New Paradise Laboratories is presenting O Monsters at Fringe starting this weekend. (Photo courtesy of Capital Fringe)Capital Fringe kicks off tomorrow with performances spread across Southwest D.C. Check out the full calendar for all 80 options during the festival, running through July 29. Each Friday, DCist will suggest a few shows for the week ahead. Here’s our first set of recommendations.
Remember: Tickets are $17 for each show, and you must have an official Capital Fringe button, available for $5 today, $7 starting on July 7. More details on that here.
Saturday:
Hamish Linklater is best known for appearing in the movie 42 and TV’s The Newsroom. Bet you didn’t know he’s a playwright too. Check out The Vandal, which features “three characters with barely plausible tales” (2 p.m. at Caos on F).
For something slightly more grounded in “reality,” Andromeda Breaks places the titular Greek heroine in a police interrogation room on charges of murder and deceit (2:45 p.m. at Arena Stage)
Sunday:
Your best bet is the annual Fringe preview event, where you’ll see a rapid succession of four-minute snippets from 20 of this year’s plays (7 p.m. at Pearl Street Warehouse, FREE). Veteran local actor Sun King Davis will serve as emcee.
Monday: No performances.
Tuesday:
From the group Too Much Damn (TMD) Theatre comes Painted Ladies: Bosses of the Wild West (8:45 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church). The jury’s still out on whether the show will be too damn much, but the summary promises “gambling, dancing, lively talkers, and of course, good ‘ol shenanigans!”
Besides a great title, Lesbians and the Men Who Love Them (6:45 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church) also boasts a “lesbian feminist revolution on campus” and a dash of forbidden love on the side. Color us intrigued.
Wednesday:
Fringe devotees might recognize Show Business 201 (5 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church) as a sequel to last year’s Show Business 101. Expect more sketch comedy and wacky singing.
The play Flight of the Xenophobe (8:45 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church) follows a prisoner who’s mentored by a Black Power activist while incarcerated, only to find himself in a gentrified neighborhood upon release. Discomfort likely ensues.
Thursday:
More solemn theatergoers might enjoy Isadora Duncan: Landscapes of the Soul, which marries Duncan’s beloved choreography to the music of Frederic Chopin. (5 p.m. at Christ Methodist United Church).
On the opposite end of the spectrum is F*ck Tinder: A Love Story (9 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church), which details one man’s journey on the roller coaster of the dating app scene.
