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Dear BSR Subscriber,

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We're almost one week into the 2023 Fringe, and so far, our coverage spans the Garden of Eden, Chekhov, Beckett, Homer, Shakespeare, flamenco, sorcery, and lots more. I caught my first Cannonball Festival production of this year's fest, and while the show was great, I had major concerns about the venue. Why is it difficult to physically access so many festival offerings? This says a lot about who's really welcome at our Fringe. Dive in and see if you agree.

Alaina Johns
BSR editor-in-chief

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Embodying female power through sorcery: ensemble members of Gunnar Montana’s ‘Black Wood.’ (Photo courtesy of Gunnar Montana.)

Sex, sorcery, and power

Camille Bacon-Smith

Gunnar Montana’s immersive BLACK WOOD is a dark and bloody exploration of women’s power through sorcery and sexuality. Camille Bacon-Smith reviews.

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The many faces of a life-changing diagnosis: Hannah Parke in ‘Birth. Sparkle. Death.’ (Photo courtesy of the artist.)

A hot Fringe ticket

Alaina Johns

Solo performer Hannah Parke’s new piece on navigating a devastating epilepsy diagnosis is exactly the kind of work that makes the Fringe exciting. If only the venue was bearable. Alaina Johns reviews.

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A woman’s journey

Zara Waters

Blending poetry and dance, Evalina Carbonell’s Fringe show Fruit of Her Lips explored the feminine triune, bringing to life archetypes of womanhood. Zara Waters reviews.

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Old-school Fringe: Eli Lynn, Peter Nicholls, and Madeleine Garcia in PAC’s ‘Citrus Andronicus.’ (Photo by Wide Eyed Studios.)

Vitamin C tragedy

Cameron Kelsall

The fruit juice flies in Citrus Andronicus, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective’s creative retelling of the Shakespearean revenge tragedy in this year’s Fringe Festival. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

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The cast of IRC’s ‘All That Fall,’ from left: Brian McManus, Kevin J. McCann, Tina Ann Brock, John Zak, Elliot Colahan, Bill Rahill, and Brittany Holdahl Donahue. (Photo by Johanna Austin.)

Theater of the abs(heard)

Emily Schilling

All That Fall, a hilarious and unsettling jaunt to a train station in 1950s Ireland, is expertly staged by Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium in this year's Fringe, offering laughs right up to gut-punch finish. Emily B. Schilling reviews.

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The ‘Eve’ ensemble performs in the garden space at MAAS. (Photo by Jordan Sessa.)

Asking why in the Garden of Eden

Helen Walsh

This folk retelling of exile from the Garden of Eden unravels the Bible story and weaves a tale of affection, curiosity, transgression, and honesty between characters you thought you knew. Helen Walsh reviews.

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Communing with the music, and with us: Charlotte Northeast in ‘They’ve All Gone and We’ll Go Too.’ (Image courtesy of 100th Meridian.)

Soundtrack of your life

Cameron Kelsall

One woman’s quest to score a ticket to her favorite band’s farewell show takes on moving dimensions in They’ve All Gone and We’ll Go Too in this year’s Fringe. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

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Colby Calhoun and Micah Lat in Very Good Dance Theatre's 'The Other Gardeners.' (Image courtesy of the artists.)

Beyond Eden

Zara Waters

The Other Gardeners, a Fringe show from Very Good Dance Theatre, promises sobbing, laughing, remembering, visioning, dreaming, forgetting, and loving. It delivers a little bit of everything, and more. Zara Waters reviews.

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Magnetic and athletic: Em Godfrey of KCBC. (Photo by Brandon Wyche of Müvment Photography.)

Classical dance with contemporary flair

Melissa Strong

Two Fringe Festival performances feature classical forms of dance while looking to the present and future: Aylin Bayaz and Raúl Mannola’s Flamencodanza and KCBCxKCBCII’s Summer Series. Melissa Strong reviews.

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Justin Jain as Ivan Ivanovich Nyukhin. (Photo by Johanna Austin.)

A queer Filipino retelling of Chekhov’s one-act play

Krista Mar

Justin Jain puts his own spin on Anton Chekhov’s The Dangers of Tobacco in this year’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Krista Mar reviews.

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Let us tell of a man

Kiran Pandey

Bill George brings Odysseus to the Philly Fringe, a one-man retelling of The Odyssey that captivates in returning the poem to its rhetorical origins. Kiran Pandey reviews.

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