8 shows we’ve loved at Philly Fringe Fest so far, and the shows we are excited about

The wacky and innovative Philadelphia Fringe Festival is well underway this month with hundreds of shows across the city spotlighting theater, dance, circus arts, comedy, and music. These multisensory and multidisciplinary experiences represent some of the best experimental performances of the year, but the festival’s long lineup (346 productions this year alone!) can often feel dizzying to navigate.

Our team of reporters has been scouring the scene for some early favorites, from a cabaret at the Wanamaker Building to an intimate performance at a rowhouse.

Here are some of the best shows we’ve seen so far, and a look at what we’re excited to see as the monthlong festivities continue.

“I have a theory that all my romantic and sexual partners have resembled Goldberg in some way,” says Canadian performance artist Clayton Lee in his introduction, referencing pro wrestler Bill Goldberg. What starts as a glimpse into Lee’s history of white ex-boyfriends (complete with real-time social media stalking) breaks into a makeshift wrestling ring where he strips down into a bedazzled Speedo and gets thrown around.

Lee delivers hilarious, acerbic takedowns with a bold and shocking vulnerability before he is bound in rope and hoisted into the air, surrounded by Goldberg doppelgängers. Arguably the funniest part was the audience reaction: an elderly couple next to me kept Googling queer terms Lee used (twink and rice queen) and once the BDSM moment came, the man repeatedly exclaimed, “Are you serious?!” It was an astoundingly wild night at the theater and I haven’t stopped talking about it since. (The Golderberg Variations has ended its Fringe Fest run). — RC

Macy’s has closed, but the Wanamaker doors recently reopened on a limited basis as a pop-up arts space. Walk through the empty historic building and up the escalators to the wood-paneled Greek Hall, which has been transformed into a cabaret stage that host Jess Conda called “queer church” on opening night.

A Fringe Fest mainstay, the Bearded Ladies Cabaret brings excellent talent with variety shows changing every week, featuring drag performers, musicians, singers, and lots of glittery, subversive fun. The first show spotlighted all-Philly creatives: popular drag queen VinChelle (a UArts alum), spoken word poet LindoYes!, and singing cellist Daniel de Jesús, whose raw, passionate rendition of La Lupe’s “Amor Gitano” left the audience spellbound. (Runs every Saturday through Sept. 28.) — RC

Also on my radar: La Otra, The Queen in Purple, Dambudzo, Terms of Use: A Millennial Farce, PRIDE & Prejudice: A Queer Parody, Philadelphia Revolutions, Mania Blooms at Midnight and Noon

Have you ever thought about how, if your dad hasn’t already died, he’s definitely going to someday? And you, too, will definitely die someday? And in every room you’re ever in, there’s someone who will die first and someone who will die last, and you’ll never know where in the order you’ll be until it comes?

Anyway, Lions is a comedy about dead dads. The show’s cocreators and performers, Lightning Rod Special’s Alice Yorke and Scott Sheppard, take turns describing their fathers as they lived and died, reimagining their most vulnerable moments while wearing suits and stick-on mustaches. Acting as “clerks of death,” they illustrate the absurdity of needing to complete mundane tasks while mourning — ordering food for the wake, calling the police department, breaking into your dad’s laptop to find important documents (and maybe, accidentally, porn).

They remind us, too: How you want to be remembered is not always how it will happen. Lions made me laugh, cry, and consider my doomed legacy while Eric Clapton’s “My Father’s Eyes” played on. (Runs through Sept. 21) — JZ

It’s best to go into Spiritual Experience knowing very little about what you’re about to, well, experience.

What I can share is that the show is site specific — it couldn’t take place anywhere other than the Private Theater, aka the Mantua rowhouse in which it’s performed. And that the event page’s disclaimer that it “does not involve audience participation” isn’t entirely true. Because no more than two people can attend at a time, your presence is essential to that performance.

It’s a wildly intimate show. Every sense gets a treat, from psychedelic lighting to forest scents, to pre-show snacks, and hand-washing. The performers make eye contact with the audience throughout, as if emphasizing: This is for you. The story is told in the second person, too, so “you” are literally its focus.

At $200, Spiritual Experience is among the priciest commitments you’ll make to live theater. It’s also among the most immersive, as well as the most likely to inspire genuine considerations of the meaning of life, and how others fit into it. (The show’s Fringe run is sold out, but the Private Theater has added stand-alone shows through December.) — JZ

Things feel pretty bad to Baby, our protagonist, whose activism is “current events” and who absolutely will not talk to her mom about politics. The audience is asked to participate as Baby goes about her all-too-familiar day: She reads the New York Times, spirals, scrolls, and spirals again. She gets lunch with a friend, an aggrieved liberal who thinks moving abroad will solve their problems. We meet an ancestor wearing one tiny, well-placed Italian flag. We help her soothe herself.

Creator and performer Lee Minora is an engaging lead in this solo show. Shifting into different characters by throwing on a shawl, a pair of glasses, and/or an accent, she challenges us to see ourselves as others do, no matter how endearing or insufferable. (Runs through Sept. 26.) — JZ

Also on my radar: A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes and Then Leaves, Let’s Make an Album!, I Found That the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow, Terms of Use: A Millennial Farce

Move over Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, there’s a new POV-Shakespeare duo-play in town, admittedly one with less ethos, and more slapstick. This new play by Will Mobley and Michael Doherty is a “shift the camera to focus on the side character” story about Dogberry and Verges, two secondary characters in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The piece works well as it balances many different styles and forms of comedy. There’s slapstick, witty humor, puns, sight gags, and impressive word play to name a few.

The cast is led by Scott Greer and Anthony Lawton as the titular characters. Both Philadelphia performance legends, their work here is nothing short of wonderful. They play these characters with a delightful ease. There’s no pretense, they just are, and it feels so refreshing to see the humor of this piece handled so exceptionally. The rest of the cast is also well-served, with Courtney Lucien bringing an earnestness to her Hero, that is all the more special when juxtaposed with her absurd portrayal of the Sexton at the trial of Borrachio. Director Matt Decker does a great job at letting this talented cast and funny script shine.

Dogberry and Verges are Scared ran until Sept. 14 but is fundraising to take the show to Edinburgh Fringe next year. — FS

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, Jeffrey Sykes tells the story of a young alien prince, as they journey through self-doubt, mindfulness, and an interaction with a sobbing dragon. It’s a simple story, but in its simplicity has 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 who 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.

A delightful dance monologue about an alien that comes to Earth and reminds us all how to be human. It has one more performance on Sept. 25 at the Icebox Project Space Gallery. — FS

Two dancers use an incredible collection of choreographed movements to evoke and lay bare the struggles faced by black femmes. The beautiful movement performed 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. Toward the end of the piece, there is a lovely moment of reflection and introspection that ties the whole dance together. The highlight, though, are the performers, who imbue every moment of the dance piece with a fire and emotion that makes for a resonating performance.

Sis.tem | gateways to safe houses has one more performance on Sept. 21 at the Icebox Project Space Gallery. — FS

Also on my radar: La Otra, The Presented, The Orgy, Dambudzo

The Philadelphia Fringe Festival runs through Sept. 28. Explore the full lineup at phillyfringe.org.