When is the last time you got a chance to see a production of one of Friedrich Schiller's plays? It has been a long time for me, so I was glad to get an opportunity to see the Demimonde Theatre & Opera Company's production of this masterpiece.

The new translation was very accessible and the acting was okay. However, the real shining moments came during musical pieces sung by Gudren Buhler as Johanna d'Arc Calncia, Valencia Pleasant as the Senator of Orleans, and Dylan Bandy as Lionel. The scenes between Buhler and Bandy were especially powerful.

This show is well worth the trip if you are looking for a clean traditional production of a great play or some wonderful singing.

Yet as I watched the play, I could not help but wonder what someone like emerging director and adapter James Presson, who put together the post apocalypse, Richard 3, could do with this show. I would love to see the classic Schiller play, recast from the Battle of Orleans to the Battle of Seattle during the 1999 WTO protests, with Johanna cast as a unknown punk rocker from Seattle's grunge scene. Another interesting mashup might be the Hurricane Katrina Comedy Festival, perhaps with a little of Presson's influence, doing The Maid of New Orleans.

Well, Richard 3 closed last night, but Maid of Orleans has two more shows, one next Tuesday and one next Friday. Hopefully, some of James and his friends will make this show. Hopefully other fringe attendees will catch this show and brush up on their Schiller, and hopefully there will be more productions like this at FringeNYC XV.