All of BSR's 2026 Fringe reviews at a glance
Check out the full list of our writers' 2026 Fringe reviews, updated throughout the festival
We're reviewing dozens of shows in this year's Fringe festival. Find them all at a glance here.
Reviews
2 minute read
Inside the rally to save the Academy of Natural Sciences
People fighting “truth decay” in the age of AI want to keep Philly’s natural sciences museum open
On September 8, one week after the shocking news broke that the Academy of Natural Sciences will close at the end of September, the community rallied to save it. Anndee Hochman was there.
Features
6 minute read
1812 Productions presents Jennifer Childs and Mary Carpenter’s This Should Never Be a Musical
The rest they make up
1812 Productions creates an outlandish new work every night in This Should Never Be a Musical. Cameron Kelsall reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Savannah Reich presents The Groundhog
Professors are people, too
Savannah Reich’s hilarious The Groundhog, imagining one professor’s career-ending class on the Harold Ramis film Groundhog Day, gets its world premiere in this year’s Fringe. Evan Schares reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: BETTY presents Dickie Dickie Dicky Donnie
The abject wonder of infancy
The theater collective BETTY (MK Tuomanen, Shelby Richardson, and Paul Kruse) premieres Dickie Dickie Dicky Donnie, an ode to the human experience of infants, in this year’s Fringe. Josh Herren reviews.
Reviews
2 minute read
The editor’s guide to the 2026 Philly Fringe
Check here for curated listings and mini-reviews throughout the festival
See where editor Alaina Johns is heading in this year’s Fringe and get her recommendations with mini-reviews that will be updated right here throughout the festival. Check back often!
Previews
22 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: The Colored Girls Museums presents Say It Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud
A cozy visual feast in a Germantown cultural oasis
The Colored Girls Museum, a real home in Germantown that also serves as a museum celebrating the Black community, joins this year’s Fringe with a special interactive tour. An Nichols reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Cannonball presents Izzy Sazak’s TUZLUK
A mixed-race coming-of-age story
Izzy Sazak, a Turkish Colombian American trans-disciplinary artist, writer, and teacher, brings their solo show, TUZLUK, to the Philly Fringe. Krista Mar reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Lemonade Stand presents Carly Polistina’s Jane Eyre Wasn’t a Whore
Theater and literature nerds unite!
Imagine a jukebox musical where the jukebox plays audiobooks and there’s only one actor onstage, and you might get Jane Eyre Wasn’t a Whore, onstage in this year’s Fringe. Jill Ivey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: The Lemonade Stand presents Lindsey Walko’s Bog Man
A haunted actor
The Lemonade Stand hub of the Fringe presents Lindsey Walko’s Bog Man, an intriguing one-woman show that struggles to fully explore its concept. Kiran Pandey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Ninth Planet presents Holy Fool
Perceiving grief
Ninth Planet is back with a new experimental dance/theater show in this year’s Fringe, exploring the ways we grieve, and are perceived in our grief. Krista Mar reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Cannonball presents William Trevino’s LIGEIA
Poe meets martial arts
New York-based performer and theater professor William Trevino brings his unique one-man adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s Ligeia
to this year’s Philly Fringe. David Block previews.
to this year’s Philly Fringe. David Block previews.
Previews
2 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Yellow Bicycle Collective presents Joshua Crone’s Waiting for Westy
A promising but bloated Vietnam war drama
Joshua Crone’s Waiting for Westy, a promising but overlong drama tackling the legacy of the Vietnam War and its echoes today, appears in this year’s Philly Fringe. Josh Herren reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
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Also on BSR
Fringe Festival 2026: Don Allen presents Human in the Loop
The human remains in command?
Don Allen’s Fringe entry, Human in the Loop, takes audiences on an AI-guided therapy session before the artist overrides it to make his own decisions. Emily Esten reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Dumb Hub presents Hannah Mitchell’s TRAD
Loving the Lord, your husband, and the audience
With audience interaction and sharp physical comedy, Hannah Mitchell’s Fringe entry TRAD skewers the phenomenon of the American tradwife. Jill Ivey reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Corps de Ballet PHL presents Dancing in Yesterday’s Stage Makeup
Exploring the inner lives of dancers
A new collective of Philly ballerinas joins the Fringe to offer their window on dancers’ favorite thing to do after the show is over: keep on dancing. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: FringeArts presents Nichole Canuso | Branching Paths’ Lunar Retreat
Exploring life’s tides, within and without
Nichole Canuso’s 2026 entry in the curated Fringe Festival creates an immersive experience in University City’s Pearlstein Gallery, where you can choose the length of your adventure. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Cannonball Festival presents Joel De Jesus-Pacheco’s Amor/Libertad Part 1
Imagining the future of an independent Puerto Rico
Fringe entry Amor/Libertad Part 1 is a heartfelt drama exploring the tensions of political oppression in relationships, set in Puerto Rico between the present day and an imagined future. Vicky Diaz-Camacho reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: FringeArts presents Daniel Fish’s Kramer/Fauci
A bureaucrat and a firebrand walk into C-SPAN
This year’s curated Fringe includes Kramer/Fauci, director Daniel Fish’s vision of a trenchant 1993 interview between public health official Dr. Anthony Fauci and activist Larry Kramer. Josh Herren reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Cannonball presents Ben Grinberg’s Plausible Deniability v. 0.1
Immersively thirsty
A new work-in-progress from Ben Grinberg and Almanac Projects combined gravity-defying acrobatics with an immersive steam-room setting. Evan Schares reviews.
Reviews
2 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Cannonball presents Julia Baccellieri’s Strange Root, or the murder of PT Barnum By Joice Heth
The return of Strange Root
Multidisciplinary dance and circus artist Julia Baccellieri, a Chicago native, returns to the Philly Fringe with an updated iteration of their 2025 Strange Root performance. An Nichols reviews.
Reviews
4 minute read
Philly Fringe 2026: Cannonball presents Justin Jain’s BAD CLAY
Ceramic choreography on the American experiment
BAD CLAY, Justin Jain’s 2026 Fringe entry combines sculpture, live pottery, and physical performance to reflect on our American moment. Evan Schares reviews.
Reviews
2 minute read
The Resident Ensemble Players present August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned
Inside the artistic journey of an American theater icon
REP opens its new season with an impressive production of August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned, exploring the great American playwright’s own journey. Gail Obenreder reviews.
Reviews
3 minute read