Cincinnati Fringe Festival

08/19/2026

Fringe '23 is in the books 🎭 Together, we lit up OTR at the 23rd Cincy Fringe Festival 🌈

Help us kindle that flame with a $23 donation today 🕯️

Donate via link in story, bio, or our website cincyfringe.com

08/07/2026

Happy Opening at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to our friends at Texas Annie: The Legend of the Moan Ranger! We’re so excited that this campy, sex-positive musical comedy by Cincinnati-based theatre makers Jenn Howd and Roz Mihalko Jenn Howd its Roz Mihalkoringe debut after a sold-out run at the 2022 Cincinnati Fringe FestivalCincinnati Fringe Festivalge

08/07/2026

So much to do... Yet we can't stop thinking about Cincy Fringe 2026 🌈🫠

While we're preparing for applications to open in October for Fringe 2027, don't forget to continue supporting the hottest summer theatre festival in Cincinnati ☀️ by donating $23 for our annual 23rd Cincy Fringe Fest

🎭 Click the link in our bio or visit cincyfringe.com to donate

What memories from Fringe are still stuck in your mind?

07/22/2026

We’re grieving the loss of our friend Liz Coley. Liz was a prolific playwright and theatre maker and we were lucky enough to have her original productions at the Cincy Fringe over the last three years: CASTAWAYS (2024), ARSENIC AND OLD SPICE (2025), and BOMB! AN FBI MEMOIR (2026). Liz loved the Fringe and we loved her right back. Generous and big-hearted, Liz was always looking out for others, whether it was the actors in her cast, the audience, or the visiting artists that she and her husband were hosting. Her work was devilishly dark. Who else would think of setting the female stars of Gilligan’s Island in a modern memory care facility? Or addressing dying with dignity by giving ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ a contemporary update with two married men? Or a musical about the hardships of sharing a life with the FBI’s foremost terrorism expert? Liz tackled kitchen table concerns with humor and humanity. Our thoughts are with Liz’s family and friends. She is greatly missed.

07/22/2026

Want a snapshot of Cincy Fringe Fest in collaboration with First Lutheran Church in their Basement First Lutheran Church to host these incredible performances in partnership with one our pop-up venues? Well, here they are!

Transcendent by Queen City Qu**rs Productions

📸 by Anjali Alm-Basu



Want a snapshot of Cincy Fringe Fest in collaboration with First Lutheran Church in their Basement First Lutheran Church to host these incredible performances in partnership with one our pop-up venues? Well, here they are!

Transcendent by Queen City Qu**rs Productions

📸 by Anjali Alm-Basu



Want a snapshot of Cincy Fringe Fest in collaboration with First Lutheran Church in their Basement First Lutheran Church to host these incredible performances in partnership with one our pop-up venues? Well, here they are!

Antonym by Solasta Theatre Lab

📸 by Anjali Alm-Basu



Want a snapshot of Cincy Fringe Fest in collaboration with First Lutheran Church in their Basement First Lutheran Church to host these incredible performances in partnership with one our pop-up venues? Well, here they are!

Antonym by Solasta Theatre Lab

📸 by Anjali Alm-Basu



Want a snapshot of Cincy Fringe Fest in collaboration with First Lutheran Church in their Basement First Lutheran Church to host these incredible performances in partnership with one our pop-up venues? Well, here they are!

Early Bird by Jack Fogle 🇵🇸

📸 by Leila Kubesch



Want a snapshot of Cincy Fringe Fest in collaboration with First Lutheran Church in their Basement First Lutheran Church to host these incredible performances in partnership with one our pop-up venues? Well, here they are!

Early Bird by Jack Fogle 🇵🇸

📸 by Leila Kubesch



Want a snapshot of Cincy Fringe Fest in collaboration with First Lutheran Church in their Basement First Lutheran Church to host these incredible performances in part

06/29/2026

What. A. Fringe 🎭🌈 Full of laughter, dance battles, weird puppetry, D&D adventures, and far more... Thank YOU to everyone who attended a free late-night event or a show from one of our incredible Fringe artists

We're already looking forward to next year, but until then, stay tuned for applications for Cincy Fringe 2027 opening this October!

Presented by Rhinegeist Brewery

📸: Paul Kerford Wilson

06/23/2026

Thank you to everyone for making this year's festival such a fantastic one! We want to give a HUGE shout-out to Clara Cornelius for the gorgeous graphic design of this year's festival 🌈🎭

And especially to for making Cornelius the Flying Guinea Pig take flight!

06/17/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Cincy Fringe Festival Pick of the Fringe Winners!

The Dr. Robert J. Thierauf Producers’ Pick
PAPA
Madeleine Rowe of Minneapolis, MN

Audience Pick of the Fringe
LOCUSTA’S SCHOOL FOR ASSASSINS from Samantha Joy Weil of Covington, KY

The Rick Pender Critics’ Pick
A HOLLYWOOD HORROR STORY
Ingrid Garner of Los Angeles, CA

The David C. Herriman Artists’ Pick
COLONIAL CIRCUS: HISTORY, CLOWN STYLE
Two2Mango of Toronto, ON, CAN

The Linda Bowen All-Access Pick
TAPPED IN
Pones of Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati, OH

Volunteers of the Festival
PANN & TERRY WEBB

The Henrietta Barlag Spirit of the Fringe
NEIL BATRA

Thank you to everyone for making this year’s festival such a fantastic one!

06/14/2026

Congratulations on a fantastic 2026 Cincy Fringe Festival Everyone! We did it. Thanks to Friend of the Fringe, Kirk Sheppard, you can read about this year’s Pick of the Fringe Awards here:

https://offbookcincinnati.substack.com/p/feels-like-a-neighborhood?fbclid=PAVERFWASbyYNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAadge1ViMm45RLbd4LTGcZuIBIYmPlavCs6eHPWLXGLSWDwcIiaQ3dGvFfckKA_aem_YWdncwAxtyjjlysVUMspm-AMMfnr&brid=YWdncwHQSIqh0cjOd0Dg-NnNMOgN

My Fringe 2026 Recap

06/10/2026

We're kicking off 🌈 PRIDE MONTH 🌈 with a Drag Pride Show by the darling

🗓️ Thurs, June 11th @ 10 PM
Late-Night at in our underground cabaret stage, with themed cocktails to keep you moving 💃🍸

As always, please ensure you bring $1 bills (or $5's or even $20's?! 💸) to shower your Queen's with