I can officially say I experienced my first Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival.
Its 35th installment returned to Lock Haven Park May 12-25 with an amazing lineup spotlighting LGBTQ+ voices and stories. This is my first year being a part of Orlando Fringe since joining Watermark Out News.
Last year, when I first joined the team, the Orlando Fringe Festival was already nearing its end, and I only got to see one show. This year I can happily say that I saw seven shows, and I absolutely enjoyed seeing the variety across them.
I’ll be honest, I was not that familiar with Orlando Fringe before coming here. They have provided a space for artists and performers to showcase their craft in an environment that encourages the unusual and the uncensored since 1992.
As the longest-running Fringe in the country, its 35th year was celebrated with “35 Years Weird.” It was two weeks of more than 100 shows across seven different venues, including the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, Orlando Family Stage, the Renaissance Theatre Company, The Starlite Room @ SAVOY and Ten10 Brewing Co.
I got to see the crowds of people that were lining up to see the shows at Fringe. Even though the Florida heat was in the high 80’s, the lawn was packed with so many people that were clearly excited to attend Fringe. The crowd ranged from young kids to older adults walking around and that made me happy to see.
Working with the team behind Fringe on the Fringe Program showed me that so much goes into a festival of its size. The team is volunteer based and they put their all in to making sure that the festival’s two weeks move accordingly.
Artistic Director Tempestt Halstead had one piece of advice for those attending Fringe, “Take a chance! See something you would not normally pick.”
I definitely took her advice this year.
At Watermark Out News, we write reviews on the Fringe shows that we attend. One of my favorites was “Sororicide,” a ridiculously funny murder mystery.
The show is by Rheanne Waltons and Savana Petranoff and centers around the sorority sisters of Delta Nu and a few of their boyfriends and even flings. When the group gets together to host their annual fundraiser for “Pupgrades,” they learn their president has been murdered.
This hilarious show was “Mean Girls” meets “Clue the Movie” meets “Scream Queens.” This multi-ending murder mystery had some audience interaction as the group figures out whodunnit. Everyone was a suspect and that included the viewers.
It was so fun to see the energy in the show, and this was carried throughout many shows that I saw at Fringe. It was great to see how the actors overlapped in certain shows and how diverse the actors were.
I also saw “The Pink List,” a play that transports you back to 1957 West Germany. I learned about the story of captivity and the price that comes with freedom. The story was about Karl, a concentration camp survivor who goes through a process of learning that the war has truly never ended. While most Nazi laws have been dismantled, the Nazi-era law persecuting homosexuals remained in force.
Karl finds himself on trial once again, branded a repeat offender instead of a recognized victim. He told his story from being a young boy, having his first crush on his best friend, to being prosecuted by the Nazis. The show was by Fabulett Productions and I can absolutely say that the ending gave me chills.
In this issue, we focus on another local staple: Orlando’s big LGBTQ+ weekend. We look at events from GayDays, Girls in Wonderland, The Pride Cup and One Magical Weekend that are coming next month.
In Central Florida news, Orlando releases new designs for permanent Pulse memorial and Brandon Wolf returns to Equality Florida to lead its national LGBTQ+ strategy. In Tampa Bay, St Pete Pride 2026 plans its kick off and Equality Florida hold its St. Pete Gala, raising funds for the community.
Be sure to check out the Central Florida Living Out Loud Guide as well, now available in print and coming soon to our website.
I hope you will continue to support Watermark Out News and trust us to be your LGBTQ+ news source.
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