ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: The Fringe Festival Has Edgy Gay Offerings For a Variety of Tastes

(The 20th Century Way. Photo: Ed Krieger)
The New York International Fringe Festival, one of New York’s largest theatrical incubators, is back for a 14th year and ready to dazzle even the most jaded New Yorkers. Of the nearly 200 productions running from August 13 to August 29, more than a few cover LGBT themes. We've sifted through the schedule to bring you some queer highlights from Fringe Festival 2010. Visit FringeNYC.org for a full schedule and ticketing information.—Juan Pawiroredjo
 
Missionary Position
With this second installment of his ongoing "Mormon Boy Trilogy," Steven Fales explores his experiences as a closeted missionary in Portugal. “It’s about what happens when we suppress our sexuality,” the writer/star says. “And it’s a story of unrequited love—[a man's] love for the church, love for his companions, love for himself and love for God." Don’t worry if you didn't catch Confessions of a Mormon Boy, the first installment in the series. Fales says each play stands on its own.
(@ Soho Playhouse; mormonboy.com)
 
Over and Over
When we heard that Were the World Mine star Tanner Cohen was playing one of the leads in this complicated relationship drama, we were intrigued. After writer/director Tim Aumiller explains that the play is “about longing, hunger, forgiveness and denial,” between two old college friends who have a sexually-charged reunion, we were sold. “It’s also about love—the presence or absence of, and desire for it,” Aumiller continues. “There is a sense of heightened voyeurism that I think is slightly different than what normal theatre invites us to watch,” he says. The honesty and rough edges of Aumillers work is worth experiencing. (@ Cherry Lane Theater; nohopeproductions.com)
 
Veritas
Veritas tells the tragic true story of a group of young men at Harvard in 1920 whose promising future took a turn for the worse when they fell prey to the Ivy League school’s “Secret Court”—a witch-hunting star chamber administrators created to purge Harvard of homosexuals. Ten talented young actors—including Justin Blanchard (Broadway's Journey’s End) and Paul Downs Colaizzo (As The World Turns)—turn in brave and believable performances.
(@ HERE Arts Center; veritastheplay.com)
 
Miss Magnolia Beaumont Goes to Provincetown
A cross between All of Me and Steel Magnolias, Joe Hutcheson's one-man show presents the complicated character of Miss Magnolia Beaumont, a Civil War-era Southern debutante whose spirit is trapped in the body of a contemporary gay New Yorker. “Miss Beaumont is very real to me and she becomes very real for the audience too," says Hutcheson. "People often forget that they’re watching a one-man-show."
(@ Cherry Lane Theater; MissMagnoliaBeaumont.com)
 
Open Heart
An exploration of gay couples in open relationships, Open Heart recounts the experiences of 13 real New York couples—the ups, downs, twists and turns. “During my research for an earlier play I began to wonder about the frequency of open relationships today, particularly against the backdrop of same-sex marriage,” says the play's director and playwright, Joe Salvatore.  ”The show uses the words of real people." How do gay couples choose to live in open relationships? How do gay men in open relationships define the word monogamy? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this arrangement? These are just a couple of questions Salvatore hopes to answer.
(@ LaMAMA; openhearttheplay.com)
 
The Twentieth-Century Way
In 1914 Long Beach, two "straight" out-of-work actors prepare for roles as gay men trolling bathrooms, in hopes of getting hired by area police to help crack down on public sex.  Based on a real-life incident, palywright Tom Jacobson's drama explores the nature of sexuality in a historical context—were these two men gay or just looking for work? "This is the first instance of entrapment that I had ever read about, and it was two actors that were doing it," said Jacobson. "It seemed ripe with metaphor.” Fun fact: The play's title stems from a colloquial term for oral sex at the time, based on the then-recent invention of the zipper.
(@ Players Theater; bostoncourt.com)

Bunked
Written by Alaina Kunin and Bradford Proctor, this new musical follows five camp counselors near the end of summer, when passion, jealously, dangerous secrets and love triangles emerge. "It's special because it is post-gay—these are teenagers unconsumed with sexuality and labels," says Kunin.  "For them, sexuality is not an issue. Also the very catchy music!"
(@ Lucille Lortel Theatre; bunkedthemusical.com)
 
Dear Harvey
Intimate interviews with the slain gay civil-rights leader's friends and relatives—including activist Cleve Jones, campaign manager Anne Kronenberg, and nephew Stuart Milk—provided the source material for this timely musical. 
(@ Soho Playhouse; divisionary.org) 


A Raisin in the Salad: Black Plays for White People
Writer Kevin R. Free and Christopher Burris ask, "What happens to a dream that's stirred (not shaken)?" The answer lies in a series of revealing and hilarious. "It's about race, identity and representation," says producer Bryan E. Glover. "It's essentially a black gay playwright and his white and black characters all grapple with race and identity prisons."  Teases Free, "There's a 'happy ending' on stage, if you catch my drift."
(@ Players Theatre, blackplaysforwhitepeople.com)
 
3 Boys
In this theatrical allegory, two older dogs teach a young pup how to make it in the world and the rules he must follow to survive. "[But} It soon comes out that the feelings these dogs have for each other defy all the limits that humanity has placed on them—and that they have placed on themselves," ssays producer Katie Chamber. Queer canines? We love it!  "It sheds light on the painful realities of how societal structures can be incredibly damaging...a great, darkly humorous drama with a message that will have people talking long after the lights come up," Chamber adds. We'll never look at Fifi the same way again.
(@ 4th St Theater; 3boysnyc.com)