WAITING FOR GANOL To Bring Laugh-out-loud South Philly Gender Reveal To 2023 Fringe

Blue or pink: What do you think?

The Cosentinos are nearly ready to cut open a giant cannoli and reveal their new baby's sex to the world. You're invited into their backyard for WAITING FOR GANOL, a uniquely Philly, uniquely funny new comedy. In a site-specific staging at the Maas Building (1320 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia), audiences will become a part of a South Philly family's dramatic gender reveal for three performances only: September 7, 20, and 24. 

Says playwright Alex Marcus, a South Philly-based writer who has appeared in Slate, The A.V. Club, and Philly's former City Paper: "I heard a story about a gender reveal gone wrong and it got me thinking: Why is this something we suddenly ritualize? And often in such ridiculous ways? What is it that's really underlying the latest viral freakout (or forest fire)? And where does a kid go in life when a path is predetermined for them by the color of the cream in an oversized pastry? I set out to write a play that wrestles with some of those questions while showing its audience a madcap good time, and I'm thrilled to premiere it at this year's Philly Fringe."

WAITING FOR GANOL deals with its characters' excitement and fear around a soon-to-arrive baby, exploring the shape of parental love and the paths we choose to lay out for our children. With characters that include a married couple, their friends, and a grandfather, the play brings perspectives across older and younger generations, across parents and the childless. And through its site-specific, outdoor staging, the production will drop audiences into the action, as if they are literally in the Cosentino family's South Philly backyard. Directed by Arielle Sosland, the work features a cast of five: Joe Falcone, Samantha Ricchiuti, Maria Riillo, Harrison Rothbaum, and Stu Sklar (bios below).

Tickets to WAITING FOR GANOL are currently on sale through Philly Fringe (phillyfringe.org/events/waiting-for-ganol) or at WaitingForGanol.com. General admission is $25; Pay What You Can tickets start at $5. Find more information at WaitingForGanol.com and on Instagram @WaitingForGanol.

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