Frigid Fringe Dispatch: Book Club Drama and a Very Bad Good Deed
At the Frigid New York Fringe Festival, one play turns a wine-soaked girls’ night into simmering chaos, while another follows a single good deed that spirals wildly out of control. Two very different shows, one shared strength: raw, unpredictable storytelling that reminds you why Fringe still matters.
This Anti-War Play Feels Way Too Familiar Right Now
A revival of Spider Rabbit at La MaMa turns a playful, childlike rhythm into something far more unsettling, tracing how violence is absorbed, normalized, and made into something you can live with.
The Fringe Shows We’re Betting On (Part Three)
Frigid’s New York City Fringe Festival is one of the best parts of the year for discovering new theater in New York. It’s where artists take big swings, follow their instincts, and put work on stage that feels fresh, specific, and alive. This is your greatest chance to see the type of theater that we’re all worried about disappearing. We’ve pulled together a few shows we’re especially excited to see and spoke with the creatives behind them.
Heated Rivalry Review: Two NHL Rivals, One Secret Relationship, Zero Stereotypes
Two NHL rivals turn a locker room moment into a years-long secret relationship that slowly becomes something more. Heated Rivalry flips the script on romance, trading meet-cutes for hookups and delivering a story that’s as comforting as it is hot, with two men who feel real, not like a stereotype.
Soviet Cinema and the Importance of Local Theaters
A first encounter with Soviet cinema leads to a packed screening of Secret Agent at Metrograph, where stunning visuals, quiet paranoia, and a room full of regulars remind one writer why movie theaters still matter.
The Fringe Shows We’re Betting On (Part TWO)
Part two of our NYC Fringe Festival coverage leans into the personal. From a solo show about learning to drive at 40 to save a marriage, to a darkly funny spiral through alcohol and memory, to a glittering, high-energy love letter to New York and the artists who survive it—these are stories about risk, reinvention, and what it costs to keep going. Meet the creators bringing it all to the stage.
Start Here: The Fringe Shows We’re Betting On (Part One)
Frigid’s NYC Fringe Festival is where new theater still feels risky, alive, and worth showing up for. We’ve rounded up a few shows we can’t wait to see, and talked to the artists behind them. This is Part One.
A Ruthless Female Lead Who Refuses to Be Redeemed: The Favorites Review
An obsessive, cutthroat ice dancer who refuses to apologize for her ambition, The Favorites by Layne Fargo is messy, toxic, and surprisingly compelling, even when it completely exhausts you.
Body Count at SoHo Playhouse Examines Sex Work Without the Usual Tropes
Body Count at SoHo Playhouse offers a sharp, often humorous look at sex work, challenging familiar narratives while exploring the emotional labor and power dynamics at its core.
Modern Warrior’s Behind The Lines: A 9/11 Story
A haunting, deeply human performance, Modern Warrior: Behind The Lines brings two men face to face with the events of 9/11 and the war that followed. Told in their own words, their stories linger long after the stage goes dark.
I Had a Moment with Daniel Radcliffe. He Did Not.
I didn’t think much about Daniel Radcliffe, until I saw him in Every Brilliant Thing and, within minutes, became an unlikely fan. What follows is a Broadway experience built on intimacy, audience connection, and one very strange moment that I’m still trying to make sense of.
SoHo Playhouse Fringe Encore Series – Aussies Descend on NYC and a One-on-One with Elouise Eftos – by Sarah Wadsley
The SoHo Playhouse’s Fringe Encore series brings standout acts from international festivals to New York for a limited Off-Broadway run. Among them is a wave of Australian comedians, including Elouise Eftos, whose provocative show Australia’s First Attractive Comedian challenges the expectations placed on women in comedy.
Sunshine, Sad Songs, and Celebrity Chaos: Reviewing The Future Saints
A rising band, a dead sister, and the strange theater of the music industry collide in The Future Saints. The novel offers cinematic scenes and California glamour, even if its emotional depth sometimes feels imagined rather than lived.
Tarell Alvin McCraney’s New Play Confronts State Violence and the Price of “Blood Money”
In Windfall, Tarell Alvin McCraney asks a devastating question: what happens when a city budgets for your child’s death? Set in a near-future America that feels uncomfortably present, the play follows a father offered a government settlement after state violence takes his child. The money could save his home—but at what moral cost? In this preview, we explore how Windfall turns policy into heartbreak and forces audiences to confront the true price of “blood money.”
