The Spring Midtown International Theatre Festival Returns

Year 2016 looks like it will be AMAZING for the venerable Midtown International Theatre Festival.
The level of talent and experience this season is considerable. The subject matter stronger, more topical, and brilliantly written.

Powerful and unique themes pervade this series of works including spirituality and "the other side;" sexuality and relationships and its burgeoning diversity; the power of - and within - women; the casualty of war - and the casual way we look at it; fine art; the church; crippling illness from the point of the crippled; redemption; and myriad more are explored in under two hours!
A KIND SHOT written and performed by Terri Mateer; A 6' 1" chick lets it rip about playing pro basketball in France, modeling, stripping, designing Michael Jordan's headboard and taking lots of shots at life. (Solo Show) This show has adult content.Performing: Wed 3/16, 7:00pm; Fri 3/18, 7:00pm; Sun 3/20, 2:00pm

A SOLDIER'S LOVER by Jacklyn Thrapp, directed by Heather Cole; The story takes place in the present time & the possible future, as a woman spends a year experiencing the reality of what it's like to love a soldier overseas. (Comedy). Performing: Mon 3/7, 8:45pm; Tues 3/8, 8:15pm; Wed 3/9, 7:30pm

CORPUS by Jordan Stovall; In a rundown New York health spa, Renata, a brash fifty year old Serbian widow, finds an unusual kinship with Matthew, a twenty something who believes he's being visited by a dead lover. AEA Performing: Mon 3/14, 6:00pm; Thurs 3/17, 7:15pm; Sat 3/19, 2:30pm

DIE by Leonard D. Goodisman, directed by JC Sullivan

A woman accused of killing her baby daughter has a powerful sexual control over men and women, the detective investigating her and the reporter protecting her...she also has a mirror-mirror-on-the-wall.(Fairy tale/Drama) Performing: Mon 3/7, 6:00pm; Thurs 3/10, 6:00pm; Fri 3/11, 7:15pm

GODHEAD by Richard Curtis, dir. by Paul Navarra;* starring Laura Fay Lewis* and Mike Roche.* "Godhead" is the title of a favorite painting that the artist sold in a moment of weakness. Now she wants to meet the man who bought it, to discover if he is worthy of her masterpiece: He isn't. *AEA Performing: Wed 3/23, 7:30pm; Fri 3/25, 6:00pm; Sun 3/27, 3:30pm

GOD SPELLED BACKWARD by Marjorie Conn, directed by John Buckingham; starring Marjorie Conn, Dreidel, Puppets: Ervina and Frosty; A unique ventriloquist routine written and performed by Marjorie Conn who sings songs and tells dog stories with the assistance of two dog puppets, a Greyhound mask and a real dog named Dreidel. (Ventriloquist) Performing: Mon 3/21, 7:15pm; Thurs 3/24, 7:30pm; Sat 3/26, 4:15pm

GRAHAM'S LAW OF DIFFUSION by Michael K. White and Dianna Stark, directed by Terry V. Prideaux; starring Quinn Wise and Sean Doherty; Two teenagers, a can of antiperspirant, dying never smelled so fresh! (Comedy) Performing: Wed 3/23, 8:30pm; Fri 3/25, 7:00pm; Sun 3/27, 1:00pm

I CHOOSE TO BE SINGLE, TO STAY SAVED written & directed by Monica Mikell; starring Tametria Harris, Monica Mikell, Maya Lewis-Johnson, Angela Berrien, and Danielle Harris. When all else fails, no need to cry about it, just be about it. (Comedy)Performing: Thurs 3/17, 8:45pm; Sat 3/19, 1:00pm

INSIDE HIMSELF by Thomasine F. Crawford, directed by Paul Navarra;* starring Holly O'Brien,* Ron Barba, John Fennessy,* Amber Crawford,* and Jimmy Cintron; In his anguish, David cries out for someone to see him, hear him, but his illness leaves him trapped inside himself. (Drama) *AEA Performing: Mon 3/7, 7:15pm; Wed 3/9, 6:00pm; Thurs 3/10, 8:15pm

LETTERS TO ZOEY: A Play With Music written and performed by Garrett Robinson; Sleep is no place for dreams. (Musical/Solo Show) Performing: Wed 3/23, 6:00pm; Fri 3/25, 8:00pm; Sun 3/27, 2:00pm

LIKE A SACK OF POTATOES by Ric Siler, directed by Bette Siler; starring Ric Siler; The 'shotgun and rock salt talk' usually was enough to keep boyfriends in line, but when one of his daughters marries an abusive husband, a farmer finds more drastic measures may be called for. (Hillbilly Gothic). *AEA Performing: Tues 3/15, 7:15pm; Sat 3/19, 7:45pm; Sun 3/20, 5:45pm

MEN VERSUS WOMEN by Steve Gold, directed by Chris Weihert; And they fought happily ever after. (Comedy) Performing: Tues 3/22, 6:00pm; Sat 3/26, 7:45pm; Sun 3/27, 5:45pm

MISS PEPPERMINT by Samantha Grassian. (Drama)

Performing: Tues 3/8, 6:00pm; Thurs 3/10, 7:15pm; Fri 3/11, 8:30pm

NATALIE by Nick Parker, music by J.J. Warshaw. (Musical) Performing: Wed 3/23, 9:30pm; Thurs 3/24, 9:45pm; Fri 3/25, 9:30pm

