59E59 Theaters Announces East to Edinburgh Festival Productions

By Adam Hetrick
23 Jun 2009

Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton
photo by David Beyda

Tony Award winner Austin Pendleton will direct Susan Stein's Etty for the Sixth Annual East to Edinburgh Festival Off-Broadway, which will also include a rock musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The event offers American theatre companies and artists the chance to test their productions prior to playing Scotland's Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. East to Edinburgh also gives New Yorkers the opportunity to see the edgy works without obtaining a passport.

Running July 14-Aug. 2 at 59E59 Theaters, the East to Edinburgh line up follows:

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Rock Musical
    Written by George Griggs
    Directed by Paul Andrew Perez
    Featuring Maxine Builder, Erin Nelligan, Christine Barnwell, Conner Ives, Natalie Tiffany, Carlie Yaroscak, Rachel Farmer, Elizabeth Campolongo, Matt Rodriguez and Christopher Goodwin. (July 14-22)

  • No Parole
    Written and performed by Carlo D’Amore
    Directed by Margarett Perry
    "No Parole takes you on a wild, hilarious and gut-wrenching journey through the real life of a flamboyant con artist mother. From Peru to New York, No Parole provides a look into the life of an extraordinary woman, and the son who must save her from herself." (July 14-19)

  • Miles & Coltrane: Blue(.)
    By Concrete Generation
    Directed by Quentin "Q" Talley
    Featuring Sultan Omar El-Amin, Randolph Ward, Quentin “Q” Talley, Chris Pennix, Charles "CP Maze" Perry, Filmore Johnson, Boris "Bluz" Rogers, Kendrea "Mekkah" Griffith, Carlos Robson, Sherry "Swan" Cole and the Stephen Gordon Quintet.
    "Concrete Generation and the Stephen Gordon Quintet, award-winning poets and musicians, explore the genius, experiences and differences of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, two of jazz's most influential figures, using theatre and music." (July 16-18)

  • Jeff Kreisler's Get Rich Cheating
    Written and performed by Jeff Kreisler
    Directed by Jeff Kreisler and Anne Teutschel
    "Bill Hicks Spirit Award winner reveals proven schemes to make you filthy rich and ruin the world. Everyone's cheating: Why not you?" (July 16-30)

  • 52 Man Pickup
    Written and performed by Desiree Burch
    Directed by Isaac Byrne with Jessica McVea
    "A salacious evening of storytelling and stand-up created by acclaimed performer Desiree Burch. The alt-comedy diva deals out card games and dirty stories with her deck of experience from the city that never sleeps with the same person twice." (July 16-18)

  • West Lethargy
    Written and directed by Steven Kaliski
    Featuring Joie Bauer, Mikaela Feely-Lehmann, Jeffrey Feola, Graham Halstead and Suzanne Lenz
    "This comic take on American pioneers follows two couples who have stalled on their Westward journeys." (July 17-25)

  • Live From New York, It's Jonathan Prager!
    "New York Times featured comedian Jonathan Prager's insight into families, relationships, politics and life’s incongruities is both touching and hilarious." (July 18-26)

  • Brown Ambition
    Written and performed by Carolyn Castiglia
    Directed by Baron Vaughn
    "A mix of stand-up, characters and hip-hop, Brown Ambition chronicles the life of Carolyn Castiglia (Miss CKC from MTV, VH1) as she moves from her small town in Upstate NY to the streets of Harlem and back again. A black comedy about a white girl you won't soon forget." (July 19-22)

  • Etty
    Written and performed by Susan Stein
    Directed by Austin Pendleton
    "Etty Hillesum, seen by many as an adult counterpart to Anne Frank, asks us not to leave her at Auschwitz, but to let her have a say in what she hopes will be a new world." (July 23-26)

  • Ladybug Warrior
    Written and performed by Vicki Ferentinos
    "Vicki Ferentinos takes audiences on a journey to find her inner superhero." (July 23-Aug. 1)

  • The Montana Ranch
    Written by Dylan Dougherty
    "Saving the planet has never been so wrong. Two eco-scam artists turn Obama's Green idealism into a money machine. But a darkly comical change of heart could ruin everything. Greed, betrayal and a dead tortoise." (July 28-Aug. 2)

  • A Longhardt Look at Love With Chad Longhardt
    Written and performed by Brianne Berkson
    Directed by Daniel Kutner
    "Before 'Flavor Flav' or 'Rock of Love,' there was Chad Longhardt: the first Rock-Superstar to seek love on a televised dating-love-competition-show… and there’s a reason this show never aired." (July 29-Aug. 2)

  • Couples Counseling
    By Carey Lovelace
    Directed by Judith Stevens-Ly
    Featuring Kyle Fabel, James Kennedy and Anna Margaret Hollyman
    "Boy loves girl, boy gets therapist, therapist gets girl…and then? This quirky comedy explores psychotherapy, New York-style. A fast-paced, language-driven journey into relationships, love triangles and Freud." (July 31-Aug. 1)

    For tickets phone (212) 279-4200 or visit TicketCentral.

    For further information visit 59E59Theaters.