Gospel According to Matthew Begins at FringeNYC 8/12

Constyabul Productions is proud to present The Gospel According to Matthew, written by and starring Matthew Francis, as part of the 11th annual New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC). Under the direction of David Drake, Francis' revelatory 90-minute show will play at off-Broadway's Soho Playhouse August 12 - 24.

Performances are:
Sunday, August 12 at 2:15PM
Friday, August 17 at 7PM
Sunday, August 19 at 10PM
Monday, August 20 at 3PM
Friday, August 24 at 5PM

In The Gospel According to Matthew, "Matthew gives his testimony and performs verbatim stories of sinners, teachers, and preachers. Sometimes cathartic, always provocative, this one-man play will inspire and transform the conversation between the Christian Fundamentalist and gay communities. Francis brings to life over 20 characters- from Fred Phelps to Mel White, the former right-hand to Jerry Falwell who is now a gay activist," as described in press notes.

Francis' show was developed over 12 years combining the interview, research and performance techniques of critically-acclaimed playwright and performer Anna Deavere Smith, as well as anecdotes from his own fascinating life story, which together create a truly unique and moving theatrical event about coming out, Oprah and the love of Jesus. After receiving accolades for a workshop at Virginia Tech last year and subsequent readings at Manhattan Theatre Club and New York Theatre Workshop, Francis' play receives its world premiere at FringeNYC.

Francis explains: "My play, The Gospel According to Matthew, is both my story of sexual awakening from within Christian fundamentalism and my performance of interviews I have conducted over the last 12 years on both sides of the Christian/homosexual divide. This is the first time that autobiographical story telling in the style of Spalding Gray has been combined with docudrama in the style of Anna Deavere Smith. I'm creating my very own genre of 'docu-Matthew-graphy!'"

The New York International Fringe Festival - Fringe NYC runs from August 10 to August 26, 2007 and is a production of The Present Company. Tickets are $15. For tickets visit www.FringeNYC.org or call (212) 279-4488 or 1-888-FringeNYC.

For more information on The Gospel According to Matthew, please visit www.matthewfrancis.net