By Liz Eichler
In these six Fringe shows, part of my first weekend of Fringing, Cincinnati Fringe performers are highly skilled at their craft, and are being honest, authentic, and real. Some of them are even silently screaming the things we find so hard to articulate.
Memento Holly – Zoë Peterson
Memento Holly may be the sleeper hit of Cincinnati Fringe 2026.
Zoë Peterson, who brought audiences the delightfully zany Sally Salem series, takes a very different turn here, delivering a moving tribute to friendship, loss, and the challenges of growing up Gen Z.
The premise begins with a fender bender. On the way to scatter BFF Holly’s ashes, Peyton unexpectedly collides with Blake, a former roommate who also lived with Holly. Whether it is Holly’s influence or simply the universe nudging them together, the accident sends the pair on a soul-baring road trip that forces them to confront both their memories and their futures.
Peterson is Peyton, while Sawyer Pardo plays Blake. Their rapid-fire Gen Z banter makes you both love them and–for me–want to protect them. As they navigate grief, uncertainty, and the complicated process of defining who they will become, both actors deliver deeply authentic performances.
Beneath the humor lies a heartbreaking examination of the burdens many young people carry in silence. The show tackles topics including suicide, gender identity, and abuse with honesty and compassion, never feeling preachy or exploitative. Instead, it trusts the audience to sit with difficult truths while still finding moments of joy, quirky humanity, and connection. What surprised me most was how skillfully both performers balance comedy and grief in one of the most emotional journeys at this year’s Fringe.
This is a superbly acted and thoughtfully presented piece about people learning to fully express themselves and finding comfort in the possibility that life occasionally gives us the push we need. Along the way there are self-effacing jokes and BBQ restaurant puns that provide welcome comic relief. With a touch of shadow puppetry, the front end of a car parked onstage, and an excellent musical performance by Pardo, this is a must see.
See this show if: you want to laugh instead of cry, want insight into the experiences of older Gen Z artists, or are curious what a Gen Z version of The Big Chill might look like.
Remaining performances at the Puppet Pit, First Lutheran Church:
- Thursday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m.
- Friday, June 5 at 8:45 p.m.
- Sunday, June 7 at 4:15 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Unreconciled – Unreconciled Project, Easthampton, Massachusetts
Unreconciled is a brutally honest portrayal of another long journey that began when a predatory priest targeted a pre-teen boy at Annunciation BVM Parish in Havertown, Pennsylvania. But this is not simply the story of a victim. It is also the story of parents trying to understand what happened, what signs they missed, and what they could have done differently. Multiplied by all of his victims over the years.
Presented as part of the larger Unreconciled Project from Easthampton, Massachusetts, this Fringe offering is a riveting yet heartbreaking hour of storytelling, memory, and testimony.
Jay Sefton is a tremendously skilled performer. He guides the audience through a deeply personal story while supporting key moments with clips from fuzzy VHS recordings that serve as powerful reminders of both time and place.
As someone who grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, I appreciated the specificity of Sefton’s Delco accents and characterizations. Throughout the piece, Sefton shifts fluidly among numerous distinct personalities, voices, and perspectives without ever confusing the audience.
While the abuse itself is horrifying, Sefton is equally interested in examining the culture that allowed it to happen. In many Catholic communities, priests were trusted implicitly. Parents thought nothing of allowing children to spend weekends “down the shore,” visits to the Poconos, or amusement parks under clerical supervision. We hear from his father and mother to understand the thinking that may have ignored the signs.
I highly recommend both the performance and the discussion that follows each performance, in Washington Park.
If you like: the movie or play Doubt, or if you grew up in Philly, or if you have kids involved in activities, or familiar with being Catholic.
Remaining performances of Unreconciled at First Lutheran Church:
- Friday, June 5 at 6:45 p.m.
- Sunday, June 7 at 6:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 10 at 8:30 p.m.
Quiet Coyotes – Green Fuse Productions, Southgate, KY
At Camp Climb It (like Climate—get it?), an alarm sounds: there is a wildfire nearby. Unfortunately, the senior counselor cannot be reached, and nobody can find the notebook containing the evacuation plan. Left on their own with a group of campers, three young counselors do the only thing they know how to do—put on camp skits while they figure out what to do next.
