The Fringedown: Monday

In its first weekend, the Capital Fringe Festival turned downtown D.C. into a moveable feast of performance, as show after show made its Fringe debut. As we enter Day Five of the festival, it’s now time to go get a second helping—a show you want to see again or a show your friends have told you is a must-see. Even still, a handful of shows will get their start today.

At DCist, we’d love to know what you thought of the shows you’ve seen, so drop us a line and give us your own recommendations.

And, as we’ve said before, our Fringe Googlemap will get you to the curtain on time.

New Today:

Bartleby, Journeymen Theatre Ensemble
Washington’s Journeymen Theater launches their new season at the Fringe Festival with Bartleby. It’s Herman Melville meets Office Space in this time-skipping, motion-infused update of Bartleby The Scrivener. [6th and I Street Historic Synagogue, 7 p.m.]

Keep Moving, The Escapists
From Portland, Maine come the Escapists—purveyors of both improv and sketch who describe their approach as the “Powerpuff Girls meets This American Life.” [The Warehouse Next Door, 7:30 p.m.]

Beginnings, Meat and Potato Theatre
Washington’s Meat and Potato use puppetry and masks to drive right to the heart of storytelling—the origin story of the creative spirit—flexing comic and reflective muscles along the way. [Flashpoint, Mead Theatre Lab, 8 p.m.]

Recommended and Recurring

DCist recommends:

Short Works Exploring Dangerous Devotion, Pushing Boxes Productions
Woolly Mammoth Rehearsal Hall, 5 p.m.
Our theater critic Missy Frederick enjoyed Short Works’ variety—three seemingly disparate plays tied together by fine acting.

Like, You’re My Friend and All, Hauptstadt Theatre
Goethe-Institut, 8 p.m.
Missy also loved Andrew Akre and Nathan Holt’s “amazing chemistry” in this pair of brief plays about friendships in flux.

The Street Buzz:
Word around the campfire is that James Beard’s Mama, Don’t Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Actors was a huge seller during the weekend. Few, if any, tickets remain for his Tuesday night, 10 p.m. performance, so get them while you still can.

You Don’t Know Dick was one of the hot tickets last Sunday, but our reviewer wasn’t too impressed. “I’ve been doing poorly with the political stuff,” she’s confided. Maybe in politics-obsessed Washington, polemical content is just too dreary and mainstream against the backdrop of a Festival with many other stories to tell.