CONTACT: Jonathan Van Gieson
email: jvg@4panel.com

August 10, 2002 – “Why not turn yourself into a shower of gold? A pillar of salt? A tower of burning bones? A Thorazine tablet – a T-1 connection – rabid hunger – feathers and spit – all the time in the world? How little value has gold in comparison, when you can become transformation itself? Embody embodiment? Creep up and yell BOO! at the very molecules of your own blood?”

Such are the questions Mephistopheles asks his audience during a lecture on alchemy in man of infinite desire, a one-woman show written and performed by Christina Nicosia, which premieres August 10 as part of the 6th Annual New York International Fringe Festival. The show uses monologue, mask, puppetry and prestidigitation to re-examine – from the point of view of Mephistopheles – the story of Dr. Faustus, from his bargain with the underworld, to his passionate affair with Gretchen, to his ascension into heaven.

“The play is about walking metaphors,” explains Nicosia. “Unrequitable love. The passion of the passionless. Mephistopheles longs for longing, Faust wants everything else, and they consummate their unsustainable affair though the body of Gretchen.”

This original retelling of the fable integrates elements from previous versions of the story – from Marlowe to Goethe to Mme de Stäel; all in new translations by the playwright. Ms. Nicosia, in addition to theatre, studied French, Spanish, German, and Chinese at Brown University. Dov Weinstein, creator of Tiny Ninja Theater, serves as puppetry consultant for the show. man of infinite desire is directed by Jonathan Van Gieson. It will be performed at the The Present Company’s DVL at 196 Stanton Street from August 10 to August 22 as part of FringeNYC 2002.


About 4Panel Productions
4Panel Productions serves as producer for the FringeNYC Excellence-Award-winning Tiny Ninja Theater, which will bring its new show, Tiny Ninja Theater presents Romeo & Juliet, to NYC this winter, and the TheaterSounds Hudson Valley Playreading Series, which recently presented a reading of Shaw’s Don Juan in Hell starring acclaimed British actors Ian Holm and Roger Rees. Past productions include Kundalini Komedy Sells Out at Chashama@129, The Quorum’s Format at Gotham City Improv, and the web-based reality game Hide/Seek/NYC.