By Scott Stiffler/Chelsea Now
Chelsea Now
Take a hike, TKTS. Put a brick in it, Ticketmaster.
For less than what it costs to stand at the back of a Broadway house, you can sit in the air-conditioned comfort of a downtown theater while watching a FringeNYC performance — and have a decent chance of eyeing someone who will one day grace a prohibitively expensive Midtown stage, or charm their way onto your smartphone screen (fans of Bradley Cooper, Melissa Rauch and Morgan Spurlock can attest to that). But this 16-day marathon of dance, comedy, drama and uncategorizable lunacy is more than just a breeding ground for things to come.
Year in and year out, the festival plays canary to popular culture’s coal mine. With that in mind, our totally subjective roundup corrals this year’s Queens performers hitting the boards.
Long-winded but undeniably compelling, You Said Your Damn Ninja Would Take Care of Robocop Productions is, we get the feeling, just a wordy front for a pop shop owned and operated by Queens-based writer, performer, YouTube darling and Shaolin kung fu disciple Shyaporn Theerakulstit.
His geek-think solo show — “The Absolutely True Science of Nerds” — plows through its 90 minutes by delivering “completely scientific” lectures on the real-world implications of becoming Batman, and the relative merits of the “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” universes. Assuming you haven’t passed out at that point from a techie tizzy, the show’s closer is a rumination on the behavioral patterns and biological origins of Japan’s “Hyper-evolved Theropod Kaiju” (better known to his frenemies as Godzilla). Not enough spectacle, you say? Theerakulstit also promises music, burlesque and special guests — plus what will almost certainly be a very argumentative Q&A session.
Shakespearean verse gets a contemporary reboot, when Queens-based Feast Productions unleashes “Hamlet the Hip-Hopera.” The core plot remains, but iambic pentameter is replaced with the strikingly similar cadences of hip-hop — making maximum use of the genre’s knack for advancing narrative and invoking metaphors in the same breath. Rap battles, dueling verses, slam poetry and soaring ballads bring new energy and lyricism to familiar characters under siege and descending into madness.
Taking place in Tompkins Square Park, “The Merchant of Venice (or how not to live in a multi-cultural world”) is one of four FringeAL FRESCO shows. Bigotry, a fractured legal system and the nature of justice figure heavily into Hip to Hip Theatre Company’s take on what they call “Shakespeare’s darkest comedy.” This free outdoor production is appropriate, given the company’s mission to perform no-cost and family-friendly classics in their home borough of Queens.
Broadly built, ballsy by nature and sitting on a vault of stories that make the most gritty “Law & Order” episode seem utterly vanilla, Astoria resident Mark DeMayo made a smooth transition from NYPD cop to NYC comedian. Since retiring after 20 years on the force (seven as a police officer, the rest as a detective), he’s brought his mouthy, Type A flair for true storytelling to stand-up and theatrical venues (including Gotham Comedy Club and Peoples Improv Theater).
“The Broccoli Murder, DiCaprio Dance and Other Stories from My 20 Years as a NYC Cop” blends the best of DeMayo’s dangerous and disturbing tales from his days in blue with candid observations about adjusting to civilian life without pepper spray and a gun strapped to his hips. Especially funny is a bit alluded to in the title, in which he meets Leonardo DiCaprio in a trendy club. Pressed into service as a dance floor bodyguard, he keeps Molly-trippin’ fans at bay while marveling at the surreal notion of playing Kevin Costner to Leo’s Whitney Houston.
The All-Americans presents the world premiere of Astoria playwright Lisa Lewis’ “Schooled.”
Lewis’ work is described as a fiercely funny and gripping new play about privilege, ambition and the lengths people go to succeed.
Two university students vie for a competitive grant from their roguish professor in a taut threesome that tests their romantic relationship and their ethics. A biting drama with surprising humor, “Schooled” is a searing examination of entitlement and envy, the lies we tell ourselves, and the truths we refuse to believe.
One thing’s for sure: at $18 per show, a shot in the dark at FringeNYC beats the buyer’s remorse of an expensive Broadway misfire.
FringeNYC shows run through Aug. 30, 2 p.m.–midnight weekdays, noon–midnight on weekends.
Single tickets are $18. $85 for a Fiver Pass, $150 for a 10-show Flex Pass and $500 for an unlimited Lunatic Pass.
For the full schedule of shows and to purchase tickets, visit Fring
