59E59 Announce East to Edinburgh Festival

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) announces the 2008 line up for the 5th annual EAST TO EDINBURGH festival, taking place from Tuesday, July 8 through Sunday, July 27 at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues).  The performance schedule varies.  Tickets to each EAST TO EDINBURGH show are $15 ($10.50 for 59E59 Members).  Patrons purchasing four or more shows receive 10% off the regular ticket price. 59E59 Theaters is located at 59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues.  Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com.  To receive the 10% discount, tickets must be purchased in person at the 59E59 Theaters box office.  Visit www.easttoedinburgh.com for more details.

More US theater companies than ever before head EAST TO EDINBURGH to take part in the world's largest cultural extravaganza the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  59E59 Theaters is proud to host numerous innovative productions each year before their journey across the Atlantic!

Created as a way to help shows get on their feet before flying off to Scotland, EAST TO EDINBURGH simulates the same production constraints that all shows experience during the Festival, while giving them a clean, comfortable and nurturing space to fine-tune their productions.  This whirlwind three-week festival reflects some of the most adventurous theater from some of best theater companies across the United States.

Featured in this year's festival include the runaway hit from San Francisco 7 SINS, Comedy Central Indecision2008 writer Jeff Kreisler's hilarious and insightful views on American politics in Jeff Kreisler '08 and Queen of Wyoming, a true story about a woman who goes on the road to campaign for her father's Gubernatorial bid in conservative Wyoming.

This year, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe launches on August 3 and runs through August 25.  With over 2,000 shows, 205 active venues and 1.6 million tickets sold during the 2007 festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest and most famous arts festival in the world. For more information on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, visit www.edfringe.com.

The 2008 East to Edinburgh line up is:
Tuesday, July 8 – Thursday, July 10 at 9 PM; Saturday, July 12 at 2 PM; Sunday, July 13 at 7PM7 SINS, written and performed by James Judd; directed by Randall Rapstine.

7 SINS is a collection of true, fast, and funny stories from the life of writer/comedian James Judd.  It chronicles his early ambition to win his 5th Grade book report competition with My Search for Patty Hearst, and his first job when his working mother paid him to watch The Young and the Restless and then reenact it for her. He relives his varied careers as a forgotten employee of AT&T, where he did nothing for a year, an even shorter-lived career as a dot.com journalist (which led to an insane night with five Chinese billionaires in a Chinese bordello), and as an under-prepared criminal defense attorney representing violent teenage girls, as well as many more strange and always funny stories.

Thursday, July 10 at 7 PM; Tuesday, July 15 and Wednesday, July 16 at 9 PM
Jeff Kreisler '08, written and performed by Jeff Kreisler
A writer for Comedy Central's Indecision2008 and winner of the Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought Provoking Comedy, Jeff Kreisler dissects American politics and culture with passion, absurdity, and hope.

Friday, July 11 – Saturday, July 12 at 7 PM; Friday, July 18 at 7 PM
Dirt, written by Robert Schneider; directed by David Robinson; starring Christopher J. Domig. Produced by Dreck Productions.

Sad, a desperately alienated illegal Iraqi immigrant sells roses and loves to speak English. But nobody talks to him. This powerful play confronts xenophobia, latent racism and ethnocentrism and was called "riveting" by Time Out NY when it premiered at last year's NY International Fringe Festival.

Tuesday, July 15 – Thursday 17 at 7 PM; Friday, July 18, Saturday, July 19 and Tuesday, July 22 at 9 PM
Jonathan Prager's Comedy Festival Encore, written and performed by Jonathan Prager.

Jonathan Prager's blazing wit and genial charisma bring unique comic insight and laughter to family life, relationships and political satire.

Saturday, July 19 – Sunday, July 20 at 7 PM; Saturday, July 26 – Sunday, July 27 at 7 PM
Mythellaneous, written by Emily Davis; directed by Bethany Burgess Smith; starring Emily Davis and Jerry Richardson. Produced by Messenger Theatre Company.

Can music, dance, puppetry, mythic battles, trials and temptation make a clown a hero?
Mythellaneous follows Joseph Campbell's famous concept of "The Hero's Journey."

Tuesday, July 22 – Thursday, July 24 at 7PM
Queen of Wyoming, written and performed by Maggie Simpson; directed by Laura Crook. Produced by SenovvA, Inc.

Politics, music, and family all collide on the plains of the American Midwest in this true story of Boston-based singer-songwriter Maggie Simpson's journey home to campaign with her father's gubernatorial run in conservative Wyoming.  This fourth generation political family brings all the baggage along for a ride in the Winnebago.

Wednesday, July 23 – Friday, July 25 at 9 PM
The Judgment of Paris adapted by Austin McCormick with Toby Burns; directed by Austin McCormick.  The cast features: Laura Careless, Samantha Ernst, Yeva Glover, Gioia Marchese, Seth Numrich, and Davon Rainey. Produced by Company XIV.

Inspired by the Greek myth The Judgment of Paris, in which the first ever beauty contest occurred, this epic story of lust, love, and tragedy illustrates the events that lead to Paris' fateful decision to award Aphrodite the golden apple in exchange for Helen of Troy, history's first "blond bombshell."  Offenbach's comic opera La Belle Helene adds tantalizing humorous interludes to this mash-up of classic, contemporary, historical, and pop art.

Friday, July 25 at 7 PM; Saturday, July 26 at 2 PM, Sunday, July 27 at 4 PM
I Lost My Laugh in the Revolution, written and performed by Shameka Cunningham; directed by Ayana Cahrr. Produced by Laugh Write Productions.

I Lost My Laugh in the Revolution is a story woven from the misadventure of a soul searching narrator, the silent longing of a passionate letter writer and the trials of a young girl rebel marching into the outside world of perilous cars, trucks, forced laughs and heartbreak on a mission to get to the president, save the world and find her real laugh. Told through storytelling, movement, poetry and, of course, laughter.

Saturday, July 26 at 4 PM & 9 PM; Sunday, July 27 at 2 PM
Queen Rita's Blues Alley, written, directed and performed by Amontaine Aurore.  Produced by Ten Auras Productions.

Rita Beckworth went from homelessness to thriving blues singer and club owner. But something strange is being served to her customers, and now she must stand trial in this unique one-woman play.

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