MARVELLOUS is Coming to FringeNYC, 8/8-15

Marvellous by Matt Minnicino, directed by Elizabeth Nearing, will have its world premiere at The Theater at the 14th St Y (located at 344 E 14th St) as a part of the NYC International Fringe Festival this summer. There are five performances on Friday 8/8 at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday 8/9 at 6:15 p.m.; Tuesday 8/12 at 9:00 p.m.; Thursday 8/14 at 3:45 p.m.; Friday 8/15 at 4:00p.m. Tickets are $18, available through the FringeNYC website (www.fringenyc.org)

"I was drawn to this play because it is hilarious, bold, literary, and wildly theatrical," Nearing said. "This is a story for storytellers, for artists, for anybody with a dream bigger than the box they think they live in."

"Elizabeth and I feel such passion about the importance of telling stories," said Minnicino. ""The concept for Marvellous was born from a desire to create intelligent, enlivening theatre for all audiences. Marvellous is just a humble attempt to invigorate the young imagination. -- a self-aware story about storytelling, poking holes in traditional narrative to take a good, long look at the way we hear and tell tales."

Marvellous tells the story of Verbatim, an orphan left on the steps of an ancient abbey in equally ancient Ireland. Put to work writing other people's stories, he develops an insatiable, unquenchable taste for the imaginary, the heroic, and the fantastic, though his own life has never been anything more than boring. Then, one day, Verbatim's humdrum life is turned upside down. When a ship in the air sailing through the sky gets its anchor stuck in the abbey walls, Verbatim climbs up into a new adventure that forces him to bravely undertake his own fantastic journey.

Marvellous was initially inspired by a poem by the late Seamus Heaney (from his collection, Lightenings), itself based on a popular Irish legend about a flying ship appearing above the Abbey of Clonmacnoise. With Heaney's evocative image as a jumping-off point, Marvellous takes on the archetype of the orphan in literature, drawing from books like Oliver Twist, Tom Sawyer, Peter Pan, Treasure Island and other fiction that explores its protagonist's search for guidance. The play also pulls from stories about stories, such as One Thousand and One Nights, Aesop's Fables, and pockets of Ancient European and Eastern Mythology.

The cast includes Tim Elliott, Amalia Oswald, Alex Spieth, Katrina Mueller, Sara Glancy and Ryan Ward. The production team includes Josh Smith (set); Herin Kaputkin (costumes); Ken Wills (lights); Daniel Dobrosielski (puppets); Katherine Eboch (production manager) and Kelley Van Dilla (Graphic Design).

"Marvellous works like a collage:" Nearing said, "its intention is to bring together the elements of youth literature over the centuries and explore them, while simultaneously providing a high-octane, helter-skelter playground for actors and audiences to work in, one that plays with sensations as well as language and storytelling itself. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share this exciting new play with the incredible and unique FringeNYC audience."

For more information about the play, visit marvellousnyc.com.