As the counselors present their lessons, we learn not only about plants and ecosystems, but also about how each of them responds to stress and uncertainty. Blair (Ellen Broderick) is anxious and overwhelmed. Logan (Cary Davenport) is the laid-back musician and hiker who sneaks off for a smoke. Monica Tenhover remains calm and focused, acknowledging her fear while keeping the campers’ safety front and center.
All three performers are excellent, bringing warmth and credibility to their camp counselor personas. Their chemistry makes the audience genuinely invest in both the educational material and the fate of the camp itself.
The lessons themselves are surprisingly engaging. One explores the fascinating relationship between the wild tobacco plant and the hawkmoth—Davenport’s moth is particularly memorable. Another examines symbiotic relationships between plants and other organisms, while a third explains the origins and importance of lichen. The show manages the difficult trick of being genuinely educational without ever feeling like a lecture.
What elevates the piece beyond a science lesson is the way writer-director Robyn Novak uses the approaching wildfire to create urgency. As the danger grows, the audience becomes increasingly invested in both the human and ecological stories unfolding onstage.
This is an impressively clever Fringe debut from Novak, assisted by Johnny Kyle Cook. There is a strong NKU School of the Arts connection throughout the team. Full disclosure: I knew Novak when she was in high school and college and had largely lost track of her as she shifted her focus toward horticulture. As it turns out, she has found a wonderfully inventive way to combine her passions for theatre and botany. Highly recommend.
If you like: Zach Galifianakis’ This Is a Gardening Show or last Fringe’s Camp Loretto, you’ll likely enjoy Quiet Coyote.
- Thursday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday, June 7 at 4:15 p.m.
- Tuesday, June 9 at 6:45 p.m.
What Art Is and What Art is Good Art?– Ben Dudley, Cincinnati
The award for Best Use of a College Diploma as a Prop may already have a winner.
Ben Dudley literally drops his diploma into What Art Is… and returns to it repeatedly throughout the performance. It may also be the most expensive prop in this year’s Fringe Festival.
Part lecture, part debate, and part personal confession, What Art Is explores one deceptively simple question: what makes art meaningful, and who gets to decide?
Dudley and Elizabeth Durham serve as engaging guides through that discussion. The show moves quickly, packed with clever observations and rapid-fire exchanges that require performers with strong comic timing. Fortunately, both actors possess exactly that. Their chemistry allows them to volley increasingly complicated ideas back and forth while keeping the audience entertained, occasionaly spiking a really good retort.
I attended a sold-out performance, and the crowd was clearly invested from the beginning. The laughter was frequent, and the audience seemed eager to follow the show’s many detours through aesthetics, personal experience, artistic intention, and cultural value.
Did I learn the definitive answer to what art is? Of course not. The show is too smart to pretend there is one. What it does provide are thoughtful questions, several memorable observations, and a concluding idea that is worth pondering long after the performance ends.
In fact, shortly after seeing the show, I found myself discussing another local production with someone who admired its craftsmanship but felt emotionally disconnected from it. My response was that perhaps the work was technically impressive but not personal. Her immediate reaction was, “Like they talk about in What Art Is!”
That moment may be the best endorsement I can offer. The show doesn’t just discuss art—it gives audiences a useful vocabulary for talking about their own experiences with it.
See this show if: you have a personal relationship with art, enjoy lively intellectual conversations, or want to see an alarming number of old photographs of Ben Dudley. Don’t see this show: if your name is Art.
Remaining performances at Miami University Center for Community Engagement:
- Wednesday, June 3 at 8:45 p.m.
- Sunday, June 7 at 8:45 p.m.
- Thursday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m.
Private Equity: The Musical – Doin’ Too Much Productions, Cincinnati
Going in, I expected more jokes about private equity firms buying up beloved businesses and somehow ruining everything from craft stores to local institutions. Instead, Private Equity: The Musical delivers something more focused—and ultimately more effective.
At its core, this is the story of an ordinary person trying to do something as basic as breathe while navigating a corporate system so convoluted that no actual human seems to be in charge. Companies merge, rebrand, sell divisions, and create layers of bureaucracy until nobody can identify who owns what anymore. What remains are recorded messages, endless transfers, and empty platitudes.
Aiden Sims is terrific as Jasmine Chambers, an artist trapped inside this increasingly absurd system. Sims possesses a powerful singing voice and a relatable exasperation that grounds the show’s satire. She embodies the frustration many of us have experienced when a familiar company suddenly changes ownership, platforms, passwords, and procedures overnight.
