AT THE CROSSROADS: MUSIC FOR FAUST to Begin Next Week at FringeNYC

Modern Robot will present At The Crossroads: Music for Faust, a screening of the iconic 1926 silent film Faust with an intense live performance of a modern musical score.

Known for its dramatic compositions and elaborate special effects, F.W. Murnau's Faust tells the tale of the demon Mephisto, who makes a bet that he can corrupt a righteous man's soul. If he succeeds, The Devil will win dominion over earth. In his live score, composer Ben Singer translates this emotionally charged story with a symphonic sensibility filled with demonic gallops, bubbling textures, breezy sambas, whistling winds, and an unrelenting drum beat. This unique work blends music, theater, film, and live performance to result in a mesmerizing experience.

"This is a supremely good show," said Conor Matche of Broadway Baby. "The quality of the musicianship is astronomical, and twinned with the iconic Faust, it makes for an experience I wouldn't mind reliving again and again." At The Crossroads: Music for Faust was previously performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Orlando Fringe Festival.

Over the past five years, Modern Robot has performed accompaniments to dozens of films including odd instructional and industrial films, campy B-movies, flight and space footage, and a wide range of traditional silent films. What started out as a loose improvisational group has become a project that takes each movie as its own creative concept. For each show, Singer assembles performers and creates a musical outline that both complements the film and creates something new out of the combination.

Singer combines the formal training in jazz and classical music he received at Eastman School of Music with the roots music of his British folk-singing, bluegrass-playing parents and with the technology of being a computer programmer. He regularly performs original music as a singer/songwriter and as Modern Robot, which plays live soundtracks to classic silent films and other weird movies. Ben is also a frequent collaborator in North Carolina, working as a studio musician, recording engineer, and video producer. The show also features drummer Spencer Cohen.

Performances will be held on Wednesday, August 17 at 3pm; Thursday, August 18 at 5:45pm; Saturday, August 20 at 3:15pm;Monday, August 22 at 9:30pm; and Wednesday, August 24 at 8pm. At The Crossroads: Music for Faust will be performed at DROM, located at 85 Avenue A in New York City. Tickets ($18) are available by visiting www.modernrobot.net.