Their show will be different from its first FringeNYC performance; mainly, the group is looking to simplify the show in general, and to enhance parts that could be funnier. “Our whole aim is to make people feel good through laughter, singing, or wearing silly hats,” Mr. LaGreca said.
The group Minimum Wage, originally from Denver, Colorado, started “as a joke,” according to Mr. LaGreca. They entered, and won, an a cappella competition, but even still never took themselves too seriously.
After that, they made their show into more of a theatrical performance, for the FringeNYC Festival in 2002. “That's when we started collaborating with Sean Altman on all original songs,” said Mr. LaGreca. “Sean brought a whole new amazing energy to the material! He is just an incredibly gifted songwriter.”
The show itself is designed to be a spoof on new-employee training videos. “After doing some research, many of those videos were originally shot by the actual workers themselves on very low budgets. We take this idea, and some liberties with the fact that there is an actual Hamburger University and combine them for an evening in which the audience is attending this "training seminar" to prepare themselves for a career in fast food,” Mr. LaGreca explained.
There it more to the show than that, including killer french fries, but it would be best to see the show in person to believe it.
Mr. LaGreca had much to say about the cast and crew that put this show on. “With this production, we have a cast of five, Bill Caleo, Suzanne Slade, Tony Daussaut and the LaGreca Brothers, plus a preshow cast of 2-3 burger boys,” said Mr. LaGreca. “We have a full crew and excellent support from Mike Flink as our Stage Manager/Soundman, Anne Carlton as our Lighting Mistress and Jon Price as our Video Director.”
“We also have excellent support from Kevin Bartlett and Amanda Herel as our producers, Townsend Belisle as our Management and Stacey Pilson, Stephanie Chase, Jonathan Ettinger and Stephanie Garcia as our Marketing/Production Crew. And a cool new animated Mini Wage cartoon by Shelly Martin,” he added.
A bittersweet note: this may very well be Mr. LaGreca’s final performance with the group; he may be leaving to pursue other creative opportunities that have been presented to him.
“The great thing about the FringeNYC is that it is this amazing international creative community that comes together to put up OVER 200 shows! That's incredible,” Mr. LaGreca said. “Elena K. Holy oversees the whole thing. Her passion and her dedication are remarkable.”
Minimum Wage aims to bring a community together, and to help make a place where artists can meet. They also want to promote a supportive and positive vibe.
The Festival’s Alumni Showcase will present nine other shows, ten in all, one to represent each year the Festival has existed. It is set to begin this Friday, August 11th. For more information, visit FringeNYC’s web site at http://www.fringenyc.org, or http://www.miniwage.com
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