Worlds Fair Inn
Written & Directed by Randy Sharp
June 2-19, 2021Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8PM
$20 General Admission
Axis Theatre Company returns to in-person events with the world premiere of WORLDS FAIR INN, an absurdist comedy written and directed by Randy Sharp. WORLDS FAIR INN takes inspiration from the failures and genius of three men: "father of the atomic bomb" J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), American serial killer H. H. Holmes (1861-1896), and fictional scientist Victor Frankenstein. Featuring original music and sound design by Paul Carbonara, WORLDS FAIR INN is a tragically funny expedition into the subconscious of these three men and their tragic personal lives.
It is understood that when the first atomic bomb was detonated the world changed forever. The indivisible was divided, and the fabric of the universe was revealed. This creation would also destroy its creator, J. Robert Oppenheimer. After bringing to life an unstoppable force that neither he nor anyone could control he was removed from his own project and ostracized until he died alone. In television appearances he described himself as "Death, the destroyer of worlds" but he had brought to life a force that would never be imprisoned again. Frankenstein also created a monster that demanded his life, could not be confined, and eventually destroyed him. Another scientist in Chicago, H.H. Holmes, built a factory-hotel to experiment with human life and possibly create one himself. Like Frankenstein's laboratory and Oppenheimer's Los Alamos, Holmes' "Murder Castle" was a place where the nature of existence itself was on the table for experimentation.
WORLDS FAIR INN is an impressionist explosion revealing these three minds and the forces that worked on them.
Featuring: Brian Barnhart, George Demas, Britt Genelin, Jon McCormick, Edgar Oliver
writer/director: Randy Sharp
stage manager: Regina Betancourt
asst. stage manager: Erik Savage
light designer: David Zeffren
asst. light designer: Alena Thomas
costume designer: Karl Ruckdeschel
sound designer/original music: Paul Carbonara
prop design/construction: Lynn Mancinelli
photography: Regina Betancourt
set designer: Randy Sharp
research/dramaturgy: Andrew Dawson
set construction: Michael Birnbaum, Chris Bittner, Adam Couperthwaite, Jon McCormick
sound technicians: Chris Bittner, Michael Birnbaum
box office manager: Kara Kirby
website & graphic designer: Ethan Crenson
publicity/PR: Everyman Agency
AXIS COMPANY
Artistic Director - Randy Sharp
Producing Director - Brian Barnhart
Executive Producer - Jeffrey Resnick
Running Time is approximately 50 minutes. There is NO intermission.
Strobe lights are used in the production.
PLEASE NOTE
• All visitors and staff will have their temperature taken upon arrival at the venue.
• All visitors and staff will be required to wear masks at all times while inside the venue.
• Tickets will be sold to a limited number of attendees per showing – as mandated by local and state regulations.
• All tickets will be sold in advance online.
• All tickets are sold in singles or pairs. This enables a single person to purchase a pod to themselves or two people in a "social bubble" to attend and be seated together. Each two-seat "pod" will be socially distanced 6 feet away from other pods.
• The venue will open 10 minutes prior to each showing, queuing will be avoided.
• Enhanced building ventilation will bring more fresh outdoor air into the venue and disinfect re-circulated air.
Strobe lights are used in the production.
PLEASE NOTE
• All visitors and staff will have their temperature taken upon arrival at the venue.
• All visitors and staff will be required to wear masks at all times while inside the venue.
• Tickets will be sold to a limited number of attendees per showing – as mandated by local and state regulations.
• All tickets will be sold in advance online.
• All tickets are sold in singles or pairs. This enables a single person to purchase a pod to themselves or two people in a "social bubble" to attend and be seated together. Each two-seat "pod" will be socially distanced 6 feet away from other pods.
• The venue will open 10 minutes prior to each showing, queuing will be avoided.
• Enhanced building ventilation will bring more fresh outdoor air into the venue and disinfect re-circulated air.
“...the production, directed by Sharp, features a game cast, and welcome stage design. Paul Carbonara's original music and sound design stand out. Everything about Sharp's set, Karl Ruckdeschel's costumes and Lynn Mancinelli's props — red whiskey bottles. A neon sign! A workable crank! – palpably drive home how wonderful it is to return to three dimensions.”
—New York Theater
“...(a) grotesquely funny atmosphere...that is part of the Guignol tradition...check out this lovely strange show.”
—HI Drama
“It's a fever dream of a play, which sustains a dreamlike state through its stylish staging and design elements (lighting, sound/music, costumes, and sets are all thoughtfully considered and expertly realized). The excellent cast, which includes singular downtown actor Edgar Oliver, delivers the play's recurring motifs with hypnotic precision.”
—Interludes
“...a uniquely charming, deranged vaudeville act...writer-director Randy Sharp adeptly maneuvers between high and low comedy as she takes on nuclear annihilation, a different kind of rather effective serial killing...and melds Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory, Oppenheimer's Los Alamos, and Holmes's murder hotel into a supremely funny and memorable show...as we finally emerge from this dark year, we may not have much hope for the future of humanity, but Axis gives us hope for the future of theater.”
—THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK
WATCH "Worlds Fair Inn" (2021) Teaser
