THE FRESH FRUIT FESTIVAL MAINSTAGE To Return To The Wild Project

From Monday, April 20 through Sunday, May 3, the Fresh Fruit Festival Mainstage will take over The Wild Project for a dynamic showcase of LGBTQ+ art. This year's festival continues to redefine what it means to be "inclusive."

Through the generosity of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Fresh Fruit provides a global platform for artists from Australia to Israel, and right here in the five boroughs. 

THE 2026 MAINSTAGE LINEUP

This year's curated selection features a breathtaking array of genres, from sci-fi melodramas to biting social comedies:

• The Sloppy Abandon of Excavated Love (Dennis Bush): When Marcus discovers a 1980s journal from a former tenant in his apartment, the past and present collide in a minefield of passion with his former lover.
• A Perfect Map of Everything (Connor Geary): Hugo's obsession with cartography draws massive crowds to his home, while his roommate Hamlin struggles to maintain a connection as Hugo charts the world.
• Quantum Gravity (Jude Cramer): A sci-fi melodrama where two men race through iconic eras of queer history, facing the legacy of the past to save a chance at a romantic future.
• Late Blooming (Yueh-Yeh Li): A closeted Chinese American novelist in Queens confronts the tension between his hidden life and his parents' expectations when a childhood friend returns.
• Breach (DAN MANJOVI): In the spring of 2024, the professional relationship between a 64-year-old therapist and her 30-year-old gay patient is tested by a revelation that shatters objectivity.
• Mister Snickers... (Michael Raimondi): A musical, pop-up book style journey through NYC following a gay man's alcohol-soaked attempt to build a chosen family with his dog, Mister Snickers.
• Messin' With the Kid (Duncan Pflaster): A straight man turns to gay prostitution to support his brother, only to find his brother drawn into the seedy world of a toxic "role model" at Disney World.
• Billy To His Friends (Cassandra Rose): A modern ensemble reclaims the history of Oliver "Billy" Sipple-the man who saved President Ford but was outed against his will by Harvey Milk.
• When We Practice to Deceive (Reginald T. Jackson): Hilarity ensues when a mother overhears her son's trans girlfriend in the bathroom of an expensive restaurant, leading to a comedic standoff.
• Little Bitches (Esme Roberts): A sharp, comedic coming-of-age play set at a sweltering California summer camp where a 15-year-old lesbian in denial faces a fracture in her social hierarchy.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS & ONE-ACTS

Relationships on The Edge: Two Short Plays

• Igniting the Spark (Kathleen Potts): A night between a young police officer and a Native American artist transitions from a sexy encounter to something far more sinister.
• Three Paintings (Virgo): Artists Wyatt and Taylor must finally confront a conversation about race, privilege, and the ethics of creative commentary within their relationship.

• Hail Mary! (John Jamiel): A memory play inspired by The Glass Menagerie featuring a standoff between an 89-year-old mother and her 60-year-old son fighting for his identity.
• Wiley (Katherine McNair): A lighthearted comedy about a woman's search for a roommate that leads to an unexpected and life-changing friendship.
• Sunbeam (K. Stanger): A woman suspended in a liminal space encounters "GOD"-who may be divine or just another version of herself-to unpack faith and queerness.

THE FESTIVAL STAGED READING SERIES

• The Last Sonic On Earth (Joshua Piper): After a rumored kiss between classmates, three teens at a roller-skating fast-food joint must navigate the pressures of toxic masculinity and boyhood.
• Exit Smiling (Den Harrow): In a Manhattan hotel suite, Truman Capote and Babe Paley reunite for one final, barbed conversation as the illusions of their mythic friendship crack.

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