PHI ALPHA GAMMA by Dan Bernitt  

Two years ago, a gaybashing plagued the fraternity's image. Weighing loyalty and justice, how will the brothers react when a member of their group comes out?

After the success of 2006's Fringe Encore-winning Thanks for the Scabies, Jerkface!, Dan Bernitt returns to Minnesota Fringe with a world-premiere solo show - but this time it's a departure from his autobiographical monologues. Structured like a Greek tragedy, Bernitt weaves together the voices of four fraternity brothers as they grapple with the shattered fragments of a gaybashing and their own homophobia. In this haunting portrait of panic, Phi Alpha Gamma focuses a compassionate eye on the complicated threads of brotherhood embedded in Americana.

"The most remarkable thing about Kentucky native Dan Bernitt's new solo show Phi Alpha Gamma is how even-handedly he treats his characters in a setting less talented writers would populate with broad stereotypes. The fast-paced piece examines masculinity, faith, brotherhood and love in a college fraternity struggling to deal with two brothers, one an imprisoned gay-basher and the other newly emerged from the closet. Bernitt's savvy script offers few easy answers and plenty of twists that toy with the audience's sympathies. Given that it's a world premiere, some tweaking is inevitable, but there's clearly a winner at the core." - St. Paul Pioneer Press