The Fringe Theatre

The Fringe Theatre Presenting well known stories & fairy tales in the style of British (or American!) Panto. Fun for all! Whatever could be next?

Panto – or pantomime to give it its full name – is a peculiarly quirky British form of family entertainment. Traditionally put on around the Holiday season/New Year, pantos are largely based on any number of fairy tales. The most popular are Cinderella, Aladdin, Jack & the Beanstalk and Peter Pan. The principle audience for any panto is families with children and involves lots of audience particip

ation – prompted shouting, community singing, inviting audience on to stage etc. But there is plenty for the parents and grandparents with skits, topical jokes and plenty of thigh slapping! Every panto production is different with great scope for improvisation and ad lib. However, there are a number of traditions common to all shows. Principle amongst these are:

Lots and lots of audience participation
Pantomime Dame main comic character/s played by strapping male/s
Principle Boy, usually played by a young woman and looking mighty fine! Nasty villain or villains
The audiences’ friend and chief “cheerleader’
Popular or well-known “pop” songs sometimes with changed words
Community audience singing & dancing
Comedy duo, slapstick routines, throwing candy and lots, lots more…
In 2009 we introduced panto to New England with our production of Cinderella. We followed that in 2010 with Jack & the Beanstalk, The Little Mermaid in 2012 and Little Red Robin Hood, a panto mash-up in 2013, and Sleeping Beauty: Lost in Time in 2014.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of one of our long time Panto Family members. Elise O’Har...
12/16/2023

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of one of our long time Panto Family members. Elise O’Hara was a passionate member of The Fringe Theatre for many years - fostering friendships and creating the happiest of memories with countless castmates over her multiple seasons performing with The Fringe. Her dedication to the group in its formative years and performances on and backstage were profound for all those that had the opportunity to share the stage with her.

Her memory will fondly live on in all of our hearts. Our deepest sympathies are with all those close to Elise, but especially her family in this difficult time.

Elise leaves behind a husband and three young children; in lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Elise's memory to her family's go fund me at gofundme.com/f/elise-ohara

08/27/2022
Unfortunately we have to cancel Fall Panto auditions. Look out for more information regarding our Spring 2023 programmin...
08/26/2022

Unfortunately we have to cancel Fall Panto auditions. Look out for more information regarding our Spring 2023 programming.

06/20/2022

Join us for classes this fall! Visit our website for more information TheFringeTheatre.org/academy

Our cast is excited and ready for a second weekend of performances!! Tickets still available for tomorrows matinee! Thef...
06/03/2022

Our cast is excited and ready for a second weekend of performances!! Tickets still available for tomorrows matinee! Thefringetheatre.org

Two more chances to see this motley crew storm the stage and sprinkle some Panto magic all about! Come dance, laugh, and...
06/03/2022

Two more chances to see this motley crew storm the stage and sprinkle some Panto magic all about!
Come dance, laugh, and sing with us Friday @ 7:30 And Saturday @ 2:30! Tickets available at the door and for virtual viewing for all performances.

Our ENTIRE cast takes the stage Friday night and Saturday afternoon! Come see this show before all the houses get blown ...
06/02/2022

Our ENTIRE cast takes the stage Friday night and Saturday afternoon! Come see this show before all the houses get blown down!

Box Office opens 1 hour prior to each show time at 1154 Great Plain Ave. Needham, MA. Cash, check, PayPal, and credit cards accepted.

06/01/2022

Join us for the last weekend of performances! Get your tickets today! Thefringetheatre.org

There are so many folks making each performance a whole SHOW.Two more chances to see it all come together: tickets for...
05/31/2022

There are so many folks making each performance a whole SHOW.
Two more chances to see it all come together: tickets for in-person and virtual viewing available for all shows!
Friday @ 7:30 & Saturday @ 2:30!

The stage is quiet between after our matinee performance, but our cast is getting pumped for our evening show!If your pl...
05/28/2022

The stage is quiet between after our matinee performance, but our cast is getting pumped for our evening show!
If your plans got rained out, we're on at 7:30 tonight - rain or shine! Tickets available at the door tonight!

We open tonight! Our 4 MCs will be there to guide you through the show (well...some may not be there tonight but they wi...
05/27/2022

We open tonight! Our 4 MCs will be there to guide you through the show (well...some may not be there tonight but they will be back!) And their backups are FABULOUS!

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1154 Great Plain Avenue
Needham, MA
02494

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Panto – or pantomime to give it its full name – is a peculiarly quirky British form of family entertainment. Traditionally put on around the Holiday season/New Year, pantos are largely based on any number of fairy tales. The most popular are Cinderella, Aladdin, Jack & the Beanstalk and Peter Pan. The principle audience for any panto is families with children and involves lots of audience participation – prompted shouting, community singing, inviting audience on to stage etc. But there is plenty for the parents and grandparents with skits, topical jokes and plenty of thigh slapping! Every panto production is different with great scope for improvisation and ad lib. However, there are a number of traditions common to all shows. Principle amongst these are: Lots and lots of audience participation Pantomime Dame main comic character/s played by strapping male/s Principle Boy, usually played by a young woman and looking mighty fine! Nasty villain or villains The audiences’ friend and chief “cheerleader’ Popular or well-known “pop” songs sometimes with changed words Community audience singing & dancing Comedy duo, slapstick routines, throwing candy and lots, lots more…

In 2009 we introduced panto to New England with our production of Cinderella. We followed that in 2010 with Jack & the Beanstalk, The Little Mermaid in 2012 and Little Red Robin Hood, a panto mash-up in 2013. We introduced the American Panto with Sleeping Beauty: Lost in Time in 2014 and continued the tradition with Rapunzel in 2015, Snow White and the Seventh Panto in 2016, Aladdin in 2017, and Beauty and the Beast in 2018. Whatever could be next?