Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival 2017 presents “Sword of the Unicorn”, a Potpourri of Madness and Pride

A fantastical expedition of the LGBT struggle in contemporary culture
WHERE and WHEN
Theater for the New City at 155 First Avenue between 9th and 10th St’s.( Johnson Theater)
August 27 at 5:00 PM, August 30 at 6:30 PM, September 1 at 9:00 PM, September 2 at 5:00 PM, September 3 at 2:00 PM Tickets $18. Box Office: (212) 868-4444 Call: (212) 254-1109, www.dreamupfestival.org
Running Time: 90 minutes. Critics are invited to all performances.

NEW YORK, NY – What is the basis for almost every great adventure story? A quest and a hero. “Sword of the Unicorn” is not your typical fantasy story because it deals with weighty subject matter. The life and times of Sebastian an All-American teenage boy is presented in a dreamlike tale of mythical creatures, dead movie stars and an uncertain journey. The dark dragon rules over the cosmos. Travel through space, fighting mythical beasts and to claim the weapon of ultimate power.

“Sword of the Unicorn” is an original play written and directed by Harrison Stengle about the emotional trip of a young man coming out to his father. The play uses dramatic symbolism to convey complex emotions that otherwise cannot be seen. A robot-t-rex is not just a robot-t-rex but also the embodiment of hatred, an ancient evil with the façade of modern technology. Every place, every character, every prop, from the Hall of Lasers to Judy Garland has some symbolic significance. This play literally rocks. The soundtrack is played live on stage by a violin infused indie rock band. The soundtrack by Brendan Stengle.

A sci-fi epic for your senses that deals with fear, doubt and courage. This is stagecraft filled with Dinosaurs, aliens and yet it stays true to someone growing to understand their sexuality. “Sword of the Unicorn” at the Theater for the New City, on 155 1 St Avenue, will open your eyes, tickle your ears and elevate your mind. This fantasy saga performed by a cast of six will compel you in ways you never felt possible. CAST: Mike Ford, Theo Wampler, Ian Lesage Johnson, Tony Oriente, Topher Layton, John Muaitelli

“Sword of the Unicorn” had a successful run at the Drake Theater in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in 2016. This marks its New York Premiere.

Harrison Stengle (playwright/director), Harrison Stengle is a producer/playwright/director in Philadelphia. Stengle made his directorial debut with his original work Cult Classic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he received considerable media attention as part of the city’s 2015 Fringe Festival. The following year, Stengle staged Wolfhead Hamlet at the Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia. Stengle’s adaptation of Hamlet quickly garnered him a reputation for edgy and, sometimes controversial, work. For 2017’s Dream Up Festival, Stengle presents “Sword of the Unicorn”, his 2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival production, which deconstructs false narratives about the coming out experience for the LGTBQ community, through a sci-fi fantasy twist of the Hero’s Journey. After Dream Up, Stengle will be staging an update of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, The Great Gatsby, with his post-apocalyptic, vaporwave-infused, multi-racial adaptation, entitled “Gatz.”

Sword of the Unicorn’s New York Debut has been made possible by the Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival.