Spaghetti & Meatball Players' THE COMMEDIA RAPUNZEL Comes to FringeNYC Tonight

Two sassy birds? A gossiping 80's hairstylist? A Cobbler and his wife from the wrong side of the tracks? COMMEDIA DELL ARTE?!? BACK UP NOW! This ain't yo mama's Rapunzel!

The Spaghetti and Meatball Players are proud to present The Commedia Rapunzel as part of the 19th annual New York International Fringe Festival- FringeNYC! The Commedia Rapunzel is written by Sam LaFrage, and is directed by Dennis Corsi and Sam LaFrage.

Sam LaFrage is a 2012 graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and was selected as a member of the 2013 New York Academy Company. Dennis Corsi is the artistic associate of the Bingham Camp Theatre Retreat and is the creator of ScriptMatch.com. He works for Theatreworks USA as the assistant director to Devanand Janki and Peter Flynn.

The Commedia Rapunzel originally premiered at Columbia Children's Theatre in South Carolina where it sold out the entirety of its run. It follows the Spaghetti and Meatball Players, a troupe of poor traveling "Italian" actors, as they present a hilarious zany musical romp through a twisted re-telling of the fairytale "Rapunzel"done in the style of Commedia dell Arte! Expect the unexpected in this wild night of participatory theatre that is WACKY CRAZY FUN for the ENTIRE FAMILY! Jasper Magazine said, "It's the funniest play I've seen in years."

The cast features Sam LaFrage as Arlecchino, Natasha Nightingale (The Thirty Nine Steps; WPPAC) as Columbina, Billy Aken-Tyers (Hair; Secret Theatre, NYC) as Rosetta, Conor McGuigan as Pulcinella, Andy Dispensa (Robin Hood: The Musical by Douglas Carter Beane) as Pantelone, and Joe McGurl as Zanni.

Other members of the creative team include set designer Simone Daniel, sound designer Sam LaFrage, costume designer Angela Borst, stage manager Jonathan Steiger and graphic designer Becky Laff.

The Commedia Rapunzel will be performed at the 14th Street Y, 344 East 14th Street (at 1st Avenue) in August on Friday the 14th at 5:00 PM, Sunday the 16th at 12:00 PM, Thursday the 20th at 2:00 PM, Saturday the 22nd at 3:30 PM, and Wednesday the 26 at 6:30 PM. Tickets are on sale at www.thecommediarapunzel.com. For more information visit www.thecommediarapunzel.com.