Hello, I Must Be Going Plays FringeNYC

Four Individuals Learn (Perhaps) Too Late The Secrets Of Life in Hello, I Must Be Going, Part of the New York International Fringe Festival - A Production of The Present Company

"A joyful celebration of a life of a common guy with all its tragedy, confusion and happiness. One leaves the theater with a feeling that there is always hope." (The News-Press)

"A wildly funny, compelling and ultimately moving play which examines the dynamics of life, death and living death" (The Islander)

All too often life's secrets are revealed when it's too late to do anything about it, as shown in Albi Gorn's wistful and touching Hello, I Must Be Going, part of the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC). Directed by Alan Fox, the show will be presented by M&M Productions Acting Company, Inc. and begin performances on Sunday, August 14th. Hello, I Must Be Going will be performed at Tom Noonan's Paradise Factory, located at 64 East 4th Street

Harvey is a middle-aged man who never took the time to get to know his father, Maury, until he's about to become a dad himself for the first time -- with twins, no less. Then Maury has a devastating stroke and Harvey finds he can't communicate with his father at a time he needs him the most. As Harvey struggles with newfound parenthood, Maury's persona observes it all, thinking about fishing and willing his body to give up and let him die. Meanwhile, the spirits of Harvey's (initially) womb-locked children question if they really want to be born at all. Yet why do his infant son and newly-incapacitated dad keep smiling so inscrutably? It's as if they know something Harvey doesn't.

Hello, I Must Be Going is a story about the importance of taking time to live and getting to know the people you love, before it's all taken away . At times you won't know whether to laugh or cry, but in between the joy and pain one thing is certain: when all is said and done, regret is the most devastating thing of all.

The cast of Hello, I Must Be Going features Lily Corvo*, Rich Desloge*, Deborah Green*, Robin Haynes*, Bob Heller* and Jeremy Lawrence*. The production is an Equity Showcase.

Albi Gorn has been writing plays for the last twenty years and has won a half dozen national playwriting contests, including the Strawberry Festival in NYC, and competitions in LA, Cleveland, Iowa, Florida and Connecticut. His shows have been produced In Manhattan and all over the United States and in England. His short play, It's About Forgiveness, was performed at a competition in Connecticut by Daniel Gerroll (Chariots of Fire) and Patricia Kalember (Thirtysomething and Sisters). A collection of his one-act plays was produced at last year's Fringe Festival under the title Dream Lovers. An earlier version of Hello, I Must Be Going was performed in Florida about ten years ago, receiving enthusiastic reviews.

Alan Fox has directed Old Friends, with Pat Carroll and Patricia Conolly at Queens Theatre in the Park and The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. Other directing credits include The Pajama Game, Gracie and Glorie (with Pat Carroll and Bonnie Franklin), Funny Girl, Miss Reardon Drinks A Little, and My Fat Friend. He has directed shows at the Jewish Repertory Theatre, Equity Library Theatre, New York Shakespeare Festival (as an Assistant Director) New Dramatists, Perry Street Theatre and South Street Theatre (Theatre Row), and the North Shore Music Theatre.

M&M Productions Acting Company, Inc. cofounders Melinda O'Brien and Michael Muldoon are committed to developing quality, live theatre and bringing it into intimate settings throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond. The company has presented works at the 2009 International Fringe Festival (Dream Lovers and Others) and was selected as a Westchester Magazine's "Best of Westchester" for Theatre in 2009. In 2004, M&M inaugurated the Hudson Valley Fringe Theatre Festival, bringing innovative performances to four geographically diverse theatres and in 2006 produced their first juried, one-act Festival titled Keep Breathing. Also in 2006, M&M's Alice in Wonderland was selected as one of three "must sees" in Westchester County by Channel 12. With over 60 productions traveling to more than 45 venues in the Hudson Valley, M&M continues to tickle, shock and inspire audiences, producing classics, contemporary plays and developing new works.

Running through August 19th, Hello, I Must Be Going will be performed at Tom Noonan's Paradise Factory, located at 64 East 4th Street (between Bowery and 2nd Avenue) as part of the 14th Annual Midtown International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC). Show times are Saturday, August 14th at 7:15pm, Sunday, August 15th at 2pm, Monday, August 16th at 7:45pm, Tuesday, August 17th at 5pm, Wednesday, August 18th at 10pm and Thursday, August 19th at 7:15pm. Tickets are $15.00 in advance, $18.00 at the door and $10.00 for people over 65. Reservations: 1-800-469-7619, www.fringenyc.org.

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