Queer Reviewed Roundup: 2025 Philadelphia Fringe Festival
- Frank Schierloh
- Oct 8
- 6 min read
The 2025 Philadelphia Fringe Festival was bigger than ever this year! Check out reviews for a selection of this years shows below.
Sis.tem | gateways to safehouses by C. Woods Work
Two dancers use an incredible collection of choreographed movements to evoke and lay bare the struggles faced by black femmes. The beautiful movement performed elegantly by creator Cierra Woods and collaborator Edwina Thertulien is extremely compelling to watch. The way they have constructed the sections of this piece is rather impressive, with a masterful pairing of music to movement.
The emotion that was running within the dance felt extremely authentic, and allowed for the performers to be vulnerable for the audience. The intersection of dance and deeper meaning is also rather exceptional. Each section tackles a different aspect of the public's perception of black femmes and the struggles that meet them. Towards the end of the piece there is a lovely moment of reflection and introspection that really ties the whole dance together. The highlight though, is the performers, who imbue every moment of the dance piece with a fire and emotion that makes for a really resonating performance.
Sis.tem | gateways to safehouses ran until September 21st at the Icebox Project Space Gallery.
Elaborate Measures by Jeffrey Sykes
It is particularly poignant when a show about a dancing alien helps remind its audience about the beauty and simplicity of humanity. Through several dance/monologue vignettes Sykes tells the story of a young alien prince, as they journey through self doubt, mindfulness and also an interaction with a sobbing dragon. It’s a simple story, but in its simplicity is a great deal of heart. Sykes is an athletic dancer and is able to balance beautiful choreography with silly bits of character throughout.
Sykes’ alien prince is a historian, but not your run of the mill historian, they’re one that tells their stories through dance. The most impactful vignette is the middle one, where the prince is trying to perform a dance routine for the audience, but is constantly hindered by the inner voice in their head constantly critiquing them. The section is a lovely meditation on how to best handle that inner saboteur, while also showcasing Sykes dancing abilities.
Overall, Elaborate Measures is a delightful dance monologue about an alien that comes to earth and reminds us all how to be human. It ran until September 25th at the Icebox Project Space Gallery.
Lions by Lightning Rod Special
Death as a subject has fascinated playwrights for decades. Lightning Rod Special’s fringe offering this year is an extremely personal exploration of their father’s deaths, but presented in an extremely unique way. Co-creators and performers Alice Yorke and Scott R. Shepard share the unique experience of losing both their fathers within a short period of time. They’ve decided to not fully focus on the emotional weight of losing a parent, but instead on the insane amount of clerical work that comes about when someone dies.
Shepard and Yorke frame the daunting tasks as if they were two Dickensian clerks out of a Christmas Carol. It’s a comical angle for such morose material, and it works well because of that juxtaposition. Both Shepard and Yotke are in top form in this production, navigating the highs and lows throughout effortlessly. While every joke might not land, or slightly overstays its welcome, the show as a whole is a triumphant examination of who their fathers were. Lions isn’t your run of the mill show about death, and in that it truly honors the legacy of Shepard and Yorke’s dads.
Lions played at the Proscenium at the Drake until September 21.
Two Queers in Wigs: Two Solo Performances About Gender by Guotian (Tim) Shu & Nico Montalvo
Two solo monologues exploring ideas about gender by two enthusiastic performers. Two Queers in Wigs consists of two pieces: Nina, NIna, Nina! and Lin-Manuel Gets an Oscar. Nina, Nina, Nina! by Guotian (Tim) Shu examines the line between character and gender, and how that intersects with their cultural heritage. Lin-Manuel Gets an Oscar by Nico Montalvo chronicles the almost EGOT as he strives towards finding his path to Oscar glory, and also turning into Miranda Cosgrove.
While both performers are engaging to watch, both shows feel slightly underbaked. Nina, Nina, Nina!, plods around for its first half not really saying much other than a repetitive joke about long Russian names. It does start to tap into an interesting point about where a performer draws the line when a character helps unlock their own gender expression, but then the show quickly ends. Lin-Manuel gets an Oscar plays as more of one performer's grievances with a composer, that doesn’t really delve deep enough into the systemic issues around why Miranda has become a problematic figure. Then, towards the end, Lin-Manuel Miranda is transformed by a giant Oscar Statuette into Miranda Cosgrove, for a reason. Then the performer directly addresses the audience that they're bad at endings, and it ends. Both monologues need a fair amount of work clarifying their meanings and intentions if they're going to be remounted.
Two Queers in Wigs ran until September 14th at the Asian Arts Initiative Black Box Theater.
La Otra by 1812 Productions
It’s always refreshing to see a production of a new work that makes you glad you saw it now, before everyone else. La Otra, presented by 1812 Productions/Tanaquil Márquez & Eliana Fabiyi, is just one of those plays. The world premiere written and directed by Márquez tells a hysterical and heartfelt story of three Colombian sisters reconnecting for their father’s 80th birthday. Drama and secrets unfold, but told in a hysterical style that allows the material to truly shine. It is a story that is not wholly unique but is told in such a fantastical way that it makes it feel fresh and new. The show is bilingual, allowing the characters' relationships to thrive in the fast paced nature of hopping from one language to another.
The show is a bombastic exploration of the traditional family drama story. It has an air of magic realism that takes its characters on a wild ride. The cast was top tier in performances, with Yajaira Paredes being a standout in her duel roles as Yamile, one of the sisters, and Luz, the fourth wall breaking, hysterical maid. She had such a warm, welcoming nature that immediately invited the audience to engage, allowing for the humor to effortlessly flow throughout the show. The set by Dahlia Al-Habieli was incredibly inventive and transformed in truly fantastic ways.
Overall, La Otra was a standout in many ways and one of those Fringe shows that you hope has a continued life and success after the festival is over. It ran until September 28th
The Presented by Chris Davis
Brought back after a successful Fringe run in 2018 (and Edinburgh Fringe in 2019) Chris Davis’ The Presented asks the age old artist question: what am I making art for? For Davis the 50 minute solo show is more an exploration on how the landscape of the art world has changed, and how to best create work in a “post Golden-Age of theatre” era. It’s an incredibly witty examination of this idea that takes a deeper look at the state the art world is in as arts funding is under constant attack.
Davis is an adept performer with a likability that is instantly engaging to watch. As creator of the show he is wildly familiar with the material, but it doesn’t feel over rehearsed or put on. The entire piece felt so off the cuff and of the moment that it felt like he could’ve been coming up with it on the spot. His physicality is impressive, including a recurring bit involving a bear, and the show never drags. For a show that is framed as a pitch for another artist, it’s deeply personal, while also being universal, which is not an easy task to achieve.
The Presented was a standout of this year's fringe festival, and still as relevant and timely as ever. Davis has a natural skill as a performer that is undeniably enjoyable to watch. It ran until September 28th.
The Orgy by Noah Eisenstein
What happens when one man convinces his roommate and several other friends to participate in an orgy? That is the base premise for the new work The Orgy by writer and performer Noah Eisenstein. Unfortunately, the play never really lives up to the premise, and instead of focusing on the real intricacies of organizing an orgy in a sex positive fashion, goes for low brow humor and archetype characters that don’t ever feel like real people. It’s a disappointing take on what could be a really interesting and evocative play.
The Orgy ran until September 28th
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