September 23, 7 p.m. Blackfriars Theatre. $16. Appropriate for ages 13 and over.)

KOPPS

Music that possesses an electronic component can still be organic; it’s just rooted on the receiving end as opposed to the launch site. Let’s simplify: Although it has a synthetic root, electronic music still gets human (organic) asses in motion. Call it dance music. Just call it music. Better yet, call KOPPS. Formed in 2010, the band’s irresistible sound is a powerhouse throb that transcends its collision of electronic and non-electric instruments.

(Friday, September 16, 9:25 p.m. Parcel 5; part of Friday on the Fringe. Free. All ages.)

14 CITY NEWSPAPER 2016 FRINGE FESTIVAL PREVIEW

(Top) Bad Idea Entertainment; (left) "Flatfoots, Floozies and Murder"; (right) sketch comedy group Estrofest.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

REBECCA RAFFERTY

1 million people were killed or wounded, the multimedia storytelling combines images of events leading up to, during, and in the aftermath of the battle, with music written at the same time by Claude Debussy. The show aims to consider how the Somme offensive scarred both people and landscapes in 1916, and how current conflicts have similar effects today. TableTopOpera is a chamber ensemble that includes faculty, students, alum, and friends of the Eastman School of Music. (Thursday, September 22, 7 p.m.

Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. $10. Appropriate for ages 13 and older.)

“Guerrilla Art”

“Confessions of a Prairie B;+@h”

As a pre-teen, Alison Arngrim excelled at exaggerated petulance in her role as “Nasty Nellie” Oleson on TV’s “Little House on the Prairie.” Now 54, Arngrim brings her onewoman show, “Confessions of a Prairie B;+@h,” based on her book of the same name, to Rochester’s Fringe. Through standup and multimedia storytelling, she tells about her life as the petticoated brat audiences loved to hate. Arngrim also dishes on Hollywood encounters with Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Liberace, Marie Osmond, Carol Channing, RuPaul, and others. (Friday, September 16, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18, 7:30 p.m. RAPA @ SOTA: Ensemble Theatre. $20. Appropriate for ages 18 and older.)

“Denton Crawford: Savage Sanctuary”

When I spied one of Denton Crawford’s pop-mysticism collages at Rochester Contemporary’s 2014 Members Show, I became an instant fan. His solo show, “You’re Not Here,” held at Joy Gallery in early 2015, was filled with mixed media paintings, drawings, and installations, and presented what he called “personalized accounts of experience that explore the boundaries between logic and belief.”

Crawford’s latest multimedia exhibition, “Savage Sanctuary,” on view at Gallery r during Fringe, levels criticism at ancient and popular mythologies, “remixing sacred with kitsch, and aiming toward a new definition of religious experience,” according to provided information. The show is part of Gallery r’s Faculty in Focus series (Crawford teaches drawing and new media classes at RIT), and continues through September 25. (Thursday-Sunday, September 15-18 and Thursday-Saturday, September 22-24, 1 to 5 p.m. Gallery r. Free.

Free. All ages.)

“Scarred by the Somme”

After presenting “Kindertotenlieder” (songs on the death of children) at last year’s Fringe, TableTopOpera continues its theme of considering dark and difficult historic subject matter in the context of current events with “Scarred by the Somme.” Commemorating the 100th anniversary of one of the bloodiest engagements in World War I, where more than

Guerrilla, a SUNY Geneseo-based organization that aims to connect student artists of all kinds with wider audiences, will engage Fringe-goers with a magnetic poetry installation at the Spiegelgarden. The hands-on installation will invite participants to rearrange words to create new poems, as well as view student art and short fiction.

Preview the group at Guerrilla Geneseo on Facebook, where you can sample their ingenuity. One May post made plain the kind of skill we’re dealing with: a request for participation resulted in an entirely new (and surprisingly very good) poem constructed from lines of favorite poems submitted by viewers throughout the day.

(Friday, September 23, 5 to 11 p.m., and Saturday, September 24, noon to 11 p.m. Spiegelgarden. Free.

Appropriate for all ages.)

and was formed in 2013 under the direction of Lu Highsmith.

The core group of nine poets hail from all walks of life, delivering earnest and empowering real-talk. This year’s show promises to re-envision Rochester in a “new and exhilarating light,” and includes a collaboration with Tru Art Dance.

(Thursday, September 22, 6 p.m., and Saturday, September 24, 7 p.m. TheatreROCS Stage: Main Stage. $10. Appropriate for ages 13 and older.)

“Anomaly”

Back this year for the first time since its sold-out Fringe premiere in 2013 is “Anomaly,” the collaborative, multisensory performance by Biodance, Sound ExChange, and W. Michelle Harris. The 2013 show deeply engaged audiences with its blend of modern dance, live classical music, and immersive visual effects. Again this year “Anomaly” will be performed within the four-story dome of the Strasenburgh Planetarium, setting the tone for the audience to reflect upon its existence within the larger universe. (Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m., and Saturday, September 17, 2 and 7 p.m. Rochester Museum & Science Center: Strasenburgh Planetarium. $15. All ages.)

(Left) "Nasty Nellie" Oleson; (middle) the Roc Bottom Slam Team; (below) TableTopOpera, which will present "Scarred by the Somme."

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FIRST NIAGARA ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL

“Sacred and Sensual: Gods and Goddesses of India”

India-based dancer Neelima specializes in the dazzlingly poised artistry of classical Indian Kuchipudi dance. The dramatic dance form has ancient origins, and is characterized by animated storytelling punctuated by rhythmic gestures and expressive eye movements. Neelima will perform a show that portrays the gods and goddesses of South Asia/India, complete with poses borrowed from temple sculptures. Accompanied by traditional music, costumes, ancient poetry, and stories, she will treat Fringe audiences to an experience of Indian culture, with introductions in English.

(Thursday, September 22, 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, September 24, 4 p.m. TheatreROCS Stage: Main Stage. $15. Appropriate for ages 18 and older.)

Roc Bottom Slam Team

Roc Bottom Slam Team returns to Fringe after last year’s performance of “Growing Pains,” a bold and moving series of breathless spoken-word pieces about navigating the complexities of intimate relationships, parenthood, politics, and selfworth. Roc Bottom is Rochester’s first adult slam-poetry team, rochestercitynewspaper.com CITY 15

16 CITY NEWSPAPER 2016 FRINGE FESTIVAL PREVIEW