(Adam Feldman from Time Out New York lists–and intends to have reviewed–all of the shows in the New York Fringe Festival.)
Last year, we at Time Out New York took a radical approach to the massive New York International Fringe Festival: We promised that we would see and review every one of the festival's nearly 200 plays. People said it couldn't be done. Or wouldn't. Or shouldn't. But it was. It was done. And we saw that it was good.
So now we're going to do it again.
That's right: we're reviewing everything. There are 201 shows in this year's festival, and we are reviewing every single one of them, from America's Next Top Bottom: Cycle 5! to Zipperface!!?!: The Hobo Musical. We're reviewing everything even if it kills us, which it might, or just hurts us very badly, which it surely, surely will.
Reviewing 201 shows in two weeks is no easy task. So, in the democratic spirit of the Fringe itself, TONY’s Theater department has gone wide: Thanks to a frenzy of in-house conscription, more than 150 different TONY staffers—writers, editors, designers, photographers, marketers, even interns—have now chosen at least one show apiece, at random, from a thick stack of Fringe postcards and press releases. Over the next few weeks, our ragtag army will fan out below 14th Street to sample this year’s festival fare and report on their findings. Some of our guinea-pig scriveners are seasoned reviewers; others will be taking their first shot at drama criticism. The breadth of this range strikes us as true to the nature of the Fringe Festival: an unpredictable mix of well-seasoned expertise and uncooked enthusiasm.
Wish us strength.
Check back regularly to see new reviews as we post them. And for full details on the festival, visit fringenyc.org.