The Show

Unassuming Mormon, Connor Jorgensen, becomes the center of national media frenzy when his tweets about a Mormon presidential candidate go viral. Inspired by comments the candidate allegedly made in a church meeting, Connor spreads his presidential pick’s views on “the gays, gangsters and bleeding hearts”, leading ambitious reporter Lydia Strout to his door.

As Lydia tries to find the man hiding behind the orthodox Mormon facade, and Connor navigates the unfamiliar world of Tweets, news feeds, and blogs, both are forced to confront the choice between living by facts or walking by faith.

At its core, #MormonInChief is about young people trying to figure out what they can believe in as they navigate a world full of technology, social media, news outlets, and faith. #MormonInChief addresses highly topical issues in a fresh, humorous, and often touching way.

Written by Matthew Greene, directed by Austin Regan, and performed by the very talented Jesse Liebman, Nicole Rodenburg, and Karis Danish, #MormonInChief will be performed at the New York International Fringe Festival from August 10-26, 2012. FringeNYC is one of the top 5 attended cultural events in NYC, and we are honored and excited to be part of such an amazing festival. But we need your help in order to make it happen!

What We Need & What You Get

FringeNYC is an incredible organization and it provides each of its productions with a historic downtown theater space, lighting and sound equipment, wonderful volunteer support, and personalized publicity. However, there are a few things that FringeNYC does not pick up the tab for, including...

• Rehearsal Studio Fees
• Set materials
• Projection rental
• Props and Costumes
• Actors' Equity Stipends
• Designer Fees
• Transportation Expenses

We need a little extra help covering these costs to bring to life the vision of our playwright, director, and amazing designers! Every bit helps towards renting a high quality projector, or building a door, or paying an actor's subway fare to rehearsal. 

Our Amazing Team

Michael Holt, our fearless producer, is a producer, general manager and theater marketing consultant in NYC. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management Marketing from Brigham Young University, he began working as a marketing associate for Hale Center Theater in Orem, Utah. Upon moving to NYC, Michael began collaborating with Lisa Dozier (Lisa Dozier Productions) on National Alliance for Musical Theater's Festival of New Musicals. He has been an assistant and associate general manager at LDP on off-off works including Leave the Balcony Open (3LD) and Spring Alive! (Dixon Place). Current projects include A Letter to Harvey Milk (NYMF) and Swing State (NYMF). Michael has been on staff at Stuart Thompson Productions, where he worked on the Tony Award winning Death of a Salesman, as well as last season's hit, The Book of Mormon. He's ecstatic to be able to bring the extraordinarily well written #MormonInChief to the stage.

Matthew Greene is our talented playwright who grew up in California, graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Theater, and now lives in NYC. His plays have been produced all over the US. Although he and Michael both attended BYU at the same time, they didn't meet until they were both living in NYC, and started collaborating together. Matthew wrote #MormonInChief as he personally grappled with many of the themes from the play. Like many of his other plays, #MormonInChief deals with how young people address the issue of faith in their lives.  He's very excited to make his NYC premiere at FringeNYC.

Our director, Austin Regan is extremely excited to be working on the piece. His recent work includes It Started With A Dream at the 92nd St. Y; Bromance In Concert at 92Y Tribeca; Hey, You Know What...? at the Julia Miles Theater and the Zipper Factory; and The Who's Tommy at the Boston Conservatory, where he also served on the faculty of the theater department. As Associate and Assistant Director, Austin has worked on Broadway (On A Clear Day...; American Idiot; Everyday Rapture), national tours, regional premieres, and at the Metropolitan Opera.

Together we've put together an amazing team of actors and designers, which you can learn about at our website, http://www.mormoninchiefplay.com

What Happens After Fringe

FringeNYC has been a launching pad for writers, actors, directors, and designers for the past 16 years, including the hit musical Urinetown, which made its premiere at Fringe in 2000 and became a Broadway sensation. We hope that Fringe will be a launching pad for our entire team, and allow doors to be opened for us all. YOU can be a part of making that possible by donating to our campaign. And when we have opportunities presented to us because of your support, you can trust that we will recognize YOU for making it possible.

Other Ways You Can Help

• If you're in the NYC area from August 10-26, 2012, BUY TICKETS and come see our show! We'll be performing in the Kraine Theater (exact dates TBA), and tickets will be limited, so make sure to buy them when they go on sale July 20th.
• Follow us on Twitter @MormonInChief and Like us on Facebook
• Tell your friends about our show!