Phina Oruche Brings IDENTITY CRISIS to SoHo Playhouse

British-Nigerian, former U.S. model Phina Oruche is bringing her highly acclaimed one-woman show IDENTITY CRISIS to New York City's historic SoHo Playhouse as a part of the 12th Annual Fringe Encore Series. Identity Crisis is a comic tale that examines Oruche's own observations on what others have made of her black identity as she worked her way through being a fashion model, actress, radio presenter and writer in a world of fickle media. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased at SoHo Playhouse box office, online athttp://www.sohoplayhouse.com or by calling 212 691-1555. Tickets are $24. Showtime varies.

Told through the lens of nine characters- black, white, old, young, female, male - all of whom are having their own identity crises. The play was born out of a real-life story of the sudden death of the playwright's 19-year-old niece in her home in 2011 from a brain aneurism. The traumatic time was followed by a series of racial and international incidents throughout the world and in the playwright's life. Identity Crisis helped her turn a mess into a message.

"I created Identity Crisis for two reasons. My life stopped when tragedy struck and I plunged into a deep, dark, interminable grief. The range of emotions and the questions I posed about my life and its value at times made me feel like I was in a crisis," Oruche said. "This show gives me the freedom to play characters I would never get cast as. All these characters are vulnerable, flawed, and struggling with who they are. Identity Crisis has proved cathartic to me and has restored my joy and faith in humanity."

Audiences will be taken through 60 images of Oruche when she worked in the world of fashion, providing an illuminating exposition of life on the catwalk and beyond. Through simple staging, the cast is brought to life; from Amy Tan, a working-class white girl with a Scouse brow and a taste for spray tans and black lads, to Antonio de Silva, a football crazy Italian living in LA who is missing his mom.

Prior to the SoHo Playhouse, Identity Crisis had successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe 2016, International Slavery Museum Liverpool, and The Wardrobe Theatre in Bristol, and Ovalhouse London in May 2017.

Now in its 12th season, the Fringe International Encore Series will continue to celebrate the "Best of the Fests" despite there not being a New York International Fringe Festival. This year's selection committee has looked to renowned Fringe Festivals around the globe including Adelaide, Brighton, Edinburgh, Winnipeg and Hollywood Fringe Festivals to fill the slate for the coveted encore performances slots.

The Fringe Encore Series was created to provide opportunities to those Fringe shows that excelled over other Fringe productions both artistically and commercial, by offering them an extended run at the historic SoHo Playhouse. This extended run gives these worthy shows a platform for future productions and success. Many of the previous productions featured in the series have gone on to extensive Off-Broadway runs and international success including such as Drama Desk Nominees Krapp 39 (FringeNYC 2008), Jamaica Farewell (FringeNYC 2009) and Rap Guide To Religion (Edinburgh Fringe 2015).

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