Photo Credit: Chris Wesselman.
MEDIA BRIDGES
Wednesday, May 27 at 7:00 PM
Friday, May 29 at 8:15 PM
Sunday, May 31 at 4:30 PM
Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 PM
Saturday, June 6 at 3:15 PM
Running time: 75 min.
A Perfectly Wonderful Evening
Artemis Exchange
From Cincinnati, OH / New York City, NY
PREVIOUS FRINGES
Chris Wesselman - Wet Dream (2007) (performer)
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx: Vaudevillian, cigar enthusiast, Jew. Master of wit. Thomas Stearns "T.S." Elliot: Poet, expatriate, blatant anti-Semite. Master of eloquence. Harold Bloom "The Brontosaurus": Author, critic, literary juggernaut. The Master. Circe "The Girl in the Play": Muse, omnipotent career woman, character actress. Easy on the eyes. One critic, two very mismatched figures, and one hell of a spread. A circus of historical rendezvous, fictional clashes of characters, famous figures, ephemeral beings, the Crown Prince of Bit Comedy's thoughts about Shakespeare, the elegant author of The Waste Land’s fondness for slapstick, puns, cigars, and English Beef with asparagus. All based on a true story, filtered through Bloom's point of view, and warped by the twisted young minds of Artemis Exchange; A Perfectly Wonderful Evening is a ride through one of the greatest meetings of mismatched minds in American history. Or any other history. Ever.
ARTIST/COMPANY BIOGRAPHY
This past summer, it became more apparent than ever to us (Christopher Karr and Chris Wesselman, co-founders of Artemis Exchange) that it is necessary to pursue our own artistic ventures through opportunities like the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. We wanted to experiment with a Theatre of Poverty, wherein art is fully realized through aesthetic invention that rejects the notion that dollars and cents will produce effective theatre. With the desire to create theatre that appeals directly to the intellect and the spirit, we were intrigued by the true story of the brief and peculiar friendship between T.S. Eliot and Groucho Marx after randomly discovering a book titled "Secret Lives of Great Authors." Since the middle of 2008 Artemis Exchange has developed A Perfectly Wonderful Evening with enthusiasm and vigor, using web cam and e-mail to close geographical gap between our homes in Cincinnati and New York City. We eagerly await the deployment of their work onto the Fringe Festival stage.
'AND THE FRINGIEST PART IS ...'
A literature laced loop-dee-loop along the lines of a bizarre PBS special, Artemis Exchange presents an intellectual treat for those who like theatre minimal yet thought provoking. If Shakespeare and Dante had a baby, this play would perform the bris. [Ed. Note: No actual brises are performed in this show.] [Real editor note: Circumcision is not advocated by the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.]