Hy on the Fringe: Your Personal Guide to the
2011 New York International Fringe Festival
This Page Was Most Recently Updated: Saturday August 27th 2011
Some of the biggest, splashiest, and most enjoyable shows at the festivals are musicals. A fatal mistake of many aspiring musical writers is focusing on the songs and neglecting the book (i.e., the story and dialogue). Most of the following top musicals at the festival are sharp enough to be strong on both.
To date, my two favorite shows of the festival: Yeast Nation and PigPen Presents: The Mountain Song
•
Yeast Nation: Like Broadway's Urinetown—which
was the previous great triumph of Tony Award-winning writers Mark Hollmann and
Greg Kotis—Yeast Nation epitomizes what the Fringe is all about
at its best. For my review,
please click here.
• PigPen Presents: The Mountain Song: PigPen Theatre combines songs, shadows, puppets, and the barest of props to create epic folk tales. Its darkly comic Nightmare Story at last year's festival, and this year's The Mountain Song, have the feel of living dreams, and are likely to stay with you a long time. The Mountain Song is close to selling out its entire run, so I highly recommend nabbing tickets ASAP. For my review, please click here.
Two of the most popular high-concept shows at the festival: The Bardy Bunch and The Legend of Julie-Taymor
• The Bardy Bunch: The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch feud following Shakespearian themes from Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, and more. A smart, well-executed high concept show packed with laughs—and one of the very best productions of the festival.
• The Legend of Julie-Taymor or The Musical That Killed Everybody: A musical about the most expensive musical in Broadway history, this has garnered tremendous interest from theatre insiders and fans; and as I write this on August 19th, it's very close to selling out its remaining tickets. The show is a mixed bag (good music, with a few show-stopper songs such as "Tweet Tweet Tweet," paired with shaky book and direction); but there's an innate pleasure in watching the progression of behind-the-scenes events in the Turn Off the Dark saga performed in song and dance.
Return to Hy on the Fringe Intro Page
Return to HyReviews.com Home Page
Please click a link below to jump directly to what you're after:
Introduction to FringeNYC 2011
Best Video Promos & Sneak Peeks
Shows That Sold Out Performances
Shows That Received Added Performances
Hy's Previous FringeNYC Coverage:
Other Notable Pages on This Site:
Best NYC Live Comedy (Updated Daily)
HyReviews.com Insider Freebies & Discounts
Hy's Other Sites:
When you need a winning book proposal, world-class editor, or bestselling ghostwriter: BookProposal.net
If you know anyone who might have a thyroid problem: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Thyroid Disease
For the best comedy shows tonight, and every night year-round: HyReviews.com and BestNewYorkComedy.com
Copyright © 2011 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
