The Fall Mini-Fest

Summer is the usual domain of theatre festivals in New York City, so veteran Midtown International Theatre Festival producer John Chatterton has decided to put on a Fall Mini-Fest in his own cozy theatre, the 50-seat Where Eagles Dare, part of the theatrical new wave in the Fashion District. He has chosen a handful of new or little-known works to tweak the interest of New Yorkers this November.

The musical drama Return of the Native or the Wages of Sin, based on the Thomas Hardy novel Return of the Native, with book, lyrics, and music by John Taylor Thomas

La Muse Vénale Acting Troupepresent two plays by Eddie Betz, Only His Knees and Losin’ Mannie. These two plays are set in New Orleans, Betz’s hometown.

Does love even exist? What is our role in today’s over-populated society to pair off and mate? Jesse Schmitt’s Last Day is a funny, touching piece set to the familiar tune of wedding bells and one couple’s confused, earnest attempt to live up to their present while honoring their past.

The Xoregos Performing Company presents two one-acts by Michael Kalmen. In Re: Mr. Stanley, a drama in four monologs, reveals the seamy downside of an upscale corporate law firm; Seance at Fountainebleau is a comedy about two phony spiritualists who inadvertently conjure up a very real spirit. Shela Xoregos directs.

In Jonathan Joy’s Simply Selma, a young woman, Selma, keeps two full-time jobs — as a stripper at a local club and taking care of her mother at home. Mama is a loving, but overbearing, woman in her 60s determined to convince Selma to stop stripping and find herself a mate. When Michael moves in next door, Mama is convinced he is the perfect man for her daughter.

The pot is on the stove! But just what’s in an Abnormal Stew? Siblings re-united! Sins forgiven? Boy meets Girl. Boy marries Girl. Girl has torrid affair with a … sock monkey? An hour and a half of pure silliness!

This Spy Surfs is a theatric multimedia work in which the dramatic performance is set to music. The show is a serialized mythic opera told instrumentally with surf and spy music, using computer generated vocalizations, and multi-disciplined image events.