OVERLOOKING THE SHADOWS by Renee McNeil, directed by Renee McNeil; starring Justine J. Hall and Sean Kane; A lonely writer gets a visit from a stranger who has secrets of himself and her deceased husband. (Drama). Performing: Mon 3/21, 8:15pm; Thurs 3/24, 6:00pm; Sat 3/25, 2:00pm

PASS/FAIL by Ashley Lauren Rogers, directed by Sam Turlington; starring Ashley Lauren Rogers; Through standup comedy and video segments, Ashley Lauren Rogers tackles the pervasive nature of passing privilege within transgender circles by analyzing her own failures... or instances of "not passing," in life. (Comedy) Performing: Tues 3/8, 7:00pm; Wed 3/9, 8:45pm; Fri 3/11, 6:00pm

ROCK'N ROLL MOTHER GOOSE! Written, directed, and featuring by Judi Lewis Ockler; A rollicking, interactive, storytelling adventure for kids and families. (Family) Performing: Sat 3/19, 11:45am; Sun 3/20, 12:45pm; Sat 3/26, 12:45pm

THE GRADE by Seth Freeman, directed by Mike Keller

The challenges of intimacy can be heightened by unexpectedly blunt feedback. (Comedy) Performing: Tues 3/15, 6:00pm; Sat 3/19, 5:15pm; Sun 3/20, 7:00pm

THE TENANTS by Bill Holland, directed by Mark Cirnigliaro; This is a mostly true story and you'll laugh at Bob's misery. (Dramatic Comedy) Performing: Mon 3/14, 7:30pm; Thurs 3/17, 6:00pm; Sat 3/19, 4:00pm

THE WAPSHOT WHATEVER by Susan L. Weinstein, directed by Charlie Kanev; The Wapshot Whatever-Computer Romance between two programs. (Avant Garde) Performing: Wed 3/16, 6:00pm; Fri 3/18, 6:00pm; Sun 3/20, 3:30pm

THREE'S A CROWD by Marilyn Recht, directed by Emma Roddy; starring Emily Anne Parrish, Dominique Siqueira Woo, and Alexandria Collins; Three young women at a New England college, circa 1959, wrestle with desire, societal pressures, and the tensions in their friendship. (Drama) Performing: Tues 3/22, 8:30pm; Sat 3/26, 5:15pm; Sun 3/27, 7:00pm

WHAT'S IN ALASKA? by Gloria Bess, directed by Gloria Bess; Jack and Mary, a couple at a crossroads in their relationship, are invited to a dinner party. Tensions turn into hallucinations and this night ends with no return. Based on a Raymond Carver short story. (Drama) Performing: Tues 3/15, 8:30pm; Sat 3/19, 6:30pm; Sun 3/20, 4:30pm

WORD PLAY by Ran Xia, directed by Florence Le Bas; starring Julia Bray and Adrian Burke; In the last days of his life, Icarus invites Esme on a trip; as his memories fade, she recounts the moments of their love and loss. This play was inspired by a buzzfeed post with each scene based on an untranslatable foreign word.Performing: Tues 3/22, 7:15pm; Sat 3/26, 6:30pm; Sun 3/27, 4:30pm

YOU BELONG WITH ME BECAUSE YOU'RE SO VAIN by Heider Tunarrosa, starring Ian Whitt, Michelle Persoff, Ty Baumann, Tristan J. Shuler, and Phillip ShinnWhen a neurotic songwriter accidentally falls in love with his best friend's ex-boyfriend, and he must decide between losing his best friend or the love of his life, he receives help from the imaginary versions of Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. (Romantic Comedy).Performing: Mon 3/21, 6:00pm; Thurs 3/24, 8:30pm; Sat 3/26, 3:30pm

MITF: SPRING/ Variety

CHLOE CAHILL (Cabaret)
Performing: Fri 3/18, 9:45pm

ELIJAH HOWARD: SERENDIPITY. (Standup)

Performing: Sat 3/19, 9:00pm

ELLEN ORCHID: PUNCHLINES AND PROZAC. NY psychiatrist Dr. Ellen shares her humorous take on life. (Standup) Performing: Wed 3/16, 8:30pm

LANE BRADBURY: LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU, AGAIN Conceived by Doug DeVita. In 1959, a young Southern Debutante cast in what was to become one of the greatest musicals of all time. How Lane Bradbury went from Atlanta High Society to creating the role of Dainty June in the original production of Gypsy (directed by Jerome Robbins and starring Ethel Merman) is told in this musical memoir, which Lane has performed to wildly enthusiastic audiences from the Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles to the intimate 54 Below in New York. (Cabaret) Performing: Sat 3/26, 9:00pm

PHIL BROOKS: Phil-cetious. Why yes, that is a pun on the word facetious; which is the tone you can expect from Phil as he shares more New York stories. (Standup)

Performing: Fri 3/18, 8:30pm

SALACIOUS SONGS AND DIRTY WORDS starring Ralph Greco, Jr., Joe Diamond, Andrew Vetterlein, Tom Kennedy, and Yolanda Dunderdale as Madam Marvelous. Melissa Zolo - writer, Anthony Santelmo Jr. - director. (Cabaret) *This show has adult content. Performing: Fri 3/11, 9:30pm

VICKIE PHILLIPS: A Carousel of Colors With Brel, Weill, and Aznavour. Vickie brings back all the magic in her return MITF encore performance of international European genius composers Jacques Brel, Kurt Weill and Charles Aznavour! (Cabaret)Performing: Mon 3/14, 9:00pm