FringeNYC announces Overall Excellence Awards

In a brief ceremony at the closing night party for the New York international Fringe Festival at The Gramercy Theater, winners of the 2009 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Awards were announced. The awards are selected by an independent panel of over 50 theater professionals.

Outstanding Play:
Viral
Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party
Devil Boys From Beyond

Outstanding Musical:
Mom - A Rock Concert Musical
Citizen Ruth

Outstanding Solo Show:
Art's Heart
The Event
The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer
Remission
Truth Values: One Girl's Romp Through MIT's Male Math Maze
Jesus Ride
The Songs of Robert

Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event:
Bullettrun
666
Baby Wants Candy

Outstanding Playwrighting:
Jason Schafer - Notes on the Land of Earthquake & Fire
Laura Schellhardt - The K of D
Mary Adkins - The 49 Project

Outstanding Direction:
Ben West - How Now, Dow Jones
Patrick McNulty- Harold Pinter Pair
Jeremy Dobrish - Dancing with Abandon
Bill Oliver - A History of Cobbling

Outstanding Costume Design:
Lisa Zinni - A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage
Luke Brown - The Doctor and the Devils

Outstanding Actor:
Alyson Weaver - La Ronde
Autumn Hurlbert - A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage
Ethan Downing - Confirmation
Colin DePaula - Mutti's After Supper Stories
Ken Barnett - La Ronde

Outstanding Ensemble:
Two on the Aisle, Three in the Van
Powerhouse
Ether Steeds
Bargains and Blood (How To Succeed in Home Shopping!)

Outstanding Set Design:
Szu-Feng Chen - The Alchemist of Light

Outstanding Choreography:
Jody Oberfelder - 38 Witnessed Her Death, I Witnessed Her Love: The Lonely Secret of Mary Ann Zielonko (Kitty Genovese Story)
Patricia Norwol - Circuits

In 1997, New York City became the seventh US city to host a fringe festival, joining Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Houston, Orlando and San Francisco. In its first 13 years FringeNYC presented over 2500 performing groups from the U.K., Canada, Poland, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Germany, the Czech Republic and across the U.S., prompting Switzerland's national daily, The New Zurich Zeitung, to declare, "FringeNYC has become the premiere meeting ground for alternative artists." FringeNYC is a production of The Present Company, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Elena K. Holy.

The 14th Annual New York International Fringe Festival will run August 13 - 29, 2010 and will once again feature nearly 200 of the worlds best emerging theater and dance artists. Applications for the 2009 festival will be available online in November; completed applications are due February 14, 2010.

For more information visit www.FringeNYC.org.