FringeNYC Returns for 20th Season Beginning Aug. 12 with Nearly 200 Premieres

The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) will celebrate its 20th Anniversary August 12 - 28, 2016. This year the festival presents programming by nearly 200 of the world's best emerging theatre troupes and dance companies. With attendance topping 75,000 people, FringeNYC is New York City's fifth largest event (just behind New York International Auto Show, Tribeca Film Festival, New York City Marathon, and New York Comic Con).

A COMPLETE LIST OF SHOWS IS NOW ONLINE at: www.FringeNYC.org.

FringeNYC is a production of The Present Company, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Elena K. Holy. 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. FringeNYC has presented over 3000 performing groups representing every continent, prompting Switzerland's national daily, The New Zurich Zeitung, to declare FringeNYC as "the premiere meeting ground for alternative artists." FringeNYC has also been the launching pad for numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway transfers, long-running downtown hits, and regional Theater Productions including Urinetown, Matt & Ben, Debbie Does Dallas, Dog Sees God, Brandon Teena, Dixie's Tupperware Party, The Irish Curse, Jurassic Parq, The Twentieth Century Way, Tom Crean: Antarctic Explorer, and Silence! The Musical; movies including WTC View and Armless; and even a TV show ('da Kink in My Hair). The festival has also presented the New York premiere of new plays by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Rolin Jones, Edna Walsh, David Greenspan, Arlene Hutton, Daniel MacIvor, Conor McPherson, and Mike Daisey, among others. Other FringeNYC alumni include Bradley Cooper, Melissa Rauch (Big Bang Theory), Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me, CNN's Inside Man), Mindy Kaling, Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Pippin), Alex Timbers (Rocky), Leigh Silverman (Violet), W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty), David Anders (iZombie) and Kristen Schall (Last Man on Earth), among countless other success stories.

FringeNYC shows run 2pm - midnight weekdays and noon - midnight on weekends. Tickets are $18 each ($13 for kids under 12 for FringeJR shows only), available at www.FringeNYC.org beginning July 15th. Discount passes for multiple shows (including the Fiver and the all-you-can-see Lunatic Pass) are also available. For more information visit www.FringeNYC.org.