SALT LAKE CITY —As much as we love seeing our favorite musicals and plays it is also very exciting to see new material that is still being workshopped by the creative team. Such is the experience we get attending the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival.  2024 marks the 10th year of Fringe and in honor of 10 years they have something for everyone to enjoy.

The festival takes place over 2 weekends (July 26-28 and Aug 2-4) with an opening party on July 25th. There are 22 shows this year and take place at the “Fringe Campus” which is located in Trolley Square with 3 venues: The Alliance Theater, Alliance Black Box and The Ballroom.

Some of the offerings at Fringe are traditional one act plays like The Kitchen Sink, Lady M and Seize the Initiative. Others are music, dance or comedy experiences like Chiasm Cabaret, The Funeral Potatehoes!,  D’Arcy, and How Did We Get Here? Some have high audience participation like Puppet Karaoke, To Be Frank…, and Wonderland Awaits. The shows also have various ratings noted on the listings with Full-Fledged Fringe, Fairly Fringey, Family Friendly with more of the latter than people probably expect.

You can find out about all 22 shows at Fringe on their website here. But here’s some more info on a few of our most anticipated shows:

Seize the Initiative (Yoram-Com Productions)- Saul puts the action into climate action, flirting with young women and roping them into volunteering for a carbon tax campaign. But then he falls for Grace. Is there hope for them, or for the planet? Seize the Initiative! A romantic comedy about falling in love… with democracy.

I’ve Decided to Become a Digital Pet. Fairly Fringey– A 15-minute comedy about a young man reflecting on the lonely childhood that has led him to an unconventional desire: to become a Tamagotchi.

Wonderland Awaits (Salt Lake Children’s Theatre) Family Friendly-  invites audiences young and young at heart to embark on an enchanting journey alongside Alice as she ventures down the rabbit hole. Through interactive storytelling, children become active participants in the adventure, encountering colorful characters and magical moments at every turn.

Spiralbound (Fickle Mistress Theatre Co) Full Fledged Fringe-  asks us to face the seemingly impossible task of building a life in contemporary America. Exploring gender in the workplace and family in the weird late-night diner, this funny, contemplative play raises the question: “What do we do with so much life left to live?”

The Kitchen Sink (SpeaKeasy Theatre Co) Fairly Fringey- A kitchen. In a house. Over the course of 50 years. If the walls could talk, what would they say? What stories would they tell? The Kitchen Sink, a new play by Cordelia Brand.

The Open Syrup: Oops We Did it Again! (Kallisti Theatre Company) Family Friendly-  shenanigans and chicanery are an everyday occurrence (much to the chagrin of the beleaguered manager Rhonda). This time her superintendent Bradley may have gone too far: he’s conjured up some echoes of the past. Will Rhonda keep it together despite the circumstances? Decidedly not….

Save the Cow (Full-Fledged Fringe) – We follow the story of Jac, a directionless graduate who decides to hitchhike across America. Jac encounters a number of challenges and friends and eventually ends up at a gay bar in the middle of Iowa, where they join a team of queer misfits to steal an abused cow from a neighboring farm.

Lady M (Fairly Fringey)- is a new adaptation of the classic Shakepeare play Macbeth, shifting the titular character to his doomed wife, Lady M. The production aims to explore the untold story of Lady M and examine the Macbeth’s descent into darkness from her perspective.

Which of these shows are you planning on seeing?

These reviews are made possible by a grant from the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks program.