FAUSTINE Comes to the 2025 Philadelphia Fringe Festival
Performances run September 6 and 7 at Vox Populi.
By: Stephi Wild Aug. 22, 2025
Following sold-out performances in Cincinnati and Edinburgh, Sarah Norcross and Lydia Brinkmann are bringing their solo show, Faustine, to the opening weekend of the 2025 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, running September 6 and 7 at Vox Populi (319 N 11th St #3, Philadelphia, PA 19107). Opening night for press is Saturday, September 6 at 8:00 PM.
Faustine: A Dissertation. A Confession. A Mental Breakdown. Faustine is excited to share her dissertation with you, but all is not what it seems. She's sold her soul to the devil in exchange for her brilliant thesis. Faustine lied, cheated and murdered to get here, and she won't go back. This solo musical critique of academia, ambition and class is equal parts Xiu Xiu and Sondheim, Heathers and Hedda Gabler, pedestrian and academic, and hilarious and horrifying.
Written and performed by New York-based theater artists Lydia Brinkmann and Sarah Norcoss, Faustine is a horror-comedy musical adaptation of the traditional Faustian myth, set in a contemporary academic environment. It has a run time of 65 minutes, with alternating performers each show. The first workshop of this production was held in August 2023 at The Tank (New York), and the show has since had a sold-out run at The Spade Collective (Brooklyn) in January 2024. Faustine was previously presented at the 2025 Cincinnati Fringe Festival in June at Wave Pool Gallery and the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August at TheSpaceUK (#edfringetalks25 Top Pick and nominated for Best Musical in The Spookies). Critics are saying it will "leave your skin crawling" and is "proof that independent theater is alive and kicking - with blood, sweat, and literal tears".
Philadelphia Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
CATS (Shawnee Playhouse)
17% of votes
2.
INTO THE WOODS (The Milford Theater)
5.7% of votes
3.
NEWSIES (Viviana Theatre)
3.8% of votes
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