The Thespis Theater Festival is held in New York City each summer. This year’s incarnation – which was held at the Hudson Guild Theater – contained over sixty productions. Of those, only six were chosen as finalists. They were each given encore presentations at the conclusion of the festival, and these reviews are of those performances.

Arbuckle Syndrome

The first of the finalists included some of the strongest acting in Thespis. Written by Jeff Philips, Arbuckle Syndrome documents a week in the life of Troy (Alex Owen), who has diagnosed himself – not unbelievably – as having Asberger’s syndrome. When his cousin introduces him to an initially empathetic woman named Kim (Allison Troesch), the development of their relationship becomes an examination of the dangers of projecting one’s hopes and desires onto a near-stranger. Owen shines as Troy in his New York debut, managing to make him both believable and multifaceted enough to not simply be pitied.

Brush Strokes

Brush Strokes is the first musical production of the finalists, and we are reminded of this early and often. The piece is well put-together narratively, but at times, it can feel a little heavy on the musical numbers. This in itself does not necessarily detract from the quality of the show, but it was hard to not want more of the quiet, intimate moments from the actors. Chuck Muckle in particular has a number of engaging moments – some comic relief, some earnest and unsmiling. Nonetheless, both the quiet moments and the boisterous musical numbers are executed nicely.

Welcome to the Hard Luck Café

An excellent sense of community is established in Welcome to the Hard Luck Café, another of Thespis Theater Festival’s musicals. The piece, penned by Karin Ringheim (book, music and lyrics), takes place in a coffee shop in which recovering alcoholics wait the tables. Most of the clientele are recovering, too, so the dramatic situations and difficult backstories are built into the fabric of the story. There are a lot of moving parts here, but Ringheim manages to make them all come together in a traditional but cathartic conclusion.

Tell Tale

Tell Tale is an innovative musical piece, based (albeit loosely) on the Edgar Allen Poe story The Tell-Tale Heart. While many of the details of the story are omitted here, the musical does involve the constant sense of tension and impending violence that Poe conjures. And the two definitely share unreliable narrators; here, it’s Manny, played by Luke Hoback, who embraces the exuberantly deranged nature of his character. Hoback leads a strong cast in Tyler Milliron’s jarring adaptation, which benefits from very well-integrated music (bravely disconcerting for a musical), lighting and blocking.

The Danaid

The award for the most unabashedly dramatic of the Thespis finalists goes to The Danaid. The drama finds a daughter – who was given up for adoption decades prior – meeting with her mother and aunt for the first time as an adult. In Eugene O’Neill fashion, liquor and bitterness fuel the intensity of the piece (which fits since this is something of an Irish family reunion, even if its members never knew each other). The most interesting aspect of Thomas Michael Quinn’s script is how much humor he is able to squeeze out of unlikable characters in an ugly situation.

Lily, Casually

For the purpose of its encore performance, Lily, Casually was presented as a workshop production.  This is unfortunate only because the self-described rock operetta is impressive in nearly every way, so one can only imagine what a full production would deliver.  The writing – book, music and lyrics by Morgan Edwards – is resonant and efficient.  Maybe the most exciting aspect is that Lily’s performers can act and sing equally well.  At the forefront of all this talent is Hannah Whitney (as the titular Lily), a bluesy-voiced actress so full of charisma that it's easy to forgive her serial murdering ways.