21 Edinburgh Fringe Shows to See Stateside This Summer | Playbill

Special Features 21 Edinburgh Fringe Shows to See Stateside This Summer

Catch some of the Scottish festival’s success stories —and hopeful future hits—when they play Broadway, Off-Broadway, and around New York City this summer.

Alex Edelman's Just For Us, Lizard Boy, Liz Kingsman, and The Shark is Broken

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world, with over 3,000 shows. This year, Playbill will be going to Edinburgh in August for the festival and we’re taking you with us. Follow along this spring and summer as we cover every single aspect of the Fringe, aka our real-life Brigadoon!

So maybe a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland isn’t on the books this year (but, if it is on the books for 2024, be sure to check out the FringeShip!) However, for those still eager to get a taste of Edinburgh Fringe on this side of the Atlantic this summer, not to worry. Playbill has rounded up 21 shows playing Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway the next few months that have been to Fringe—or are getting ready to go.

Take a look at the list below to discover how to get into the spirit of Edinburgh Fringe here in New York City with offerings from the Off-Broadway superhero musical Lizard Boy to Alex Edelman’s Broadway debut show Just For Us, and so much in between.

Lizard Boy at Theatre Row
Previews began June 1 for Lizard Boy, an American musical which made its debut at the festival last year. Opening June 14 and running through July 1, Lizard Boy follows Trevor, a man who has lizard skin due to an unusual childhood incident. Audiences follow Trevor on his journey of finding acceptance and empowerment as he goes on a Grindr date, encounters an old classmate, and must prepare to be a hero—for himself and the world. Written by Justin Huertas, Lizard Boy originally premiered in 2015 in Seattle, and stars its original American cast comprising Huertas, Kirsten De Lohr Helland, and William A. Williams. Check out this performance from the show at last year’s Fringe here.

Justin Huertas, William A Williams, and Kiki deLohr in Lizard Boy Billy Bustamante

One Woman Show at Greenwich House Theater
For its U.S. premiere, Liz Kingsman's One Woman Show is transferring to Off-Broadway. Written and performed by Kingsman, the work is described in press notes as a "bold, irreverent, raw, moving, and triumphant celebration of adjectives." Kinsgman performed the show at Edinburgh Fringe in 2022 before transferring to London’s West End where it was nominated for an Olivier. Beginning with previews June 14, One Woman Show will open June 20 for a limited engagement through August 11.

Transhumance at Kraine Theater
New York City-based clown Ania Upstill's surreal exploration of what it means to be trans received four-star reviews at Edinburgh Fringe in 2022. The heartfelt show and physical performance delves into a journey across gender with content recommended for ages eight and up. Transhumance was also a winner at the 2020 Adelaide Fringe in Australia. It runs at the Kraine Theater June 17-22.

Sugar Daddy at SoHo Playhouse
Sam Morrison transforms his grief for his partner, who died in 2021 due to COVID-19, into humor in this humorous and heartfelt solo show, returning to Off-Broadway for an encore engagement June 21-24. In the work, New York City-based comedian Morrison deals with themes of love, loss, diabetes, seagull attacks, and a few extraordinary coincidences. Sugar Daddy made a successful Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2022, read more about what it was like to bring this show to the festival here.

Just For Us at Hudson Theatre
A comedy show with Fringe-y past even arrives on Broadway this summer! Alex Edelman’s solo show Just For Us has played around the U.S. and the world, including the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe. Edelman shares some life stories, but the core of the show is about the time the Jewish comedian decided to crash a meeting of White Nationalists in Queens. Directed by the late Adam Brace, the show played three Off-Broadway runs last year with a total of six extensions. It begins previews June 22 at the Hudson Theatre.

Alex Edelman backstage at Just For Us Emilio Madrid

East to Edinburgh at 59E59 Theaters
If you’re eager to catch shows readying themselves to head across the Atlantic for this year’s festival, Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters is the place to go. Its annual East to Edinburgh programming offers productions a short preview run to raise funds and test out the festival’s production conditions before landing in Scotland. Shows begin July 11 in Theater C and run through July 30. Titles for this year’s offerings include How to Find a Husband in 37 Years or Longer; Alexander Klaus, The One-Legged Shoemaker Man; Shortlist; Coming Out to Dead People; Did You Eat? (먹었니?); Call Me Elizabeth; The Mrs. DeWinters; The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project; Violet and Me; The Temp; Ivories; The Leading Lady Club; and blood(line). Read about how the Edinburgh Fringe actually inspired the founding of 59E59 and East to Edinburgh in this interview with Artistic Director Val Day and Managing Director Brian Beirne.

The Shark Is Broken at John Golden Theatre
Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, The Shark is Broken is a fictionalized depiction of what happened behind-the-scenes of the 1975 blockbuster film Jaws. In The Shark is Broken, Shaw plays his father Robert, who starred as Quint in Jaws. The Shark is Broken had a three-day run in Brighton, England before debuting at Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. It then opened in the West End in 2021 where it played an extended run into 2022 and got a 2022 Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. The show will make its Broadway bow at the John Golden Theatre beginning July 25 ahead of an August 10 opening night.

Demetri Goritsas, Ian Shaw, and Liam Murray Scott Helen Maybanks

Pretending to Fly at Under St Marks
A new docu-fiction play written by Ashley Adelman will have a preview run Off-Off-Broadway July 26-30 before it heads across the water for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Pretending to Fly is set on a New York City rooftop in the summer of 2020, and roommates Kaitlyn and Frances who are desperately trying to hold onto their sanity and their friendship. They escape in the tales of a WWII Women Airforce Service pilot named Carla Horowitz, and end up discovering modern day truths along the way. Pretending to Fly interweaves non-fiction from actual interviews with Horowitz and New York City residents with fiction in a re-imagined documentary narrative.

A Eulogy for Roman at 59E59 Theaters
Brendan George wrote and stars in the Off-Broadway premiere of this solo work after a sold-out world premiere at Fringe last year. George stars as Milo, a nervous young man who tries to give a eulogy for his friend and enlists the audience’s help as he struggles to get through the ceremony. Together, Milo and the audience confront death and celebrate life. A Eulogy for Roman is conceived and directed by Peter Charney, and will run at 59E59 August 8-27.

 
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