By SHARON EBERSON
The 13th annual Pittsburgh Fringe Festival spreads it wings to 14 venues over 10 days, March 19-28, 2026, where adventurous audiences can choose from among three dozen live experiences in multiple genres.
Venues are mostly in the Garfield/Bloomfield/Friendship neighborhoods, but include Sharpsburg, Allentown, Lawrenceville, and more.
The Fringe offers an array of genres and square peg/round hole performances — experiences that put the “fringe” in the festival.
For a comprehensive list of shows, details, tickets, Fringe All-Show Passes and more, visit https://pittsburghfringe.org/.
A SAMPLE OF 2026 PITTSBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL SHOWS
Orange Steel Theatre Company, an independent, London-based group specializing in devised, immersive work that has expanded to include Pittsburgh, presents Doohickey!, in which “audience members are called to join in on the action, making gadgets and gizmos of any shape and size using hand tools and recycled materials – the only limit is your own creativity!” The company is committed to crafting “unique theatrical experiences that help you ‘squeeze the juice out of life,’ through a highly collaborative theater practice.”
🎟️ 🗓️ Orange Steel’s Doohickey! is at Assemble, 4824 Penn Ave., Garfield, March 20-28, 2026 https://pittsburghfringe.org/events/doohickey/
In Show Pony, performing artist and director Irene Molloy (Grosse Pointe, WB; Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Fox) revisits her childhood entrance into show business with her mother — “an upbringing shaped by unrelenting pressure.” As a senior in high school, she landed the lead in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Whistle Down the Wind, which had a limited run in Washington, D.C. Before moving on to Hollywood, she was in the Broadway play The Civil War (Outer Critics Circle nomination) and a musical version of Romeo and Juliet, playing Juliet. Her forthcoming album, Melt the Bars, will be released in Fall 2026. Today, as a mother herself, Molloy is ready to reclaim those early experiences, questioning what was asked of her, and what she chooses to carry forward. “Show Pony is a reflection on ambition, agency and the courage it takes to step out of a role you learned too young how to play.”
🎟️ 🗓️ Irene Molloy’s Show Pony is at Frechard Gallery, 5005 Penn Ave., Bloomfield, March 19-21. https://pittsburghfringe.org/events/show-pony/
Pittsburgh-based clown Sarah Kantner invites you to “spend an evening in the Queen’s court … as she live devises her new show, The Queen (WIP), described as “a must-see for fans of period pieces, Mr. Bean, and mocking those with money.” While “blending physical comedy, improvisation, and a taste for the finer things … audience feedback will guide Kantner as she begins creating this new clown show.”
🎟️ 🗓️ Sarah Kantner’s The Queen is at Conjure Bar & Stage, 753 E. Warrington Ave., in the Allentown neighborhood, on March 21, and Mr. Roboto Project, 5106 Penn Ave. Garfield, March 23-27. https://pittsburghfringe.org/events/the-queen-wip/
Winner of the Audience Choice Award at the 2025 NY Fringe, Circumscribed: A True Tall Tale of One Father, Two Sons, and Thousands of Foreskins is Noam Osband’s is about about growing up with a father who was a mohel (Jewish ritual circumciser), “who buried foreskins at home.” Osband discusses failed efforts at finding paternal figures after his father’s untimely death, and wrestling with circumcising his own kid. “The hour of comedic storytelling is about family, traditions, and the ties … and cuts … that bind.”
🎟️ 🗓️ Circumscribed: A True Tall Tale will be at Bloomfield Garfield Activity Center, 113 North Pacific Ave., , March 20 and 21. https://pittsburghfringe.org/events/circumscribed-a-true-tall-tale-of-one-father-two-sons-and-thousands-of-foreskins/
The student-run Bridges Theatre Co. at Point Park University and Chris Berry, a freshman Contemporary Theatre Making major at Point Park, offers = From Reville to Retreat: “Set on the frontlines of a modern civil war, this short drama asks, what do you fight for when pulled into a war that you want no part of?”
🎟️ 🗓️ From Revelle to Retreat is at Boulevard Studio 100 — Point Park University Fringe, 312 Boulevard of the Allies, Downtown, March 21-22. Tickets are free, but register at https://pittsburghfringe.org/events/from-reville-to-retreat/.
🎟️ 🗓️ Pittsburgh Fringe’s 3rd Choreographers’ Showcase features diverse acts across various dance genres. It is open to all. March 28 at Attack Theatre Studios – Main Studio, 212 45th St., Lawrenceville. https://pittsburghfringe.org/events/choreographers-showcase/
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Our Posts, Show Previews
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