After over ten years being known as downtown theatre's best-known and most-loved purveyor of live B-Movie mayhem and stage adaptations of cinema's most notorious cult classics, DMTheatrics director Frank Cwiklik is indulging in what may be the most audacious and ambitious numbskull idea he's yet had - a binge-and-purge festival of five, count 'em, five Ed Wood messterpieces adapted for the stage, an all-out assault on the sensitivies and patience on the fans and audiences that have made DMT the biggest little theater company below 14
thStreet.
“They want Ed Wood shows from me? Fine, choke on this, you heartless monsters,”sobbed Cwiklik, sitting fully clothed under a running shower in the basement men's room of the cavernous DMTheatrics laboratories. Having recently obliterated box office records with the legendary mashup Two Gentlemen of Lebowski, and playing to sold out houses at the Brick with Plan Nine From Outer Space!: Alive on Stage, Cwiklik now turns his sights once again to the man some call an accidental genius and others the worst director in movie history, Edward D. Wood, Jr. Having made his alleged reputation a decade ago by co-producing the original Ed Fest with Ian W. Hill at the late, lamented Todo Con Nada, he now shamelessly returns to the well with this mammoth and probably ill-advised festival, which mounts five of the notorious screen legend's works:
- BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, a chilling and thrilling mad scientist epic, in which a disgraced mad scientist harnesses atomic energy to create a race of super beings
- NIGHT OF THE GHOULS, the grisly sequel, in which a devious con man gets more than he bargained for when he uses the late madman's castle for his fake seances-- which may be raising the deal for real!
- THE VIOLENT YEARS, a cautionary tale of juvenile delinquency, chronicling the increasingly ugly escapades of disaffected teen girls on a rampage of sex and violence
- HOT ICE, a sexy and saucy crime caper involving a glamourous couple of con artists, a very wealthy rock star, a ski lodge battle between the snobs and the slobs, and the hotel manager stuck in the middle
- THE SINISTER URGE!, the triumphant and contractually obligated return of one of DMT's biggest comedy hits, starring clumsy cops, sneaky smut peddlers, the girl next door, and a buxom crime boss
In addition, there will be screenings of some of Wood's rarer works, a night of Ed-themed burlesque, special events, a retrospective of past DMT B-movie stage shows, and more!
Making these shows especially attractive to collectors and OCD trainspotter types is that they are all, effectively, limited editions – these shows will each have only FOUR public performances a piece during the festival, and seating in the Red Room is limited. Also, and most critically, THESE ARE THE LAST TIME DMTHEATRICS WILL BE STAGING ED WOOD SHOWS IN NEW YORK CITY. Anyone who wants a last chance to see Cwiklik's infamous take on this material, or to see a DMT Ed show in general, THIS IS IT. This will also be the lastchance to see Michele Schlossberg in her signature role on the New York stage. “How do ya like them apples,” added Cwiklik, ducking into an unmarked van that peeled off into oncoming traffic.
TICKETS: $20 single show; $30 double features; $60 festival pass good for 1 performance of each show