Lightning Field, Eisteddfod, Half Life Have Life Beyond Fringe; More Expected to Return

By Ernio Hernandez
August 30, 2005

As previous FringeNYC shows Slut, Gork!, Sides: The Fear is Real... and Dog Sees God prepare for commercial runs this fall, this year's cream of the crop are looking forward to similar fates.

FringeNYC 2005 Overall Excellence Award winners The Lightning Field and Half Life have already announced extension beyond the festival at The Flea Theatre. The Lightning Field plays Sept. 12-28 (Monday-Wednesday at 9 PM — Sept. 12 and 26 at 7 PM) and Half Life will play opposite (Thursday-Saturday at 9 PM) from Sept 9-24.

The Eisteddfod also extends it run in New York, playing Aug. 31-Sept. 10 at The Ontological Theatre. Other Fringe faves that will likely reappear include Bridezilla Strikes Back!, The Miss Education of Jenna Bush, Fleet Week: The Musical, Beautiful, Silence! The Musical and Go-Go Kitty, GO!.

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The FringeNYC 2005 Overall Excellence Award winners are as follows:

Outstanding Play:
The Lightning Field
God's Waiting Room
Go-Go Kitty, GO!

Outstanding Musical:
Silence! The Musical
Fleet Week: The Musical

Outstanding Playwrighting:
Katherine Knowles - Magician
Robin Maguire - Aquarium
Martin Casella - The Irish Curse
Robert Moulthrop - Half Life

Outstanding Multimedia:
Movie Geek

Outstanding Music & Lyrics:
Paul Foglino - Hercules in High Suburbia
Dante Russo (Lyrics)/David F.M. Vaughn (Music) - Extraordinary

Outstanding Solo Show:
The Miss Education of Jenna Bush
Bridezilla Strikes Back
Jesus in Montana
Surviving David

Outstanding Direction:
Scott Ebersold - The Silent Concerto

Outstanding Costume Design:
Kerith Wolf - Marlowe

Outstanding Sound Design:
Mark Huang - Go-Go Kitty, GO!

Outstanding Set Design:
Nicholas Vaughan - The Silent Concerto

Outstanding Actor:
Jennifer Gibbs - Edna St. Vincent Millay Speaks to the Committee on Immorality
James Murray Jackson, Jr. - Unspeakable: Richard Pryor Live & Uncensored
Rick Bland - Thick
Doug Kreeger - Swimming Upstream

Outstanding Ensemble:
Amerika
Fluffy Bunnies in a Field of Daisies
Weddings of Mass Destruction
Hit

Outstanding Fight Direction:
Michael G. Chin - The Lizards

Outstanding Choreography:
Regina Nejman - The Velocity of Things
Nina Hein - Icarus

Awards are selected by an independent panel of 60 industry professionals. There are no set categories or number of awards selected each year. Awards were presented by Festival Producing Artistic Director Elena K. Holy at the FringeNYC closing ceremony held Aug. 28 at FringeCentral.

Among the more famous of Fringe alumni are the Off-Broadway stagings of Never Swim Alone, 21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com, Debbie Does Dallas, Matt & Ben and The Joys of Sex. The grande dame of all Fringe alum is the Tony Award-winning Urinetown, which graduated to Off-Broadway, then Broadway and has since toured across the country.

For more information on the New York International Fringe Festival, visit www.FringeNYC.org.