AUSSIES will have a distinctive presence this year at August's New York international fringe festival.
With more than 150 entries vying to gain places at FringeNYC, a new Australian musical, Stalker: The Musical has won a spot. It is the only Australian production to get into the festival.
It's the brainchild of Australian writers Alex Giles and David Russell; the composer is a New York-based Australian composer Andy Peterson.
The musical is a satirical piece, set in an imaginary town where love is taboo.
People can't and don't fall in love there but Jay Cloudstreet is drawn to Ava Derwent and the two become an awkward couple as they explore love, its pleasures and heartbreaks.
A mysterious stranger throws this world into chaos.
Stalker will be directed by Australian Tyran Parke, and will have veteran Australian performers Blake Erickson and Christopher Hamilton in the cast.
The festival brings together more than 200 companies from around the world with 1200 performances on 20 stages in 16 days.
There are musicals, solo shows, comedies, tragedies, parodies, performance art and puppetry.
Michele Lansdown of Connells Point will play Henrietta Pleasureberry, who runs the town with an iron fist, a town where people are sent away if they fall in love.
"Henrietta has fallen in love with the man next door and has destroyed everyone's lives by doing this," Lansdown said.
"They have created a town where they believe nobody will be hurt if they don't fall in love."
Lansdown will fly out of Australia on Saturday to begin rehearsals in New York.
Stalker's New York run is August 14-30.
