F***ED UP FAIRYTALES to Make Philadelphia Debut at Cannonball

After winning both the Audience Choice Award and Sold Out Award at the 2025 New York City Fringe Festival, F***ed Up Fairytales is heading to Philadelphia. Rising Sun Performance Company will present the Philadelphia premiere of the award-winning interactive comedy September 25–27 at Asian Arts Initiative Third Floor as part of Cannonball, the largest hub of the 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The engagement marks both the show's Philadelphia premiere and Rising Sun's Philadelphia debut.

Written by Michael Hagins and co-directed by Akia Squitieri and Rachael Langton, “F***ed Up Fairytales” turns classic fairytales upside down and inside out in this bold, interactive, 21+ theatrical experience! Rising Sun Performance Company (RSPC) invites audiences to join the most unexpected re-imaginings of beloved tales, each twisted into something completely new and exciting.

Step into Hansel and Gretel as a thrilling manga saga, dive into The White Snake reimagined as a raunchy slapstick comedy, and experience Rumpelstiltskin as a gripping film noir. Watch Rapunzel's high-octane spy adventure unfold before your eyes, and brace yourself for Little Red Riding Hood's spine-chilling horror adaptation.

Each performance features three stories selected live by the audience through gameplay, challenges and real-time interaction. With immersive elements, optional drinking-game components, unexpected twists and plenty of opportunities to participate, F***ed Up Fairytales is part theatrical performance, part comedy event and part collective fever dream. 

No two performances are ever exactly the same.

The production premiered at the 2025 New York City Fringe Festival, presented with FRIGID New York, where it earned both the Audience Choice Award and Sold Out Award. Following its Fringe run, the production was extended for additional performances at The Rat NYC in Brooklyn, returning running weekly from June through December 2025. 

"We knew when we created this show that we wanted it to feel different every time an audience walked through the door," says Akia Squitieri, Founding Artistic Director of Rising Sun Performance Company and co-director of the production. "Winning the Audience Choice Award and Sold Out Award at the New York Fringe was an incredible affirmation from the people who came to play with us. Being able to extend the production in New York and now bring it to Philadelphia during Rising Sun's 25th producing season feels like the next chapter of that adventure. Philadelphia audiences are going to have a chance to make the show their own."

Co-director Rachael Langton adds, "The audience isn't just watching the show—they are part of the engine that drives it. Every night brings a different combination of stories, different audience choices and different moments of chaos. That's what makes this production so much fun to perform and, hopefully, impossible to experience the same way twice."

Creative consultant on the original production David Andrew Laws, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern, described the production as “a wild, reimagined celebration of stories we all know and love—but with a rebellious edge,” adding that it is “chaotic, unexpected, and fun that puts the audience in the driver's seat.”

For its Philadelphia engagement, the production features David Anthony Anderson, Eric Austin, Orlando Rodriguez, Ally Harwell, Rick Benson, Laura Walter and Kiki Dowell, with additional company members and performers joining the ensemble. The creative team includes playwright Michael Hagins; co-directors Akia Squitieri and Rachael Langton; associate producer Alexandra Scordato; Costume Designer Tiffini Minatel-Schreiber; sound designer Max Feldman; and additional production team members to be announced.

The Philadelphia engagement is presented through Cannonball, an artist-centered hub of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival that brings together independent performance makers and adventurous audiences across multiple stages and venues throughout the city.

For Rising Sun Performance Company, the engagement represents an important new chapter for a company that has spent nearly 25 years creating independent theatre in New York City. Founded in 2001 by Akia Squitieri, Rising Sun Performance Company is an award-winning ensemble theatre company dedicated to creating bold storytelling, creative risk-taking and ensemble-driven collaboration. Now entering its 25th producing season, Rising Sun has produced more than 500 productions, workshops, readings, immersive theatrical experiences and community events, including new play development, free public performances, children's theatre and critically acclaimed revivals. The company has received multiple festival awards and nominations and has developed work across New York City's independent theatre community.

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