One of the show’s funniest running gags involves the advertisements inside an elevator. Even a brief silent ride between floors becomes another opportunity for monetization, a joke that feels increasingly plausible with every passing year. (But I missed some of the lines due to timing…can we fix that?)
Another highlight is Jermia Munroe as CASS, the Completely Automated Support System, assigned to Jasmine. One of the biggest laughs comes when CASS reveals she prefers this position to her previous employment at a garage kiosk—a wink to the company’s Gentrification: The Musical at the 2023 Fringe.
Eli Davis brings a robotic yet positive presence to Jonathan, a Level 1 Wellness Counselor who is just as trapped inside the system as the people seeking help from it. Danny Lancaster proves equally valuable as both stagehand and ensemble performer, popping up throughout the show with energy.
Meanwhile, Daniel Zimmer’s keyboard work and musical underscoring keep the action moving smoothly, helping maintain the show’s momentum while supporting its strongest emotional moments.
If you saw Gentrification: The Musical at the 2023 Fringe, you’ll recognize some familiar themes concerning ownership, value, and humanity. This company continues to wrestle with big questions about who controls resources and how people are affected when systems become more important than individuals. The difference is that this production feels notably more polished and assured. The storytelling is tighter, the production values are stronger, and the satire lands with greater confidence. It is not neccessary to have seen Gentrification tho, this piece works on its own.
My only issue is that Munroe was occasionally difficult to hear, and could benefit from a microphone. Otherwise, this is a sharp, funny, and surprisingly relatable musical about the increasingly bizarre world of modern corporate life. Highly recommended.
See this show if: you enjoyed Gentrification: The Musical; you missed Gentrification: The Musical; or you’ve ever spent an hour navigating customer support and questioned your place in the universe.
Remaining performances at Know Theatre:
- Saturday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m.
- Sunday, June 7 at 6:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 10 at 8:30 p.m.
- Friday, June 12 at 6:45 p.m.
Antonym Solasta Theatre Lab, Cincinnati, OH
If you’re looking for the Fringe-iest show at Cincinnati Fringe this year, Antonym is in the running.
Solasta Theatre Lab has built a reputation for combining puppetry, clowning, physical theatre, and devised performance into inventive theatrical experiences, and Antonym continues that tradition. This time, the company draws inspiration from the writings of Franz Kafka and Charles Bukowski, exploring themes of alienation, absurdity, and the search for connection.
The performance begins with E. Carr awakening from a troubled sleep, visibly agitated and confined to a room. On the opposite side of the stage, Daniela N. Nenova introduces a puppet version of Gregor Samsa, the unfortunate protagonist of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. From there, the production unfolds as a series of visual and thematic explorations rather than a traditional narrative.
One recurring image comes from Kafka’s famous line, “I am a cage, in search of a bird.” Birds appear repeatedly throughout the show, including a lovely shadow-puppet sequence featuring a bluebird’s dream.
Nenova’s puppetry is consistently impressive. One of the most delightful creations is a simple knotted handkerchief brought to life through skilled manipulation. Equally noteworthy is a marionette bird that Nenova identified as their first attempt at this style of puppetry.
Though quieter and more contemplative than some Fringe offerings, Antonym still finds room for humor. The puppets frequently generate laughs, while the performers embrace the playful absurdity at the heart of the work.
Audience members looking for a conventional plot may find themselves adrift. This show is not for everyone. Solasta Theatre Lab asks viewers to surrender traditional expectations of storytelling and engage with images, ideas, and emotions as they emerge. Those willing to make that leap will discover a visually inventive and often moving meditation on contradiction, identity, loneliness, and connection.
See this show if: you enjoy Solasta Theatre Lab’s previous work, appreciate experimental theatre, have ever wondered what it would be like to wake up as a giant bug, or occasionally find yourself wrestling with existential dread.
Tickets to the remaining performances at the Puppet Pit, First Lutheran Church:
- Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m.
- Friday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday, June 7 at 8:45 p.m.
- Tuesday, June 9 at 8:45 p.m.
- Thursday, June 11 at 8:45 p.m.
More Fringe to come! You still have time to see almost all with an All-Access pass. Get passes and tickets HERE.
