Newburgh Fringe Festival Will Revive Ritz Stage for the First Time in 70 Years

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz first performed together at the Ritz Theater in Newburgh. A then-unknown Frank Sinatra sang there, as did Ella Fitzgerald and countless other stars of the '30s and '40s.

The stage was sealed up as the Ritz was converted into a movie theater. For the first time in 70 years, the stage will house live performances again as part of Newburgh Fringe Festival.

The new festival runs from Friday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Oct. 26, and features 37 shows with 70 performances in multiple venues throughout the city.

"We'll have live theater, music, improv -- all different types of theater is going to be performed in that space for the first time in 70 years. It's very exciting," said Safe Harbors of the Hudson Director of Performing Arts & Community Programming Ken Martinez.

Lucille Ball + Desi Arnaz First Performed Together in Newburgh

The stage at the Ritz Theater where "I Love Lucy" was born will house live performances for the first time in decades during Newburgh Fringe Festival.

The festival is put on by Safe Harbors of the Hudson, a nonprofit that owns the Ritz Theater and surrounding buildings, and produced in partnership with Hit House Creative.

The festival is also a partnership of longtime friends Martinez and Shane Killoran, founder and director of Hit House Creative. The pair first met as theater kids when Martinez played Prince Charming to Killoran's Snow White in a local production. Life paths brought them both to the Hudson Valley, where they've worked together on various arts projects to benefit Safe Harbors. Newburgh Fringe Festival represents their most ambitious collaboration to date.

READ MORE: Lucille Ball's Life-Changing Trip to Newburgh

What Type of Performances Will Newburgh Fringe Festival Showcase?

Fringe festivals have become a cultural staple in many cities, but Newburgh Fringe Festival will be the Mid-Hudson Valley's first.

These festivals feature a wide variety of live performances that often cross into multiple genres or defy categorization. You could attend a one-woman show that feels part drama, part comedy and invites audience participation and then hop over to another venue that features puppetry and live music -- fringe festivals traffic in experimentation and the delightfully unexpected. Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the most well-known fringe festival in the world, gave rise to Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag and Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer, for example.

"It's an opportunity for performers, and it's an opportunity for audiences to really see things that they haven't necessarily had an opportunity, or would have an opportunity to see," Martinez said.

Newburgh Fringe Festival features local Hudson Valley artists, some of whom are seasoned performers and others who have recently started out. Performers submitted their proposals to the festival and a committee decided on the final selection.

"I kind of wish we had been filming ourselves reading the submissions because it ran this incredible gamut," Killoran said. "And some of the artists that I personally know submitted things to Fringe that were completely out of the wheelhouse of what I was expecting from them."

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Newburgh Fringe Festival: Schedule, Locations + Price

Newburgh Fringe Festival will take place at six locations throughout Newburgh:

• ADS Warehouse, 105 Ann Street
• Lobby at the Ritz, 107 Broadway
• Ritz Theater Stagehouse, 104 Ann Street
• Safe Harbors Green, 97 Broadway
• The Wherehouse, 119 Liberty Street
• Cornerstone Residence Library, 111 Broadway

The Friday performances run 6PM to midnight; Saturday's schedule runs from 9AM to midnight; and Sunday's slate is from noon until 9PM. The full schedule is available at the Safe Harbors website.

Each show will cost $12. Tickets can be ordered online beforehand or festivalgoers can pay by cash at the door. All ticket sale proceeds go to the performers.

In addition to the performances, Newburgh Fringe Festival will offer three workshops on playwriting, puppetry, and creative development.

READ MORE: How Groundbreaking Reporter Donna Minkowitz Found a New Chapter in Beacon

What Is Safe Harbors of the Hudson?

Much like a fringe festival, the mission of Safe Harbors of the Hudson is difficult to fit into one box.

The organization primarily provides supportive housing at the Cornerstone Residence, which is located next to the Ritz. Residents of the Cornerstone include artists in need of affordable housing; individuals with physical disabilities or mental health diagnoses; veterans; and formerly homeless people.

Safe Harbors also supports community-centered arts projects and programming. The restoration of the Ritz Theater is part of that. The Lobby at the Ritz, located next to the Cornerstone Residence, has been rebuilt into a performance space. The Ann Street Gallery in the back of the building showcases visual arts. The Ritz's former box office was reconfigured into a podcasting studio. The Safe Harbors Green outside of the Ritz building facing Liberty Street features stunning photos of Newburgh residents placed over unused windows, an outdoor stage and a well-kept park.

Community is the wheel that the spokes of Safe Harbors of the Hudson's projects connect to.

For Killoran, community and connection is at the heart of Newburgh Fringe Festival, as well.

"We're just thrilled to be able to do it ... to be able to bring some creative joy to people and infuse the community of Newburgh, but also, Beacon, with a real sense of play, but that also has some particular meaning behind it at this particular moment in our world," Killoran said. "It's really very moving and exciting for us professionally, but also for Ken and I personally."