LOVE IS LIKE MUD to Play FringeNYC, 8/16-29

Love is Like Mud will have its World Premiere at The New York International Fringe Festival in August. The rock operetta is written by Ben Folstein who also serves as the director and band leader. Brooklyn based band Level II will provide the music. The production is being produced by Level II Theatre.

Sex, humor, and a hefty dose of rock 'n roll are the ingredients of this visually dynamic operetta. Brooklyn band Level II serves up a feast of songs chronicling the romantic misadventures of two lonely kids in the big city.

Love is Like Mud has been in the works for nearly 10 years. In 2006 the band Level II was formed when Ben Folstein arrived in New York. What started out as a bar band quickly became an outlet for Folstein's original music which would later turn into the basis for the musical. In 2008, Love is Like Mud was produced at the Sidewalk Cafe as a small puppet show. Over the next few years, the show went through various iterations, casts, and concepts. The musical was presented at the Tank (45th Street Theater), and then after further development it was presented as a reading at the West End Lounge. The latest and most ambitious iteration will be presented at The New York International Fringe Festival, with a cast of real actors (as opposed to puppets) and a dynamic projection design by Alex Koch.

The cast features Amanda Lee (Bush Wars/Rattlestick Theatre), Jay Leibowitz (Very Very Rock Show/54 Below), Elise Reynard (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf/WaterTower Theatre), and Gavin Rohrer (Let My People Come/Underground Theatre). The band Level II features guitar and songwriter Ben Folstein, Julian Rowe on drums, Peter Van Leeuwen on bass, and Jerry Weimer on sax.

The creative team includes projection design by Alex Koch, lighting design by Alexandra Berch, miniatures and costume design by Birdhouse Studios. Birdhouse Studios includes Dylan Bean, Ben Folstein, Rebecca Holmes, and Lilly Merrill, all of whom have worked as Artisans at Sleep No More.

All performances take place at The DROM (Venue #6), 85 Avenue A (between 5th and 6th Streets). Subway: F to 2nd Avenue, L to 1st Avenue, N/R to 8th Street. Tickets are $18.00 and are available at www.fringenyc.org starting July 17th.

Show Dates: