2nd Annual NEUROTICA FEST to Play UNDER St. Marks with FRIGID New York
Iris Bahr's festival features Carol Johnson, Kurt Andersen, and stand-up comedians at UNDER St. Marks.
FRIGID New York will present Iris Bahr's Neurotica Fest at UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009), September 10-13. Tickets ($10-$25) are available for advance purchase at www.frigid.nyc.
Launched in 2025 by multiple award-winning actor, writer, director and solo performer Iris Bahr (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, Stories from the Brink!) Neurotica Fest is a four day festival showcasing storytellers and stand-up comedians offering fresh perspectives, fascinating life stories, and compelling narratives. The festival will also feature an evening of short films and a special in-conversation event with bestselling author Kurt Andersen.
MOM! WTF!!
Written & Performed by Carol Johnson
MOM! WTF!! is a comedy confessional about being raised by a 'happy homemaker' in the era of free love and free-range parenting. Mothers in this time period went from June Clever to Gloria Steinem in under a decade, and this had to be cultural whiplash. Somehow she still became a mom herself. Carol Johnson delivers sharp stand-up, raw honesty and a cheeky sing-along about women's rights while unpacking the drama our mothers passed down like heirlooms. Big laughs, real talk, and moments that may hit a little close to home. Perfect for anyone who's ever said, 'I thought it was just me.' Whether you're a mom or still recovering from one. Traumaste- the trauma in me bows to the trauma in you!
Thu Sept 10 at 7pm & Sun Sept 13 at 1pm 45 min
What X Gave to Me:
A Good Girl Learns to Embrace Anger With the Help of Her Favorite Rapper
Written & Performed by Samantha Siberini "Sam Sibby"
'What X Gave to Me' is a good girl's journey of embracing her anger, with the help of her favorite rapper...DMX! This show explores the late Earl Simmons as an unlikely inspiration for Sam, who never felt she was allowed to get truly pissed off about anything ever. What commonalities can be found between two people whose backgrounds couldn't be more different? Why do certain DMX songs remind Sam of Shakespeare? Is she going to lose her mind (up in here, up in here)???
Thu Sept 10 at 8:30pm & Sun Sept 13 at 2:30pm 30 min
Double Header with Middle Man
Middle Man
Written & Performed by Mimi Brown
In the wake of a divisive sex education lecture at her Missouri Catholic school, an 8th grader enlists a young seminarian to help her get back in God's good graces. Together, they grapple with their faith in a community that may not practice what they preach.
Thu Sept 10 at 8:30pm & Sun Sept 13 at 2:30pm 30 min
Double Header with What X Gave to Me
Cl*t Cult
Written & Performed by Star Stone, Directed by Ryan Cunningham
This musical comedy details Star's journey to have an org*sm but "oops" she seeketh's herself a little too far and accidentally joins a sexual 'wellness' cult called OneTaste. Based on a true story, Star examines how patriarchal power and control dynamics can hide behind feminist branding and spiritualized intimacy. OneTaste founders were recently found guilty and sentenced to 9 years in prison.
Thu Sept 10 at 10pm & Fri Sept 11 at 10pm 60 min
NEUROTICA FILM HOUR
An hour of hilarious short films followed by a conversation between Iris Bahr and the filmmakers.
Fri Sept 11 at 5:30pm
Gigi Dabrowski: The Untold Story
Written & Performed by Kendra Cunningham
Gigi Dabrowski is serving the final stretch of her house arrest, and she's determined to use her newfound platform to tell the truth-or at least her version of it. Gigi recounts the events that led to her downfall, reflects on her complicated relationships, and offers unsolicited wisdom on everything from friendship to federal oversight. Equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and unhinged, Gigi Dabrowski: The Untold Story is a character-driven solo comedy about loneliness, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Grey Gardens with a Boston accent.
Friday Sept 11 at 7pm, Sat Sept 12 at 4pm & Sun Sept 13 at 5:30pm 50 min
Iris Bahr IN CONVERSATION WITH BEST-SELLING AUTHOR KURT ANDERSEN
Iris Bahr is joined by the brilliant and critically acclaimed author Kurt Andersen, as they perform excerpts from his new novel, The Break-Up. 'Kurt Andersen is the most brilliant social novelist of our time, in the tradition of Tom Wolfe and Don DeLillo, but even funnier and deeper. With a light touch and instinct for telling details, he mixes pitch-perfect satire with profound insights.' -Walter Isaacson
Fri Sept 11 at 8:30pm
An American (NOT) in Paris
Written & Performed by Liv Rocklin
An OCD, ADHD, Gluten Free, Gen Z, One Woman, Musical Comedy! Through stand up, musical comedy, and storytelling, Liv Rocklin (Second City Chicago, Broadway Comedy Club) takes you through her experience of a morbidly overachieving American Gen-Zer losing control of her plans, body, and youth for the first time in Paris, France, while living out her Lizzie McGuire moment... or as the French say... moment. In the style of Rachel Bloom and Bo Burnham, the show explores Liv's obsession with control and the innermost workings of her fraying brain through 7 songs, 6 languages, and 5 undiagnosed conditions (she's got Bingo!). In a final showdown to keep control, she tries to win study abroad, Weight Watchers, and therapy but loses it all over a glass of wine spiked with Benadryl on an American Airlines flight home.
