THE NEXT BEST THING by Antonio Sacre

(888) 654-6436, [email protected]
THE NEXT BEST THING
Written and performed by Antonio Sacre
in collaboration with Jim Lasko, directed by Paul Stein
as part of the Hollywood Fringe Theater Festival

Theatre Asylum Lab 6320 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood CA, 90038
Preview, 6/9, 5:30 pm. Opens 6/16, 8:30 pm; 6/17, 4 pm; 6/18, 1 pm; 6/25, 7 pm.
Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028
6/17, 6 pm; 6/22, 8 pm; 6/23, 10 pm; 6/26, 6 pm. $15, www.hollywoodfringe.org

May 5, 2011 – Bill O’Reilly calls him a sexual extremist, and Dennis Miller wants to punch him in the nose. Antonio Sacre, solo performer and two-time Best In Fringe Festival winner at the New York City International Fringe theater festival, returns to the Hollywood fringe with THE NEXT BEST THING, a 60-minute solo performance piece developed with renowned Chicago director Jim Lasko and directed by Paul Stein. At last year’s Fringe, his LA Weekly Go show MY PENIS – IN AND OUT OF TROUBLE was extended and honored as one of Theatre Asylum’s Best of the Fringe.

In THE NEXT BEST THING, Sacre blends contemporary storytelling, ancient myth, and modern verse into a blisteringly funny and moving theatrical exploration of love and its aftermath. What happens after the meltdown? How does one man survive falling in love?

Surprising in his manner, Sacre is self-effacing, with humor coming from his bedrock honesty and piercing writing. THE NEXT BEST THING explores love, sexuality, and celebrity unflinchingly. “He is not a character actor nor a comedian but someone with a perpetual story and an extraordinary talent for engaging an audience. Therefore, he is frankly funny, uncompromisingly believable, and above all – kind.” (Backstage)

Born in Boston to a Cuban father and an Irish-American mother, Sacre is an internationally touring solo performance artist based in Los Angeles. He earned an MA in Theater Arts from Northwestern University. Since 1996, Sacre has created eight solo performance pieces, performing them to critical and popular acclaim at the New York International Fringe Festival, PS 122, the Present Company Theatorium, and PS NBC in New York City; the San Francisco Fringe Theater Festival; the Hollywood Fringe, Edgefest, the HBO Workspace, and the Comedy Central Workspace in Los Angeles; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Live Bait Theater, and the Rhinoceros Theater Festival in Chicago; the Kennedy Center; and various festivals internationally.

The Village Voice calls Sacre “Remarkable . . . a serious artist” and Backstage says Sacre is “powerful, hilariously honest . . . the man is an out and out genius.” His shows have garnered numerous Critics’ Choices in San Francisco, LA, New York, and Chicago. The “most produced playwright in Fringe history” (Time Out NY), Sacre’s 2007 Fringe offering was called by Backstage “exquisite…one of the most skillful and satisfying performances of the year.”