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.

Sep 11, 2026 · 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.

Josh Herren

Sep 11, 2026 · Reviews · 3 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.

Josh Herren

Sep 11, 2026 · 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.

Evan Schares

Sep 11, 2026 · 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.

An Nichols

Sep 11, 2026 · 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.

Evan Schares

Sep 10, 2026 · Reviews · 2 minute read

Resident Ensemble Players presents 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.

Gail Obenreder

Sep 08, 2026 · Reviews · 3 minute read

People’s Light presents Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar

The man and his music

Playwright and pianist Hershey Felder tackles Rachmaninoff and Russian Romanticism in his latest musical drama at People’s Light. Cameron Kelsall reviews.

Cameron Kelsall

Aug 31, 2026 · Reviews · 3 minute read

Declaration House: Reading Between the Lines of America’s Founding, edited by Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Paul M. Farber, and Yolanda Wisher

“How do we remember what powerful people have decided we should forget?”

In 2024, a video activation featuring the eyes of Monticello’s descendants took over Declaration House in Old City. Now a new book documents the project and the rediscovered histories that drove it. Pamela J. Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Aug 25, 2026 · Reviews · 5 minute read

Theatre in the X presents Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf

A soul-stirring production

For its annual production at Malcolm X Park, Theatre in the X mounts a soul-stirring interpretation of Ntozake Shange’s iconic choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. An Nichols reviews.

An Nichols

Aug 21, 2026 · Reviews · 4 minute read