The Sixth Annual New York International Fringe Festival has come to a close, and descriptions of it as "fun," "saucy," "wild," "kinky," "funky" and "weird" were apt. Over 16 days that ended August 25, 2002, more than 200 theatrical presentations -- including outdoor performance art -- selected from 600-plus submissions made this year's Fest the biggest ever.
Advance sales for the 16 musicals, 14 solo shows, comedies, dramas and dance pieces in over 20 venues -- from East 14th Street throughout the Lower East Side -- were in excess of $100,000. The amount (compared to $40,000 in 2001) was beyond anyone's wildest expectations and made it the most successful. Well, at least, in terms of box office receipts.
There were presentations from 11 countries and 12 U.S. states. Quality, of course, is in the eye of the beholder and, as in past Fringe Fests, it varied. But, in spite of the heat wave, a record-breaking 64 shows sold out and two of the hottest tickets, The Joys of Sex, a very professionally staged musical revue about marriage and the quest for a mate, and All American Boy, a satirical and sometimes bitter musical about boy-bands and the cut-throat music industry, added performances to accommodate demand.
Some of the demand was from investors and producers looking for the next Urinetown, which was the hit of the 2000 Festival and went on to Off Broadway, Broadway and Tony Awards. Last year's hit, Debbie Does Dallas will reach Off Broadway in the fall.
Sponsorship was up and marketing has crept gradually into the Fringe (at Sex, coupons for a 10% discount at Condomania were in the program). There were almost always long lines 15 minutes prior to showtime. More Lunatic Passes, at $400 a pop, than ever were sold (that ticket entitled the holder admission to every show). The most popular tickets were the Fiver and Flex, which allowed holders five and 10 shows at $10 each -- a bargain for anyone in search of artistic meltdown (and in some of the venues lacking in working air-conditioners, meltdown is what ticket-holders got).
Elena Holy, founder and producing artistic director of the Fringe, reported that this year's grosses indicated that theatergoers were looking to do more than just celebrate downtown theater. "The strong response was a desire to support the rejuvenation of lower Manhattan," she said.
Some feel the success of the Fringe, with top-line Broadway and Off-Broadway producers actually assisting to develop presentations, will mean an end to its independence and quirkiness. Though "quirky" was certainly the byword for the majority of shows. You had to look hard to find a "theater-ready" show -- such as Urinetown was -- for $12 (for an individual ticket), but they were there or almost there.
A press office spokesperson for the Fringe reported that the biggest draws were the musicals, plays with female serial killers and "the sex shows" -- erotica which ranged from raw, raunchy and lewd to PG-13 and R. There were a lot of the latter, and could it be coincidence that there was so much emphasis and so many (simulated) scenes of the safest kind of safe sex.
Going into the Fringe, All American Boy by James Edwin Parker and Thomas Caruso was all the buzz as something that could move immediately to Off Broadway. It had the backing of Rattlestick Theater and Broadway and Off-Broadway producers Daryl Roth and Jordan Roth. The Joys Of Sex, which was not nearly as naughty as its sub-title ("A Naughty New Musical Revue") indicated it would be, boasted both a veteran theatrical press agent and a Broadway/Off-Broadway general manager as executive producer. Early on, the comic revue by singer/songwriter Melissa Levis and veteran music director/orchestrator David Weinstein, began attracting producers looking for the, ahem, staying power of an I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (now in its seventh year Off Broadway!).
A leader on the road to Off Broadway was the sold-out Beat, a drama about Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg's obscenity trial that starred former squeaky-clean TV-sitcommer Danny Pintauro ("Who's the Boss") in a career-altering performance.
News about a potential lawsuit by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon created a buzz for Matt & Ben, which featured the cross-dressing Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers as the duo. The appearance of Randy Harrison, star of the Showtime hit "Queer As Folk" and who recently made his Off-Broadway debut in A Letter from Ethel Kennedy, resulted in SRO at Deviant, a dark comedy about the phone-sex industry. Its world of fetishists actually turned some audience members off. The fact that Harrison played it straight turned others off.
This sixth Fringe Festival, though it had all the usual elements (i.e., "fun," "saucy," "wild," "kinky," "funky" and "weird") might not have quite lived up to audience expectations, but its incredible financial/popular success, which suggests it's no longer the little engine that could, will hopefully signal that future Fringes will not only be bigger but also better than ever.
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