CHARLES BUSCH, ISRAEL HOROVITZ,
DORIC WILSON,
SHERRY EAKER & ELLIE
COVAN
TO BE CROWNED WITH HONORARY
GOLDEN PINEAPPLES
Friday, July 23rd,
2010
at
INTERNATIONAL CRINGEFEST '10
On
Friday, July 23rd, at the Honorary Golden Pineapple Awards of
International CringeFest ‘10, the coveted golden fruit will be served up
to: Broadway/ off-Broadway
playwright-actor Charles Busch, Broadway/ off-Broadway playwright Israel
Horovitz, off-Broadway playwright & gay rights activist Doric Wilson, Backstage’s
Editor-at-Large Sherry Eaker, and Dixon Place’s Founder & Executive
Director Ellie Covan. The
event takes place in the Grand Theatre at the Producers’ Club. Admission for the evening’s theme, Sex
Encounters of a Disturbed Mind, directed by Robert Bartley and
starring Richard Pryor Jr., the Honorary Golden Pineapple Awards
ceremony, and the splendiferous party in the theatre’s Iluras Lounge is only
$40. Proceeds go to support the
company’s dedicated year-round mission of taking professional theatre to
under-served audiences, which they have been doing for the past 28 years. Last year, Pineapples went to Taylor
Mead, Mink Stole, Joe Franklin, Ginny Louloudes, and Michael Musto. In 2008, it was legendary actress
Marilyn Sokol, cabaret star Sidney Myer, and Warhol muse Ultra Violet. Director Tom O'Horgan (Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar) was
honored in 2007.
The six year old CringeFest
opens Monday, July 19, and closes Sunday, August 8, in the Grand Theatre at the
Producers' Club, 358 W. 44 St. These
are BRILLIANT & HILARIOUS works that are irreverent, politically
incorrect, politically satirical, naughty, and utterly zany – what could be
bad?! The schedule is M-F @ 8 pm,
Sat. @ 5, 8 & 10:30 pm, Sun. @ 4 & 7 pm. Plays are arranged in theme
evenings and given quirky titles by artistic director Melba LaRose. Themes rotate, so check the definitive
schedule: www.NYartists.org or www.Theatermania.com. The audience goes for the night and
gets to vote at the end for winners of the Golden Pineapple, Silver Tomato, and
Bronze Banana… and Jack Lemons for the actors. For one ticket, you get to see a number of wild ‘n crazy
works (and sometimes a surprise 5-minute entr’acte) within a 2-hour timespan,
including intermission. The
Producers' Club has a charming, inexpensive bar & lounge for before the
show, at intermission, and at the end where you can mingle with performers.
The 6 rotating themes contain
4-9 short plays/ musicals each. "The Boss Gets Some
Bad News," a
4-min. film by David Schrag, will
open each evening.
SEX
ENCOUNTERS OF A DISTURBED MIND
(dir. Robert Bartley) July 23,
July 27, July 31 (5pm & 8pm); August 4
PSYCHO
BITCH PARTY (dir. Kenny Howard) July 19, July 24 (5pm & 8pm), July 30; August 5
IS THAT
A CORNCOB IN YOUR POCKET? (dirs. Sharon
Einhorn, Mark
Falconer, Kenny Wade Marshall) July 20, July 28; August 2, August 7 (5pm & 8pm)
SEX,
THUGS & ROCKIN' ROLES (dir.
Tom Amici) July 22, July 26, August 1 (4pm & 7pm), August 6
DOW
JONES MEETS DEEP THROAT (dirs.
Reginald Douglas, Eva Minemar, Aaron
Arbiter) July 21, July 25 (4pm & 7pm), July 29; August 3
NO HOLES
BARRED (late-night Saturday)
(dirs. Kenny Wade Marshall, Aaron Arbiter) July 24 &
July 31 & August 7 (10:30pm), Sun., August 8 (4pm)
Tony
Spinosa is Supervising Director of the theme evenings. He is the only director to receive 2
Golden Pineapple Awards for his work with the CringeFest for the 2008
production of Charlie Chang and the
Mysterious Salami, and the 2009 theme evening Is That a Spear in Your Pocket? Tony is Resident Director for the Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles. Recently, he directed Village Light
Opera Group's hit revival of Fiddler on
the Roof. Last year, he helmed
VLOG's Kiss Me, Kate.
This
is the festival's third year at the Producers' Club. The CringeFest is supported in part by the Dramatists Guild
of America, corporate funders, and individual donors. Coverage has appeared in The New
York Times Sunday Arts & Leisure section, New York magazine, TimeOutNY,
and more, providing exposure for a great number of artists: 50 in the
first festival, 300 in the last one. The house is packed nearly every
night with producers, press/ media people, locals and tourists. Renowned writers, composers, directors,
and actors take part and some have been in several festivals. We are proud to say that Kate MacCluggage,
current amazing female lead of The 39 Steps, took part in the
CringeFest a few years ago.
NY
Artists Unlimited is a 28 year old nonprofit organization that provides theatre
and art to under-served audiences. The company is supported in part by
the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Nancy
Quinn Fund, Puffin Foundation, Dramatists Guild Fund, corporate and individual
contributors. The festival lends a
hand in supporting the mission to serve the community. Movers
'n shakers
behind this insanity are: Melba
LaRose, Artistic Director; Bill & Anita Brown, associate producers from
Shooting Star Theatre; Tony Spinosa, Supervising Director, Court Sweeting,
Technical Director, plus myriad interns and volunteers who make the whole thing
happen.
For
more information or reservations, call 212-242-6036 or visit www.nyartists.org. For
online ticketing: www.theatermania.com. Grand
Theatre at the Producers Club, 358 W. 44 St., betw. Eighth/ Ninth Aves., July
19-August 8. Tickets are $25
M-Sat. @ 8 p.m. ($20 advance sales - deadline July 1); student tix $15; $20
Sat. @ 5 p.m. & Sun. @ 4 p.m.; $18 Sat. @ 10:30 & Sun. @ 7 p.m.; and
$18 Sun., Aug. 8, @ 4 p.m.
$40 HONORARY GOLDEN PINEAPPLE NIGHT
TIX: Fri., July 23, 8 p.m.-12 a.m.
– Sex Encounters of a Disturbed Mind, Golden Pineapple Awards, party
till you drop with splendiferous food & drink, all inclusive. Reservations strongly suggested.
Visit
website for calendar of rotating theme nights: www.NYartists.org
