Welcome to the Fringe Festival!

Ah, the dog days of August in New York City. The garbage smells, the people sweat and I become very testy. With rumors of another blackout possible, friends de-camp on the weekends for the sun, sand and scene of the Hamptons. My family heads down to the Jersey shore. But me? I stay right here. I wouldn't miss August in New York for the world. 

'Por quoi?' you may ask. The answer is simple. Where and when else will you ever find sock puppets spouting the inane dialogue from SHOWGIRLS? Or a musical about Bigfoot? And really, when was the last time you saw Horshack on stage (for me it was in 1995, but that's another story)?

For sheer volume, audacity and provocative titles (Jonestown! The Musical), you simply cannot beat the New York International Fringe Festival, a production of the Present Company. 

For the next three weeks, BroadwayWorld's intrepid band reviewers and columnists cover the sights, the sounds and the insanity of the largest arts festival in the US. Two hundred shows ranging from dance to puppetry to opera will be presented at twenty venues all over lower Manhattan. Broadway stars mix with complete unknowns and the almost-forgotten to present the works of the next generation of theatre artists from all over the world. It's an event not to be missed.

And it's going to be one hell of a ride.