'Tales From the Tunnel': Good tales from bad subway rides

[Harry 1,076]

Every straphanger has a juicy anecdote about an unforgettable subway experience. Collectively the stories could be called "The MTA Monologues" or, maybe, "My First Ride."

 

Writers and directors Troy Diana and James Valletti have named their play, based on 150-plus interviews with riders and transit workers, "Tales From the Tunnel."

 

The show bows Saturday as part of the New York International Fringe Festival. We caught up with a handful of the New Yorkers whose funny, touching, sweaty, slurpy and, well, ratty slices of subway life play out on stage.

 

Valletti's dad worked for the MTA for 27 years and his stories were a big inspiration. James Sr. did everything from bending steel to killing rats (you may never eat peanut butter again). Another contributor's provocative tale involves a woman whose ankle was licked while a train car lights were out. We won't spoil the surprise.

 

Lorianne Lacey, 26, of Hell's Kitchen, provides an amusing R train recollec

 

tion. "It was seven years ago in April, nowhere near Halloween," she says. "But a guy dressed up like Spider-Man was doing magic tricks and jumping over and under the turnstiles gymnastics-style. He was very agile."

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2009/08/12/2009-08-12_tales_from_the_tunnel_good_tales_from_bad_subway_rides.html#ixzz0NyJFd4Xe