One of the slots in this year's New York International Fringe Festival will go to a production by composer and Central Park carriage driver Mitch Kess. After "Horse Play The Musical" was rejected by last year's jury, Mr. Kess reworked the musical's book with a fellow Central Park carriage driver, Ariel Fintzi, to develop the current story about a romance that blossoms between a Central Park carriage driver and an activist crusading against carriage horses in the park. No feedback or explanation is offered with rejections of submissions, but in addition to refocusing the story, Mr. Kess's presentation was also more professional this year as he submitted a CD of hired singers recorded by the show's musical director, Ted Cruz, in liu of the previous CD of songs Kess had performed and recorded on his own.
“We know how hard it is to get in,” Mr. Kess said one recently. “There’s a lot of cachet, and it’s a big deal.”
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