SAMMY GETS MUGGED! Opens At NY Int'l Fringe Fest

The 15th Annual New York International Fringe Festival will present the premiere of the new play SAMMY GETS MUGGED!, by award-winning writer Dan Heching, from August 15 to 28. Directed by Noah Himmelstein, the cast features Stephanie Pope Caffey (Broadway's Chicago, Fosse and more), Patrick Byas ("Law & Order: SVU") and Mr. Heching.

As much as he tries to get around it, Sammy got mugged one Sunday afternoon, and it was pretty scary. But for whom? Him, or his mysterious mugger, whose resolve is less than perfect? SAMMY GETS MUGGED! recounts an antagonistic exchange between two strangers, all the wild possibilities that follow, and how we choose to remember the more unsavory moments in our lives. Loosely
based on a real mugging in Paris in the spring of 2005, the show invites urban dwellers, theater enthusiasts and their friends to witness a city mugging through the eyes of a born-and-raised city kid who is anything but your classic victim.

SAMMY GETS MUGGED! features costume design by Mark Richard Caswell, sound design by Giovanni Villari, scenic design by David L. Arsenault, casting by Stuart Howard and Paul Hardt and production stage manager Shelby Taylor Love.

The show takes place at The Living Theater, 21 Clinton Street between Houston & Essex, (F/V to 2nd Avenue /J/M/Z to Delancey/Essex) on Monday, August 15 at 2:00 PM; Thursday, August 18 at 6:00 PM; Saturday, August 20 at 9:00 PM; Friday, August 26 at 8.45 PM and Sunday, August 28 at 12:00 Noon. Tickets go on sale today at (888) 468-7619 or at www.fringenyc.org. More
information is available at www.SammyGetsMugged.com.

Stephanie Pope CAFFEY (Rue Felicite) is thrilled to be a part of Dan Heching's Sammy Gets Mugged! Some of her Broadway and touring credits include Muzzy Van Hossmere in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Velma Kelly in Chicago, the leading player in Fosse, Brenda in Smokey Joe's Cafe, Gymnasia in Forum, The Hunnies in Jelly's Last Jam, Josephine Baker in The Zeigfeld
Follies of 1936, to name just a few. Regional roles include Fastrada in Pippin, Cicre in The Odyssey, Liliane LaFleur in Nine and Dussie Mae in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. TV credits include "One Life to Live," "All My Children," "Oz" and "Ed." She has appeared in commercials, film, music
videos and cabaret with her very first cabaret act, On My Way To You receiving a MAC Award nomination for best newcomer. Her critically acclaimed solo CD Now's the Time to Fall in Love is available through CDBaby.com. Stephanie, along with her sister and business partner, Jennifer Pope, are the owners of Bikram Yoga East Harlem, which was this year named one of the
"Top 10 Bikram Yoga Studios in America" by Details Magazine. www.bikramyogaeastharlem.com

PATRICK BYAS (Mugger) attended Rutgers University where he received his B.A. in Theatre Arts. He has been involved in various TV shows such as "Law and Order SVU," "Celebrity Close Calls" (Lou Gossett Jr. Story) and some other films to name a few. Recently, he produced and assistant directed the feature Bad to the Jones, an action, comedy zombie film. Patrick was born and raised in the South Bronx before moving to New Jersey.

DAN HECHING (Playwright/Sammy) makes his debut as a playwright with Sammy Gets Mugged! Dan, who was born and raised in New York, works as a freelance writer, playwright and reviewer. After studying Film & TV at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he lived in Paris from 2003 to 2006. Since returning to New York, his film reviews can be found at www.NextMagazine.com, and his
travel vlog is at www.LostInFrancelation.com. His acting and theater credits include JR in his play "ALARM", Bilingual Acting Workshop, Paris, 2005; Charlie in NYU in Dublin's production of "The Living Quarters" by Brian Friel, 2001; Rabbi Yitzhak in "Stories from Chelm" at the HASC benefit performance at Radio City Music Hall, 1994.

Noah Himmelstein (Director) The River Has No Water, The Stronger and The Human Voice (workshop, Shapiro Theatre), Carly Jibson: Not a Bitch, Not Yet a Woman (The Public / Joe's Pub), Underneath (Oberon Theatre Ensemble), Michael John LaChiusa's Little Fish. Asst. Director: Orpheus & Euridice / Green Sneakers (Kevin Newbury, Urban Arias), The Trouble with Doug (Victoria Clark, NAMT), Our Betters (Stuart Howard, Red Bull Theater), The Grapes of
Wrath (Eric Simonson, Carnegie Hall). SDC Fellowship: A Man for All Seasons (Doug Hughes, Roundabout). Upcoming: a series of operas by Zachary Redler and Sara Cooper, Homeland by Sevan Kaloustian Greene and Zachary Redler and Hansel and Gretel with Virginia Opera. www.noahhimmelstein.com 

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