The 2015 Main-Stage FRESH FRUIT FESTIVAL
The Wild Project Theater, 195 East 3rd St. between Ave. A & B
All shows $18 unless otherwise noted. > SEE CALENDAR + PURCHASE TICKETS <
THE LEARS: Fools of Fortune –World Premiere
By Patrick Thomas McCarthy. Suggested by Shakespeare’s KING LEAR, this contemporary American telling has Alzheimers-addled Captain of Industry, Edgar Reginald Lehman Lear, gathering those closest to him for an advance reading of the will at Thanksgiving dinner. Homicide, a blinding, poisonings, betrayal, abuse, sibling rivalries, cross dressing, arm wrestling (and even loyalty, redemption & love!) find their way into the turbulent mix. Anyone who has experienced “family” will appreciate this work. – Monday July 13, 7:30 pm – Tuesday July 14th, 9pm – Wednesday July 15th, 9 pm – Sunday July 19th, 4 pm
BLUE FIRE ON THE WATER – A Memory Play with Music and Multi-media
“Can‘t go backwards if you gon play the song right”
What happens when our shelter, cars, clothes, loves – every instrument we use to connect our lives or shield ourselves from the pains of this world – are scattered and swept away? Set in New Orleans, the play opens just after Katrina’s rage and the flood begins. It spans 60 years exploring the love triangle of two Blues musicians and their manager. This piece speaks to musicians, African Americans, the aging, and anyone who has loved. As hurricane Katrina lashes New Orleans, and the flood waters rise, blues singer Joe reflects on the love he lost years back when he refused that time too to leave his home. A story of love and betrayal, with a bow to the real life travails of jazz artist Billy Tipton (who lived as a man although she was a woman). What has been called “vibrant, poetic writing intermingled with The Blues” will take the audience on an amazing personal journey. – Thursday July 16, 6:30 pm – Friday July 17, 7 pm – Saturday July 18, 2 pm
TELLING – “Hope is a strange invention” -Emily Dickenson
A new play by critically acclaimed novelist Natalie Bates. The battle between love and fear, played out in a Chicago suburb of 1972. Two women, married with grown children, have discovered, to their astonishment, that they have fallen in love. So much more than a period piece, this “honest, lyrical account of the cost of loving” captures their journey to wrench free of conventional obligations and carve a space to live out their love. – Wednesday July 15, 7 pm SOLD OUT – Saturday July 18, 4 pm – Sunday July 19, 6:30 pm
(MARY) TODD – a special Festival reprise performance
“Todd Lincoln went out for a night on the town and ends up with his partner’s bloody head in his lap”
Hilarious and Heartbreaking, (MARY) TODD is a first-person account of the events leading up to and following the murder of young Southern man’s lover. Actor Xavier Reminick’s fantastic performance is a “full-frontal assault” on how we think about people and relationships. “The biggest Award-winner in our 12-year Festival history” – All Out Arts. Advisory: adult content; male nudity. Dennis Bush, author; Lester Thomas Shane, director. – Thursday July 16, 8 pm – Saturday July 18, 8 pm – Monday July 20, 9 pm
“VISIONS” – An evening of 1-act LGBT plays
An Egg is An Egg is a Jellied Egg by M. Lynda Robinson; Farewell, King Carter, Farewell by Anna Governali; Shall I fetch the Apparatus by Jonathan Libman; and Booties by Ross Hewitt. Tuesday July 14, 7 pm – Saturday July 18, 6 pm – Sunday July 19, 2 pm
WEEK TWO . . .
RACHEL – Full Musical World Premiere
An original musical about the life of biologist and nature writer Rachel Carson, author of “Silent Spring” which sparked the modern environmental movement. Carson jeopardizes her success, her health, and most importantly the deep relationship she shares with her neighbor Dorothy Freeman to take a stand for the earth. “Rachel” has prominent themes of environmentalism and feminism, but the heart of this true story is the lifelong relationship between Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman. by author Jessica Field and Composer Jared Field. – Monday July 20, 7 pm – Wednesday July 22, 8:3 0pm – Saturday July 25, 2 pm
UNSEEN ANGELS – Full Musical CANCELLED
“Into every life comes Unseen Angels. We each must decide how we respond to them.”
A famous Broadway composer locks himself away in the small inn he built and managed with his now deceased lover. A feisty young journalist hoping to interview the reclusive composer comes to the inn. With demons of her own to manage, could she be a possible agent of redemption? But known only to the audience, the lover’s spirit haunts the inn, and everything is fair game in the verbal confrontations to follow – old memories, painful secrets, and a very dramatic and cathartic conclusion. Andrew Storm, Playwright; Andy Chesterton, Composer; Obediah P. Wright, Director. – SHOW CANCELLED
DEVASTATED NO MATTER WHAT World Premiere
When Tristan and Riley are tested by a visit from Riley’s long estranged and conservative mother, the stage is set for a crucial discussion of identity as it comes to the surface that Tristan is transgender. All audience members will see resonances with their own lives as the play touches on issues of identity, family, transition and the people that we love. By Grace Connolly; Andrew May (acclaimed star of War Horse) Directs; Tuesday July 21, 9 pm – Saturday July 25, 6:30 pm – Sunday July 26, 12 noon
AFTER TARTUFFE – World Premiere
By Judy Klass. An adaptation of Moliere’s “Tartuffe,” set in a post-apocalyptic future America which has become a Christian Fundamentalist state. A fallen televangelist takes advantage of the good will of a stupid but rich businessman, plotting to marry the daughter while making passes at the wife and son. When the son tries to tell his father what is going on, he winds up coming out to his father as gay, and is thrown out of the house. Will the Oracle (.net) help the son switch to a better alternate universe? – Wednesday July 22, 6 pm – Thursday July 23, 6:30 pm – Saturday July 25, 8 pm
SPECIAL FESTIVAL EVENTS
“Late Night Erotic Cabaret” – Friday July 17, 9 pm – Frank Calo and Spotlight-On productions present the strange and the magical: Enter the dim lit “backroom” and find out what goes on behind closed doors. An evening of erotic song, dance, poetry and theatre. Warning: No Prudes Allowed! Extra Warning: So much fun it’s sinful! $15
“ANNUAL ART SHOW – A Preview” – Wild Project Lobby for 2 weeks; “LGBT Artivism: LGBTQ Voices In The International Dialogue For Justice” – Official Opening Ceremony: Saturday July 18, 11 am-1 pm – FREE
“ALL OUT DANCE” – Thursday July 23, 9 pm – A showcase of new LGBT dance works by local and regional choreographers. Featuring: “Stuck On Repeat” by Scott Davis; “Everything Around Us” by Elliot Ortiz Casan; “Juxtaposition” by Michael Leleux; and works by Jessica Danser and Richard Rivera.
“10-MINUTE EGGS” – Friday July 24, 6:30 pm – Six 10-minute LGBT plays. Black Eye by Carolyn Gage, director Nicole Kontolefa // Do You Want Me To Stop? playwright/director: Maybe Burke // Brokendown House by Lezlie Revelle // Sunset by Gary Jaffe The Real Preston Porter director/playwright/actor: John DeBenedetto // Malaise by Marcus Scott, director Justin Schwartz. $15
“QUEER MEMOIR” – Saturday July 25, 4:30 pm – Kelli Dunham – Everyone’s Favorite Ex-Nun, Genderqueer, Nurse Nerd Comic – hosts an all new edition of the popular storytelling symposium in which readers bear witness to their own life’s moments. “Real stories told live with whatever you need to get your story told.” $10 at the door