Michael Pope, Sandro Monetti & More Set for 59E59 Theaters' EAST TO EDINBURGH, Now thru 7/29

59E59 Theaters has announced the 2012 line up for the 8th annual EAST TO EDINBURGH festival, beginning tonight, July 10 for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 29. Each July, 59E59 Theaters hosts a plethora of innovative US productions en route to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world. Created as a way to help shows get on their feet before flying off to Scotland, EAST TO EDINBURGH simulates the same production constraints that all shows experience during the Festival, while giving them a clean, comfortable and nurturing space to fine-tune their productions. This whirlwind three-week festival, featuring 16 productions, reflects some of the most adventurous theater from NY and across the US.

The 2012 EAST TO EDINBURGH line up:

July 10, 11 & 14 at 7 PM
MICHAEL POPE IS GAY FOR PAY, written by Michael Pope, directed by BriAnna Olson
Cast: Michael Pope
Ticket Price: $20 ($14 for 59E59 Members)
Michael Pope’s stranger than fiction tale of a mystery job in the Empire State Building and becoming the world’s greatest phone sex operator.

July 10, 11, 12 & 14 at 9 PM
DIRTY BARBIE AND OTHER GIRLHOOD TALES, written and directed by DeeDee Stewart
Cast: DeeDee Stewart
Ticket Price: $15 ($10.50 for 59E59 Members)
In 1978, a mother, newly widowed, moved her family from the wide, open spaces of Wyoming to a tiny town in North Carolina. Spinning tales on scarlet fever, scotch over ice and girls gone wild, DeeDee Stewart puts the “fun” back in dysfunctional.

July 12 & 13 at 7 PM; July 15 at 4 PM
LISTEN! THE RIVER, written by Robin Rice Lichtig, directed by Prav MJ
Cast: Wendy Peace
Ticket Price: $15 ($10.50 for 59E59 Members)
Forced to leave his rural home and move to New York City, Turbo the cat misses the soothing sounds of the river. Can the strangers he encounters help him navigate his way?

July 13 & 27 at 9 PM; July 15 & 18 at 7 PM
MADE FOR EACH OTHER, written by Monica Bauer, directed by John D. FitzGibbon
Cast: John Fico
Ticket Price: $18 ($12.60 for 59E59 Members)
A dramedy about sex, love, and the power of memory. Gay marriage meets Alzheimer’s, with an unexpected twist.

July 14 at 2 PM; July 20 at 5 PM
CAPTAIN FERGUSON’S SCHOOL FOR BALLOON WARFARE, written by Isaac Rathbone, directed by Philip Emeott
Cast: David Nelson
Ticket Price: $18 ($12.60 for 59E59 Members)
WWI changed everything and Thomas Ferguson got carried away by it. Find out what it takes to spy on the Kaiser at 5,000 ft. Sound crazy? It was.

July 14 at 4 PM; July 15 at 2 PM
I HEART HAMAS: AND OTHER THINGS I’M AFRAID TO TELL YOU, written by Jennifer Jajeh, directed by W. Kamau Bell
Cast: Jennifer Jajeh
Ticket Price: $20 ($14 for 59E59 Members)
Join Jennifer on auditions, bad dates and across military checkpoints as she explores becoming Palestinian-ized, politicized and eventually radicalized in this fresh, often funny, searingly honest show.

July 17 at 7 PM; July 22 at 2 PM; July 25 at 7 PM
A MAN FOR ALL TIMES: W.E.B. DU BOIS, written and directed by Alexa Kelly
Cast: BrIan Richardson
Ticket Price: $20 ($14 for 59E59 Members)
The story of W.E.B. DuBois, a major forerunner to Martin Luther King, is told in this riveting and inspirational drama.

July 17 & 18 at 9 PM; July 21 at 2 PM
CLOONEY, COWELL, PITT AND ME: Amusing Encounters with the A-List, written by Sandro Monetti, directed by Craig Jessen
Cast: Sandro Monetti
Ticket Price: $12 ($8.50 for 59E59 Members)
Ever wondered what the biggest stars in Hollywood are really like? Find out from the man who has met them all. In this rollicking one man show, leading British entertainment reporter Sandro Monetti shares amazing but true entertaining stories about the big names he has interviewed.

July 19 & 20 at 7 PM; July 21 at 4 PM
DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE, written by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Dawn Fuller-Medhurst
Cast: Alyssa Hagerbrant, Ashish Ramachandran, Kira Schott, Anna Skesley, Sumner Welles, Jessie Vissicchio
Ticket Price: $15 ($10.50 for 59E59 Members)
In a world a-twitter with technology, DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE wonders about our capacity to connect. A stranger’s cell phone leads a woman to into hilarious and harrowing relationships that question her place in a viral world. For what happens when our connections get broken? Can we hear each other now?

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