Forty blocks south of New York’s theater district, you’ll find the city’s scrappiest playwrights, directors, and actors in the far back of a bar on East Houston. In preparation for New York City Fringe 2026, this past Sunday, they gathered to showcase a selection of the 75 shows soon to be running in theaters across the city.
New York City Fringe (formerly FRIGID Fringe Festival) is, like most fringe fests, designed to showcase the work of emerging artists. Like Edinburgh or Ontario, it tends to incorporate the full spectrum of performance – comedies, musicals, dramas, and lots of one person shows. On its website, Frigid describes its material as “anything that fits in the space and sometimes things that don’t,” leading to an eclectic mix of the unconventional and unexpected. These, much like theater itself, range from intriguing to cringe-inducing. You never quite know what you’re getting at NYC Fringe; or whether it’s going to be the best or worst thing you’ve ever seen. That’s part of the fun.
Each of these 75 artists entered a lottery process in order to secure their spot in this year’s festival, running from April 1 – 19th. Winning assures you’ll mount your show at one of five venues: The Rat, UNDER St Marks, The Chain (both Mainstage and Studio), and Wild Project. While FRIGID assures access to these stages, rehearsal space, and, among other things, some light marketing, these shows are largely self-financed. Unlike most international fringe festivals, however, NYC Fringe promises 100% of show profits to artists. Even amid the staggering costs of renting theaters, paying festival fees, and transportation; performers here have a (slightly) higher chance of breaking even.
It’s hard wrangling 75 different production teams into any sort of cohesion, and so it was only to be expected that the Fringe Preview event teetered on the chaotic side. The bar was standing room only by the time the show kicked off, filled mostly with creative teams waiting to get their two minutes on the stage. The announcer– who has worked the festival for the last ten years– cut performances off with the chime of an iPhone timer. Most snippets were live scenes, songs, or direct descriptions to the audience; a number of shows that couldn’t be there in person, however, sent in teaser style videos.
Comedy tends to be represented well at Fringe festivals, and NYC Fringe is no different. A large cadre of shows, like the cattily titled The Sexiest Man Alive (Fourth Culture Collective, Wild Project) or How To Become a Saint While Wearing Pants (Lex Alston, Becca Canziani, Brooke Ferris, Lynn Hodeib, and Ania Upstill, Wild Project), rejoice in their own silliness. To some, the humor might be a little over the top, and a few walk the line between funny and frivolous. Works like How To Become A… however, demonstrates how clowning techniques can make a production both fun and creative, as larger than life religious figures explore the connection between sainthood and queerness. Many take the form of standup comedy shows, with one performer using the opportunity to play one or many over the top characters (Bride to Be, Meg Millane, Wild Project).
One person shows tend to be cheaper, free from the expensive props, settings, and actors. This could explain, in part, why they’re so popular. Many autobiographical works like How to Poop in an Outhouse at -72°F (Kona Morris, Under St Marks) or A Baby for Me? No Thank You Please! (Bailey Swilley, The Rat) recount personal narratives of arctic adventure or IUD mishaps, inspired by both stand-up and storytelling traditions. A number focus on the experiences a performer has with their family history or cultural identity. In Killing Janet (Omalolu OJ Fiki, Chain Mainstage), Omalolu’s must metaphorically slay the white missionary she was named for.
A handful of the most exciting productions, however, were original musicals using melodies in creative ways. In XOXO Love Letters from NYC (GPC Entertainment and Sturkey & Studabaker, Wild Project), a guttural vocalist is accompanied by the percussion of a tap dancer, leading to a fresh and exciting sound. Black Trash Bag Magic (The Rat) and Did You Charge Your Phone for the End of the World (Fletcher Michael and Infinite Monkey Theater Co., Wild Project) are both plays. But the addition of music had helped elevate them to some of the most anticipated productions of the festival. Black Trash Bag Magic, a witchy high school story about two friends who cast a love spell on their crush, had trippy enough melodies to set the atmospheric mood. Did You Charge Your.. presented a song about mystical beasts in New York (the Loch Ness at JaySt-Metrotech, for example), an inventive change of pace from the rest of the showcase.
Dramas are harder to come by at the Fringe, but it’s no coincidence that my most anticipated piece finds itself in this category. My Last Audition (Paul Shearman, Chain Mainstage) is something simpler than the rest. In it, Shearman plays an actor suffering from dementia as he prepares to play King Lear. The description he read was simple, sincere, and moving. Fringe is designed for productions like this, powerful even when stripped bare.
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