After a careful review of what's available in this year's Fringe Festival, here is a selective guide of the most promising- sounding shows for opening night, Mar. 12:

Thurs. Mar 12: Venue 1, The Ben & Jerry Theatre at The Market Theatre, Pike Place Market, features Chester Chester Chester Chester Chester -- A promising sounding tale of the little-know, Seattle-born creator of the xerographic copy in 1938, and his slide to obscurity (6 PM) and At Demons With My Face -- A solo show from Canada dealing with an intimacy-challenged actor (Bart Anderson) struggling to come to terms with his past (8 PM)

U-Park Theatre at the Brown Bag Theatre, Newmark Bldg. 2nd and Union, opens with All In The Timing, from Seattle's multi-cultural theatre company ReAct, is David Ives' compendium of witty and wacky short plays (6 PM)

Broadway Market Theatre at A Contemporary Theatre's Bullit Cabaret, 7th & Union offers Apres Moi Le Deluge, Charles Busch and Ken Elliot's one-man show about an Indiana high school teacher, enacted by Scott Zinter (10 PM)

Bill's Off Broadway Theatre at The Ionic Rm in the Masonic Bldg, Pine & Harvard presents Rex by P. Burningham, based on a case study of schizophrenia and The Wizard of Oz (6 PM) Buffalo Exchange Theatre at The Chamber Theatre, Odfellows Bldg., 10th & Pine serves up Naked Truth and Unabashed Lies, with upstate NY actress and storyteller Fran Yardley, in one of the few Fringe shows that sounds like it might entertain the whole family (6 PM), and My Own Private Masha, Althea Hukari performing her own piece about how an actress who loses the coveted role in The Cherry Orchard copes with her failure (9 PM)

Bannerworks Theatre, Freehold East Hall Theatre, 10th & Pine showcases Mirette and Bellini, a magical story of friendships and phobias from Seattle's acclaimed One World Theatre troupe (6 PM) and The Pleasure Principle, from the Dappin' Butoh Dance Ensemble offers "writhing nudes, luscious foods, rich fabric, flights of ecstasy and the fragrance of frangiapani" (8 PM)

Broadway Grill Theatre, Union Garage at 10th between Pike and Union has the winner of the Best of the 1997 San Francisco Fringe, Paper Son, starring comedian Byron Yee, an autobiographical tale of an Oklahoma-reared Asian man now living in San Francisco.

Noah's Bagel Theatre, at The Richard Hugo House, 11th & Pine presents zany cabaret performer Mark Hooker, a hit in last year's Seattle FF in The Night Darrin Stevens Kissed Me, a merry mix of song and stand-up (7:30 PM)

KUOW/KCMU Theatre, NW Actors Studio 11th & Pike revives Williams' Summer and Smoke with a young cast (9:30 PM).

Coastal Kitchen Theatre, The Underground Theatre at Dance at Capitol Hill, 15th Ave presents Doolymoog, in which actor/author Paulsen plays 20 characters and serves potato salad (7:30 PM).

For ticket info and further Seattle Fringe data see the website at www.seattlefringe.org.

-- By David-Edward Hughes
Seattle Correspondent