Newburgh Fringe Festival at Safe Harbors of the Hudson Ritz Theater

Newburgh Fringe Festival showcases thrilling and thought-provoking performing arts from Newburgh, the Hudson Valley, and beyond. Now in its second year, the festival takes place October 16-18, 2026, boasting a total of 65 productions with over 100 performances presented at multiple Downtown Newburgh venues.

The Newburgh Fringe Festival is dedicated to showcasing the vibrant and diverse performing arts community of the Hudson Valley. This three-day event will feature an eclectic mix of original theater, reimagined classics, debut performances, short-form works, improv solo acts, puppetry, magic shows, music, dance, storytelling, and more—embracing the original, immersive, and experimental.

Highlights from this year’s lineup include:

• Crossing the Crab Nebula and The Deal, two one-act plays written by Grammy-winning comedian Lewis Black (The Daily Show, Inside Out)
• Campy Cult Cinema 3000, a screening of the cult film Eden Cried starring Newburgh native Carol Holland, which first premiered at the Ritz Theater in 1967. Holland will provide live commentary during the film in the style of the animated television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, accompanied by puppeteers Cabot Parsons and Cam Garrity.
• Ted Swindley, creator of the jukebox musical Always Patsy Cline, brings two shows to this year’s Fringe: Haunted Honky Tonk: The All New Country Music Singalong Jukebox Spooktacular, and a new, comedic one-man show about Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, performed by Swindley.
• Uncanny Valley Puppet Slam, Safe Harbors’ fan-favorite “puppetry cabaret for grown-ups” will return with a new lineup of puppeteers from the Hudson Valley and beyond.
• An audition workshop with Jack Doulin, long-time resident casting director at the New York Theatre Workshop and Theatre for a New Audience.
• SPACE BAR, “the greatest comedy-karaoke-cabaret in the Hudson Valley area,” created and performed by Ray Roy.
• God’s Puppets, a play written by Gwynne Watkins and directed by Buffey Favata, in which a female pastor breaks free from the shackles of biblical patriarchy.
• A 24-hour short play workshop for Newburgh Free Academy students led by Bobby Johnson, Jarvis Tondio, and Mike Pirillo, that will conclude with a Sunday performance.

Participating artists and ensembles performing in the Newburgh Fringe Festival include:

Shailly Agnihotri, Piper Anderson, Lewis Black, Hannah Brooks, Amy Campanella, William PK Carter, Chris Chapman, ChristinaNoel, Spencer Conti, Dan Daly, Martina Deignan, Kristina Desjardins, Emily Dykeman, Paul Ellis, Jaime Fallon, Vicki Ferentinos, Robert Finkelstein, Elliott Forrest, Jessica Fox, Jamie Graham, John Hartzell, Ryan Havers, Lois Hicks-Wozniak, Jennifer Justice, Max Kaczor, Anna Kell, Shane Killoran, Maksym LaRouche, Annie Lightbody, Dov Manley, Ken Martinez, Jonathan Matthews-Guzmán, Katharine McNair, Sara Karl McNair, Mike Meier, Amanda Melhuish, Donna Minkowitz, Irene Molloy, Lisa Morovic-Kimball, Molly Parker Myers, Dante Nastasi, Travis Nichols, Drew Prochaska, Carolina Quiroga, Don Romaniello, Ray Roy, Richie Schiraldi, David Schwartz, Adam Selbst, Margie Semilof, Ken Straus, Ted Swindley, Sean Taggart, Tuesday Taylor, Niki Thompson, Tara Vamos, Gerald vanHeerden, Larissa Velez-Jackson, Samantha Jones and Michael Withall, Margaret Milan Wright, and Jeannie Zusy.

Tickets are $15 for all performances and can be purchased in advance at NewburghFringeFestival.org or at the Newburgh Fringe Festival Lounge, located next door to Ann Street Gallery (104 Ann Street) during the festival.