An American (NOT) in Paris (Best of Fringe Orlando 2025, Funniest of Fringe Pittsburgh 2026, Critic's Choice for Writing and Performance Portland Fringe 2026, sold out Off Broadway run at 59E59 Theaters 2026) portrays the experience of loneliness, the inimitability of youth, and the reality check of growing up in a relatable, heartfelt, and ultimately laughter and smile inspiring way. You'll leave hating Americans and Gen Z a little less (no promises, I guess). By the end, you'll be wondering if she's Britney Spears, Princess Diana, Taylor Swift, or just poorly adjusted. C'est La Vie! Sat Sept 12 at 2:30pm & Sun Sept 13 at 7pm 60 min
400 Miles from Regular
Written & Performed by Natalie Picoe
400 Miles from Regular is a one-person show about a woman in mid-life who has decided it's now or never to become who she truly is. Can she finally summon the courage to stand up to her controlling soon to be ex-husband, her toxically positive sister, and her video-game addicted teenage son. Can she surprise herself and walk away to an uncertain future? 400 Miles from Regular is the galvanizing story of a woman who steps into the unknown, not out of despair, but out of an exhilarating will to grow and build a better future.
Sat Sept 12 at 5:30pm & Sun Sept 13 at 8:30pm 45 min
Girl Tall: The View From Up Here
Written & Performed by Chu Bu
GIRL TALL is the story of growing up desperate to blend in, only to discover you were meant to stand out. It is an unflinching, insightful journey into how the very things that make you different are actually your greatest superpower.
Sat Sept 12 at 7pm & Sun Sept 13 at 4pm 30 minutes
Double Header with ...but what if it rains?
...but what if it rains?
Written & Performed by Vanessa Fleming
This one-woman show is a different type of coming-of-age story that re-tells the events leading up to, during, and the aftermath of becoming a caregiver for a parent. It starts with the day that everything happened, going through the year of changes and challenges associated with it, her death, and how a family all moved in time and space during the events, all told from different points of view and perspectives through the vessel of one person. A mix of emotional depth and the conversations around death but with touches of humor to bring levity and reality into the experience. Sat Sept 12 at 7pm & Sept 13 at 4pm 30 min
Double Header with Girl Tall
CRAVEY
Written & Performed by Alex Petrullo
Cravey is a musical comedy exploring the insatiable need for love... and chicken tenders. An aspiring Disney princess moves to New York City and falls in love with a Bar Mitzvah DJ from New Jersey. Will it be the fairytale happily ever after of her dreams or will she be met with a more nightmarish journey of self discovery at the hand of unfulfilled desires?
Sun Sept 13 at 11:30am 50 min
Iris Bahr (Festival Founder, Producer & Curator) is an award winning actor, writer, comic, director and dramaturg. With over 50 TV and film credits to her name, Iris is best known for her recurring role on Curb your Enthusiasm as Rachel Heineman (The ski lift episode to name just one), Hacks as Nurse Perla, and her series Svetlana, which she wrote, starred in and directed all two seasons, (executive produced by MARK CUBAN). Her debut solo show DAI (enough) won the Lortel Award, 2 Drama Desk nominations and had an extensive run Off- Broadway and a world tour including sold out runs in London, Edinburgh, and across South America in Spanish, as well as a command performance at the United Nations for over 100 ambassadors and delegates. Her sixth solo show See You Tomorrow, about caregiving for her mother with dementia, was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award and is in development as a TV series. She is currently on tour with her newest solo show, Stories from the Brink! My Festive Near-Death Adventures. The show won the Montreal Frankie Award and just wrapped a run at Soho Playhouse here in New York City. Bahr has published three books that have been translated into numerous languages; Dork Whore (Bloomsbury), Machu My Picchu (Skirt) and Book of Leon (Simon & Schuster), which she co-wrote with comedian JB Smoove. Both her memoirs are being adapted into feature films. She stars in the new Amazon series, JOSEPH OF EGYPT which will premiere early 2027. Bahr has spent over a decade helping artists develop their solo shows. She also has a robust practice privately coaching entrepreneurs and executives across the globe on public speaking and pitching ideas. www.irisbahr.com
Kurt Anderson Kurt's most recent books were Evil Geniuses and Fantasyland. His latest novel, The Break-Up has been touted by critics, fellow authors and cultural icons, as 'ambitious and remarkable,' 'dazzling,' 'an absolute joy, 'outrageously funny,' 'stellar,' 'a tour de force,' and 'a work of towering importance,' Kurt is also a journalist, screenwriter and playwright. He contributes to The Atlantic and The New York Times, and was a staff writer and critic at The New Yorker and Time. He also hosted the Peabody Award-winning public radio show Studio 360, ran New York, and co-founded Spy magazine.
FRIGID New York's mission is to provide both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work of varied content, form, and style, and to amplify their diverse voices. We do this by presenting an array of monthly programming, mainstage productions, an artist residency, and eight annual theater festivals that create an environment of collaboration, resourcefulness, and innovation. Founded in 1998, the aim was and is to form a structure, allowing multiple artists to focus on creating and staging new work and providing affordable rental space to scores of independent artists. Now in our third decade we have produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. www.frigid.nyc
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Fool for Love Vino Theater (8/06-8/08) |
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Oil & Whiskey The Bitter End, Laurie Beechman, Prohibition, The Rat NYC (7/15-8/12) |
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Rock Never Dies Hard Rock Cafe (5/29-8/30) |
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SAY MY NAME AMT Theatre (7/23-7/26) |
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Shangri-La-La, a comedy musical about Siegfried & Roy American Theatre of Actors (ATA) (7/25-7/26) |
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That Math Show Theater555 (6/11-8/16) |
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The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show The Dinner Detective NYC (7/25-7/25) |