The Present Company will bring back its production of C. J. Hopkins' play, Horse Country, as part of the 1999 New York International Fringe Festival, Aug. 18-27. As before, the production will star Frederick Backus and Daniel Berkey and be presented at the Present Company Theatorium on New York's Lower East Side.

Horse Country's director, John Clancy, is also the artistic director of the three-year-old Fringe. Clancy was also represented as a director at the 1997 Fringe, with his oft-revived production of Brian Parks' comedy, Americana Absurdum. During Horse Country's initial run at the Theatorium earlier this year, Clancy occasionally stepped into the production as an actor.

Horse Country focuses on the vaudevillian duo of Bob and Sam. Their comedy schtick takes the audience on a journey into the world of contemporary American culture. Hopkins promises to deliver "a radical interrogation of our ideas and perceptions of society, morals, power, meaning and, ultimately, reality itself" -- a tall order, to be sure.

For more information, call (212) 420-8877 or 888-FRINGENYC.

-- By Robert Simonson