It's in the hands of the gods, now ....

February 14, 2013

FringeNYC Applications
The Present Company
520 Eighth Avenue, Ste. 311
New York, NY 10018-8906

Dear Present Company:

Once upon a time there was a sweet, sad, funny little musical that wasn’t exactly “Fringe-y.” It was, in fact, practically the anti-Fringe musical: it had a poignant, almost sentimental story, a linear, tightly-constructed, plot-driven book, and a fully integrated score. Basically, it was a love letter. A giant, lacy valentine to the city of New York that grew, over time, out of the fact that something had once happened here that made a grown woman cry a little every time she thought about it. And eventually she realized that if it made her cry, it might move other people in a similar way, so maybe she’d better write it down. And because it was a sweet, sad, funny little valentine of a show, there should probably also be songs. Because that’s usually how those things work.

Fifty years ago this Fall, New York City lost one of its most beautiful and magnificent structures. In October of 1963, despite growing public opposition, demolition began on the “late, great Pennsylvania Station.” Its loss was a wake-up call, leading to the creation of the Landmarks Preservation Committee, and to a growing public awareness of the vulnerability of the city’s architectural treasures. The story of its loss is the story of the collision of past and present, youth and age, wisdom and folly.

It’s not a particularly Fringe-y story.

And judging by the late postmark on this submission, you may guess that the decision to submit it was kind of a last-minute one. But this is our thinking: Last year would have been Penn Station’s Centennial. This year is the Biennial of its destruction, as well as the Centennial of Grand Central — a building that was rescued from demolition in large part due to the outcry over the loss of Penn Station. It’s an important year for this story, and we’d like to mark it by seeing the show on its feet in 2013. We could wait until next year and submit it to NYMF, but the funny thing is, we feel like we kind of already “have” that audience. People who regularly attend NYMF musicals would probably gravitate toward this show. We feel that if we could pull in a Fringe audience — if we could make the audience for “Jersey Shoresical” cry a little — we’d really know we had something. So we’re taking a shot.

We hope you like it, and if it doesn’t make you cry a little, that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with being a heartless monster. (Kidding!) But either way, Happy Valentine’s Day to you. And Happy Valentine’s Day to New York.

We love you both,

Maureen FitzGerald