By Alan Jozwiak
Body Parts!
Surprisingly enough, a number of shows at Cincinnati Fringe Festival 2026 focus on body parts. Three of these include:
Bomb!: An FBI Memoir by Silver Linings Productions (Cincinnati, OH)
What’s not to love about a musical which begins with an FBI explosives scientist singing at a bomb scene “There’s an eye over here/ There’s a nose over there?”
This musical is Bomb!: An FBI Memoir, written by playwright Liz Coley. Coley takes her brother-in-law Dr. Kirk Yeager’s published memoir and turns it into a bizarrely entertaining show about one month in the life of Yeager. During that one month, Yeager, called Doc in the show, investigates the 2002 Indonesia Nightclub bombing and the search for the DC sniper. Along the way, the audience also gets glimpses into the various parts of his craft and his home life.
Bomb! has a strong team. Besides Liz Coley, the play is directed by Gina Kleesattel and the music is written by Gina’s brother Charles Kleesattel. Both do a solid job moving the audience through the story.
This musical also has a strong cast. Sean Miller-Jones is a standout playing Doc. Miller-Jones combines determination, intelligence, and heart to show the complexity of Yeager. His foil is his long-suffering wife Annie, played by Kimberly Borst. She embodies the heart of the show and projects the caring compassion that Annie shows in real life. Rounding out the cast is the ensemble, which includes Zak Kelley, Maya Norman, and Jordan Whittaker.
In her program notes, Coley calls this production the show’s “first wobbly training wheels rollout into the street.” Bomb! has a lot of potential and needs a little more work before it can be a sensation elsewhere. Right now, it is a very good show with room for improvement. It raises questions while addressing a topic few musicals ever dare to tread. It also effectively discusses work-life balance.
Dr. Kirk Yeager was in the audience. Seeing his life on stage was a surreal experience, he said. For potential audience members, he urged people to “come see the play and experience it for yourself.”
So see Bomb! You’ll have lots to talk about on the car ride home.
1 Gay Wedding and Absolutely No Funerals: Reception to Follow (Ben & Justin Present, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH)
Ben and Justin Present the second act of their show 1 Gay Wedding and Absolutely No Funerals, a play about couple Ryan (Justin King) and Charlie (Ben Miller-Jones), who discover the corpse of their maid of honor in their hotel room a few hours before their wedding.
This time we get to see Ryan and Charlie at their reception, finally happily married. Complications ensue when Ryan’s mother (Micha O’Connor Perez) moves the body. The problem is, she can’t remember where. The wedding couple also need to reunite the maid of honor’s severed hand with her body.
Helping to find the body are the wedding planner Kate (Tashauna Ajoi Jenkins) and their best man Mike (Ethan Cain). Officer Laura Martin (Ria Villaver Collins) comes in at the end to try to figure out the scene. What comes out is a very funny play about trying to cover up one’s misdeeds.
I probably enjoyed 1 Gay Wedding and Absolutely No Funerals last year better, largely because of the extended scenes of authentic intimacy between Ryan and Charlie. The second act concerns itself with finding the body and dealing with characters who have taken illegal substances.
However, I enjoy seeing these characters again as they try to make their reception one to remember. Unfortunately, it is not the way they originally planned.
One final note: If you did not see 1 Gay Wedding and Absolutely No Funerals last year, have no worries. Kate the wedding planner gives the audience a recap of last year’s hijinks.
Bloody Fairytales: Paul Strickland (Covington, KY)
Cincinnati’s favorite storyteller is back at the Cincinnati Fringe with a show concerning fairytales—fairytales that are very, very bloody. This is a show where Strickland admits at the beginning that he is going to explore this terrain along with his audience.
He tells three bloody fairytales and one song, with the song leading the way. The first story, 1/3 of a Brother, tells the story of a youngest brother who gets chopped up into 1,000 pieces. Next is a Medieval Welsh story of a dog named Gelert, whose loyalty is put to the sword. Finally, Strickland ends with The Fourth Predicament, where an old thief talks his way out of being boiled in oil by recounting several stories about himself.
Strickland is always an engaging and captivating storyteller. The fairytales he presents are a delight to listen to and provide a different view of his storytelling. They are far removed from the trailer park of Ain’t True and Uncle False. Because they are older stories, they take the audience to what it was like to be in front of a campfire listening to a ghastly good yarn. Strickland does not embellish them with unnecessary campfire dramatics; he lets their horror sink in on its own. Overall, Bloody Fairytales is an entertaining and engaging show that showcases Strickland’s darker storytelling skills. Since it is a limited run show, there is only one last chance to see it on Friday, June 12, 2026.
What other shows have you seen at Cincy Fringe that focus on body parts?
Clearly Madeline Rowe’s Papa will, as it is the story of Dr. Frankenstein’s son. Look for more reviews coming soon.
For a complete listing of shows at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival 2026–and to get tickets–click HERE.
