By Alan Jozwiak
Here are the shows that are part of my Fringe weekend:
Locusta’s School for Assassins
Samantha Joy Weil is back from her 2024 Cincy Fringe show, Meet Me at The Bathtub. In Bathtub, Joy Weil recounts the story of Charlotte Corday, who murdered French revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat.
In Locusta’s School for Assassins, Joy Weil turns her attention to the assassination of political leaders—specifically the emperors of the Roman empire. She plays the titular Locusta, an apothecary/poisoner who runs a school teaching her students the finer art of poisoning. The audience are her students.
As a side note: Political succession in the Roman empire often happened when the successor poisoned the person holding office. The trick to poisoning someone is that the poisoning has to look like an ordinary illness. Hence, the school for assassins.
This show is very much a hybrid. It combines instruction in how to prepare various herbs and roots for poisons with an exploration of the complex relationship between the poisoner Locusta and the mother of Emperor Nero, Agrippina (Elliet Malatesta). It also combines audience participation with straight narrative. Every audience member receives a card with a deadly plant upon entering the theater. Once the plant name is discussed, audience members may have to answer a question, roll a die, or create a mandrake poppet.
Locusta gets help from her Teaching Assistant Aradia (Faith Von Handorf). Von Handorf is a strong, sassy, and spirited actor who provides a perfect foil for Joy Weil’s Locusta. Her interplay with Locusta is sharp, spirited, and very funny.
Also strong is Malatesta as Agrippina, who develops a lasting relationship with Locusta. Half of the play traces the evolution of their relationship from their days in Gaul (modern-day France) through their rise to power and eventual downfall. This relationship is beautiful to watch unfold, as it demonstrates the complex terrain of friends who grow into interdependency with one another.
Since this show is a hybrid of instruction and narrative, you would think it would be a disaster. Not so. Joy Weil holds everything together, keeping the action moving and the audience engaged.
This is the world premiere, so Joy Weil is still working out timing. The show ran about 10 minutes over its allotted hour due to the variability of audience interaction. Keep that in mind as you schedule your Fringe experience.
Overall, Locusta’s School for Assassins is a unique Fringe show that engages and instructs on the poisons and personages of the Roman empire. See this show—but bring your poison taster, just to be on the safe side.
Remaining Performances:
- Tue. June 9 at 7:00 PM – SOLD OUT
- Wed. June 10 at 8:45 PM – SOLD OUT
- Fri. June 12 at 8:45 PM – SOLD OUT
Click here for tickets: Locusta’s School for Assassins
Frontier So Far
Everyone is familiar with the film Toy Story, where Woody the toy cowboy clashes with the astronaut toy Buzz Lightyear. While the film can be enjoyed as a children’s story, it can also be read as an exploration of masculinity. Woody and Buzz embody two archetypal energies that men can draw upon for constructing their masculine identity–the cowboy and the astronaut.
Fringe performers Justin Dodd and George McConnell explore the terrain of the cowboy and the astronaut in their show Frontier So Far. The show alternates between the stories of a circus cowboy (Dodd) and an aging astronaut (McConnell) asked to perform one more dangerous space mission. In between these stories, Dodd and mcConnell play two males podcasting about rocks and perform various songs.
I was expecting a fairly straightforward examination of the problems that men face–relationship issues, work issues, identity issues. These issues are addressed, but in a more right-brain, counterintuitive way.
Both the cowboy and astronaut stories discuss obsolescence and trying to live up to male expectations. The end result is a thought-provoking piece that engages the audience and gets them thinking about male identity.
I also like their backdrop. They have a large blind with a western landscape drawn on one side and a space scene on the other. They alternate scenes by rolling the blind one way or another.
This show may not be for everyone. It really requires you to dive into unexpected terrain.
For instance, it is startling to see both performers stripped down to their white underbriefs and boots–cowboy boots for Dodd and astronaut boots for McConnell. Yet that costuming is perfect for examining the hidden inner life of men.
If you are open to what this show offers, Frontier So Far is a show that delivers a big impact.
HINT: Sit close to the front. The performers have an extended song where they are on the floor. It will be hard to see them past the third row.
Remaining Performances:
- Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00 PM
- Thursday, June 11 at 8:45 PM
- Friday, June 12 at 7:00 PM
Click here for tickets: Frontier So Far
Erys Sichthon
Erys Sichthon (pronounced Eh-rin SIK-thahn) is a figure from classical Greek mythology. As ruler of Thessaly, he angers the goddess Demeter (Lina Keys) and her retinue–Acadia (Aubrey Woods), Cherry (Ja’Niya Clark), and Willow (Atticus Hunter). Erys has his two henchmen, Henry (Felix Phelps) and Wilford (Rylan Reid), chop down the willow tree, thereby killing Willow. Demeter sentences Erys (Liv Czanik) to have an insatiable hunger. He consumes everything in sight. Finally, he consumes himself in a horrible (and mythologically appropriate) death.
Taking the idea behind this myth, playwright/director Lina Keys adapts the story to our present-day political regime. For instance, Keys has Erys’ henchmen wear red MAGA-style baseball caps. Also, Erys’ angry outbursts are akin to those of our current president. By including these touches, Keys creates a cautionary tale of political leaders disregarding the welfare of their subjects.
Keys and her actors all have ties to Butler Tech High School, though they are now college students at various institutions. There is a shorthand these actors have that comes from this common background.
Since the creative team is still in college, this show feels like a student production — one where the craft of theatre is still being refined. One or two actors need to learn how to project. Also, the script should have more character development for its principal characters. I wish Keys had gone more into the psychology of Erys. It would be nice to see the parallels between Erys and Trump explored more fully.
This show is geared for those who want to support the next wave of Fringe performers or those interested in Greek mythology. These up-and-coming actors have talent that will fully flower in the future.
Remaining Performances of Erys Sichthon at Gabriel’s Corner:
- June 7 at 8:45 pm
- June 9 at 7 pm
Papa
Madeleine Rowe is back at the Cincinnati Fringe after a well-received 2024 show Knight Knight, about Arthurian knights. This time, Rowe draws on Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. They play the Creature — not a monster, as Rowe is quick to point out — who decides to run away from their Papa, Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
The Creature brings along their brother, Frankenstein’s son and assistant Fritz (Jay Eisenberg). Together they go into the forest to make their way to the village and freedom. This is where the fun and exploration of the show come out in full force.
Rowe and Eisenberg have a clowning background, so they take full advantage of the situation to play off one another and the situation. Eisenberg is largely mute during the show, like a latter-day Harpo Marx. It works well because Rowe’s Creature is the one who does all the talking.
Reportedly, after its first showing, Rowe rewrote 75% of the show to incorporate Eisenberg more fully. The original script was largely a solo vehicle for Rowe.
Having not seen the original play, this decision seems like a good one. Rowe and Eisenberg play well off one another. The chemistry makes for some memorable moments with plenty of heart.
As with many clowning shows, the clowning bits can overpower the story. I was finding this to be the case in the middle part of the show. However, the emotional connection between Rowe and Eisenberg established by the end of the show makes it engaging and emotionally satisfying.
I hope both actors continue to develop this show. It is a fun and engaging piece of theatre.
CLOSED on June 7.
Alan’s Fringe 2026 column is now signing off. So many good things to see. Read about more Fringe shows in the LCT Fringe Review Grid.
