Philly Fringe 2018: Top picks for the uncurated fest

There are a lot of shows in the festival this year that I’m looking forward to seeing — because the artists have impressed me before, because of a unique perspective that I probably need in my life, or maybe just because the buzz is too loud to ignore.

The new Almanac jawn

First on my list is Almanac Dance Circus Theatre’s Jeanne/Jean/John/Jawn ($25; though Almanac says “no-one will be turned away for lack of funds). Almanac’s Ben Grinberg promised me it’s “going to be a little off the rails, in a good way!” I’ve always enjoyed the worlds that Almanac’s creators conjure, with their signature mix of symbiotic acrobatics and slyly endearing narratives.

This year’s premiere is inspired in part by 18th-century botanist Jeanne Baret, who dressed as a man and became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. Red 40 frontwoman Martha Stuckey adds live electronic and acoustic music. The show runs September 6 through 16 at Almanac’s new home at the Maas Building in East Kensington.

Outside voices

One joy of the Fringe is shows featuring voices other than professional theater artists, like Airport Opened, from Ben Shapiro Presents. Airports are “intersections of almost every imaginable personality with logistical challenges galore,” and this show mines that truth through real-life interviews with global airport personnel. It’s happening September 6, 7, and 21 at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and it’s free.

Other voices worth listening to are the youngsters in Think Before You Speak. This show from AIM Drama Academy urges us to think about how our words affect other people. Youth performers will talk honestly on topics like sexual abuse, privilege, and living with America’s school-shooting epidemic. It’s coming to Fergie’s Pub September 14 through 16, and it’s free.

Real America and For Colored Girls

Speaking of America, I also recommend Philly Improv Theater’s American Express Comedy, a sharp local improv troupe featuring all people of color. Their Fringe show, Real America ($15), offers “a glimpse at some social and historical themes of our great nation through a colored lens” and challenges the definition of “Real American.” Be ready to laugh and also feel uncomfortable about the ways your own biases contribute to toxic social norms. It’s running at the Adrienne September 12 through 15.

For other necessary perspectives, I’m looking forward to seeing Kaleidoscope Cultural Arts Collective’s For Colored Girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf ($25). Ntozake Shange is a prolific playwright, poet, novelist, and essayist, and I have never seen her first work for the stage (a “choreopoem”), which got its Broadway premiere in 1976 and has become part of the worldwide literary and theatrical canon. As the Kaleidoscope artists say, it’s “the stories of seven women who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society.” It’s coming to North Philly’s Klein Theatre at the Church of the Advocate, running September 14 through 23.

The road to hell and nightmares

The fest is also bringing commentary from Lee Minora back to town, who declares that “the road to hell is paved with well-meaning white women” with her White Feminist ($15). It debuted earlier this year in a packed-to-the-gills one-night showing at the Wilma (here’s my review). “Are you one of the good ones?” the show asks. “Did you go to the Women’s March? Have you called your senator?” The show was recently a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s coming to the Skinner Studio at Plays & Players, running September 12 through 16.

For another one-woman show coming home to Philly after a successful run in Edinburgh, head to Sarah Knittel’s NIGHTMARE FUEL ($15). It’s not the first rodeo in Philly for this “brutal clown show,” but it’s the first time I’ll be seeing it. Knittel first wrote the show as “an act of revenge,” putting her cretin ex-boyfriends through the lens of the horror genre, where they become literal monsters “who inflict pain with a combination of apathy and glee.”

“Our world rewards toxic masculinity and the recklessness of men, while ladies are incessantly prompted to disappear themselves. FUCK THAT,” says Knittel. I kept up with her Edinburgh run over Instagram, where one audience member loved her “old school B-movie styled antics full of viscera and obscenities” and “would love to see more of her and her rancid ideas.” You can also listen to Knittel’s interview with BSR podcaster Darnelle Radford. The show is coming to Panorama Philly, running September 8 through 24.