Ny International Fringe Festival

I try to go to at least one performance every year. The last show i saw was pretty silly but there were some amazing ones too. All in all, it’s a festival so its a hit or miss — do your research, but to see any theater performance for $ 18 is, i think, a great opportunity. Also i think they have a volunteer program where you help them at ticket check and see a show for free.

(Note: This review pertains to the 2010 festival)
The Fringe Festival is an organization that does an important service to the NYC theater industry by making small-​time theater accessible to a larger audience. The sad part is, that they are so strict in the way they run their ticketing operations, that they’ve completely turned me (and I’m sure, other people) off as future audience members.
I was meeting my friend to watch «Made in Taiwan». She was running late, so I bought 2 tickets for us first, at the theater. She didn’t get my text about already having gotten a ticket for her, so when she arrived, she bought a ticket for herself. Before the show started, I tried to return one of my tickets. The door staff told me all ticket sale issues were being handled by the main Fringe Festival office, and they weren’t allowed to issue refunds. After the show, we headed over to the main office to refund my ticket. They told me that after a show is performed, they can no longer issue a refund. I asked why the staff at the theater couldn’t just issue me a refund before the show started, like I asked. They just shrugged their shoulders and said, «that’s the rule.»
I told them this was an asinine rule and tantamount to cheating their customers. Thanks Fringe Festival, you’ve lost me as a theater-​goer forever.

Considering the price you’re paying for a show ($ 15), I think the NY International Fringe Festival is one of the best undiscovered opportunities in New York City.
I saw «Don’t Touch Me, Amigo» and «Sunday Best» this weekend, and thought both performances were fantastic. There are dozens and dozens of shows playing throughout the city over the next 2 weeks, and they not only enable you to see great performances, but see great theater locations that may otherwise not get the publicity.
I don’t consider myself a theater buff, but I do consider myself someone who will take a chance and see a show. It’s an alternative to a typical movie night out, without having to pay more for entertainment.

Sunday we saw «Paper Son» [
]; by Byron Yee [
] at The New York International Fringe Festival [
].
I HIGHLY recommend «Paper Son» especially if you are Chinese, or an immigrant or a child of an immigrant — and if you are not Chinese, or an immigrant or a child of an immigrant, then you should see this show to help you understand the rest of us.