Original and eclectic artists from around the nation gather in Kansas City for two weeks of daring performances and visual art every year. For the 16th time, the Kansas City Fringe brings audiences some of the most exciting and adventurous art premiering in the region and nationwide, including 54 productions, 6 films, and 35 visual artists.
The KC Fringe runs from July 14 to 30, and we’ve compiled a list of some must-see shows in the next week.
On Account of Sex – Center for Spiritual Living
Fringe veterans Bryan Colley and Tara Varney are celebrating women’s history unconventionally in this original suffrage musical. From Fourth Wave Theatre, On Account of Sex spans the entire movement from the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
July 21 at 9pm, July 22 at 6pm, July 23 at 3pm, July 27 at 9pm, July 29 at 7:30pm
Bloodline – Center for Spiritual Living
Paris Crayton III, recognized in Kansas City from Chasing Gods and Welcome to the Blue Swan, brings this semi-autobiographical, multi-generational love story to the Fringe. It’s told from multiple male perspectives: a sharecropper from Mississippi, an animal technician, and a talented but struggling artist.
July 22 at 9pm, July 23 at 4:30pm, July 26 at 7:30pm, July 28 at 10:30pm, July 29 at 6pm
Breakneck Romeo and Juliet – Center for Spiritual Living
A familiar Fringe figure, Tim Mooney describes Romeo and Juliet as “the original sex tragedy.” In his popular “Breakneck” Shakespeare series, he digs beneath the language to find exactly why these plays are so popular, back then and today.
July 21 at 7:30pm, July 22 at 10:30pm, July 23 at 6pm, July 27 at 7:30pm, July 29 at 4:30pm
Fruit Salad – Whim Space
An evening of “fruit-based stupidity” with two award-winning and clown-trained comedians, Fruit Salad was dubbed “surprisingly sexy” by the cast members themselves. The recommended age for this “charming yet utterly meaningless spectacle of smooching, pelvic thrusting, flexed muscles, oranges, pineapples, and audience trickery” is 16 and up.
July 25 at 7pm, July 26 at 8:30pm, July 28 at 5:30pm, July 29 at 1pm, July 29 at 7pm
Godzilla’s Not a Dinosaur – The Sparkle Room at Westport Flea Market
A mixture between poetry and stand-up comedy, Abby Bland explores identity, gender, and why we don’t all fit neatly into boxes. Read our Q&A with the artist.
July 21 at 10:30pm, July 22 at 7:30pm, July 25 at 7:30pm, July 27 at 6pm, July 29 at 6pm
Gutterthief – City Stage Theater
The seventh original production Derek Trautwein has mounted for KC Fringe, Gutterthief is a “bizarrely wholesome” look at suburbia and the neighbors who live there. Watch a divided community come together with a little effort and a lot of listening.
July 21 at 9pm, July 22 at 10:30pm, July 23 at 7:30pm, July 26 at 6pm, July 27 at 9pm
The Princess Strikes Back: One Woman’s Search for the Space Cowboy of Her Dreams – The Black Box
Chicago-based actress Victoria Montalbano is bringing her show to KC Fringe to make its Missouri debut. It’s a classic coming-of-age tale on modern romance, Star Wars, and awkward theater kids.
July 22 at 10pm, July 23 at 4pm, July 27 at 8:30pm, July 28 at 5:30pm, July 29 at 7pm
For the entire Fringe schedule or to buy tickets, visit kcfringe.org.