JENDER BENDER Solo Musical To Premiere at Philadelphia Fringe Festival

Philadelphia-based singer, actor, and acclaimed cabaret performer Jen Fellman will present an original musical comedy/cabaret act that explores gender and identity representation in the Golden Age of musical theater (1940s-1960s), while reimagining musicals like Carousel, Oklahoma!, and Camelot through a contemporary queer lens. JENder BENDER will have its world premiere during the 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Festival at The Perch Music & Arts Workshop (2321 Emerald St, Philadelphia) for a strictly limited engagement, September 18-26, 2026. Tickets are available now via this link.

'By reclaiming the beloved songs and roles traditionally performed only by men, and giving new voice to the roles of the leading ladies, the audience is invited to experience a Golden Age that could have been - a Golden Age through the female gaze of the performer,' said Fellman. 'JENder BENDER honors the artistry, wit, and emotional power of the original repertoire while challenging the era's limiting gender norms through song, personal story, comedy, clown and physical theater.'

At once an homage to the Golden Age of musical theater and a contemporary critique of its conventions, JENder BENDER follows a young woman's coming-of-age journey as she grows up watching Golden Age musicals, and through them discovers her own identity. As a child, she finds a sense of community in the characters, and freedom and confidence in singing the songs that fill their world. The Golden Age was in her home, and she was at home in the Golden Age. Only later does she confront society's gender expectations dictating who is traditionally allowed to inhabit these roles - both on and off the stage.

Through humor, vulnerability, and imagination, she reclaims the music she loves on her own terms - as a queer woman, a tomboy, and a soprano. Featuring songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Stephen Sondheim, and more, JENder BENDER blurs boundaries as gender is flipped, identity is reimagined, and glorious songs take on new meaning in today's world.

Fellman's work spans musical theater, solo performance, and French song. She has performed sold-out concerts at Feinstein's/54 Below, Theatre Row, Don't Tell Mama, the French Consulate of New York, Chez Josephine, and the New York Public Library. Additionally, she has lived and performed extensively in Paris, France, with credits including Le Petit Journal Montparnasse, the American Embassy in Paris, and a guest appearance at the Comédie-Française Theatre. She regularly performs concerts of French music/chanson française, most recently as a featured vocalist with the Alliance Française of Philadelphia.

Other original solo shows include Frenchy (Winner, Best One-Woman Musical, United Solo Theatre Festival, NYC) and A Singer's Circus (recipient of the Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Grant Award from 1812 Productions). Regional musical theater credits include Clara (The Light in the Piazza), Luisa (The Fantasticks), and Jane (Tennessee Williams' Moony's Kid Don't Cry).

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