A Fringe Quickie (#440) with ‘The Great Shakespeare Showdown in Silver City’

Questions answered by Dennis Elkins.

Q1: Aside from this Quickie, what is the most desperate marketing tactic you plan on using to get bums in seats this August? 280 chars

It’s temptin’ to round ’em up and hog-tie them to their seats – like a county fair contest. But that’d be a bit alarmin’ to our more sensitive patrons. And bribing ‘em with silver dollars would be excessive and expensive. So, we’ll just have to guarantee gut-bustin’ belly laughs!

Q2: If your show walked into a cocktail bar, what would it order?

For starters, our show, “The Great Shakespeare Showdown” would never be so pretentious as to just amble into some “cocktail bar!” It’d have to be a real rip-roarin’ saloon where only two drinks are served – flat beer or rye whiskey. And nobody with any smarts orders the beer!

Q3: If your show suddenly developed a massive ego and became the biggest diva in the 2026 Fringe, what absurd, hyper-specific item would be mandatory on its dressing room rider?

“Absurd”? A dressing room mirror for makeup is standard and we would certainly demand a full-length mirror to take in our full-length splendor (plus hand-mirrors for closeups). But what is really needed is a mirrored ceiling – and you have to come see the show to understand why!

Q4: How will the audience remember you the morning after?

As Puck says, “If we shadows have offended, think . . . you have but slumber’d here while these visions did appear.” You may not have stories to tell your children, but no one’ll experience that “walk of shame!” No! You’ll awake with a sense of pride and head held high!