The Fringe Fest has ended for 2025. Here is what you were not able to see

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The Philadelphia Fringe Festival broke its own record for ticket sales in 2025, selling at least 33,000 seats during the monthlong festival of emerging and experimental theater.

“We’re still tabulating final walk-up sales. We don’t have all of those yet, but at least 33,000,” CEO and Producing Director Nell Bang-Jensen said Wednesday. “Last year, it was around 30,000.”

But Fringe did not go off without a hitch this year. Federal changes to travel visa requirements prevented some international artists from participating, and the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections shut down a series of cabaret performances planned for the former Macy’s department store.

Wanamaker inspections

“The Layaway,” a cabaret series staged inside the empty Wanamaker building, was meant to be part of Opera Philadelphia’s takeover of the space this fall. The opera launched the program with a concert on the famous Wanamaker pipe organ in Macy’s Grand Court. Then, the Bearded Ladies Cabaret planned a three-weekend run of cabaret performances in Greek Hall on the third floor.

After the first weekend, L&I shut down the remaining program due to a lack of updated building certifications regarding the elevator and sprinkler systems.

“We had been issued the permit to do the show, and then it was revoked when the inspection happened,” Bang-Jensen said. “It turned out Macy’s certificates were more than two years out of date. They kept failing the inspections, but no one had taken action.”

The problems with building certifications predated the involvement of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret.

“To fill it with art is such a beautiful idea,” said Rose Jarboe, formerly John Jarboe, founding artistic director of the cabaret. “With ideas like that, that are super-ambitious, you discover a lot of things. It just so happens that the Beards were invited to be the first people as part of that experiment.”

“The Beards are often on the front line of ambitious artistic experiments in the city of Philadelphia,” she said. “When you’re on the front line, sometimes you go down first.”

Shutting down the cabaret resulted in a significant financial loss for the Bearded Ladies company, from equipment rentals to paying performers and crew. Jarboe is asking ticketholders to donate the cost to the Bearded Ladies. Jarboe said she personally called about 100 individuals to thank them for being a friend, by singing the theme song to “The Golden Girls” over the phone.

“We are serious about love for our audiences,” Jarboe said. “If anyone wants to be sung to because they feel they didn’t get the experience they wanted, just let the Bearded Ladies know on Instagram or whatever. I’ll give you a call.”

Stricter rules for artist visas

When the Fringe Festival started on Sept. 4, the federal government immediately made international travel more difficult. On Sept. 6, the State Department issued new policies for nonimmigrant visa applicants, which include traveling performance artists.

The changes are part of several new visa policies implemented at the behest of the White House, including the $100,000 cost of an H-1B visa petition, which is not related to a temporary artist travel visa.

As of Sept. 6, waivers for in-person visa interviews were no longer accepted, requiring applicants to appear at the consulate in their home country. For international artists slated to perform at Philly Fringe, that meant returning abroad to reapply for visas.

Unable to comply with the sudden complication, Circus Abyssinia was forced to cancel its Sept. 15-22 performances at Cannonball, a performance hub within the Fringe Festival. The scheduled run was meant to be part of Cannonball’s Black Circus Week.

Circus Abyssinia is led by Bibi and Bichu Tesfamariam, brothers born in Ethiopia and now based in England. The troupe was already in the U.S. touring, but additional dates at the Philly Fringe meant extending their travel visas, which would have required reapplying in Ethiopia.

Cannonball producer TJ Alladin said consulates were less open to working with applicants to meet visa requirements than previously, particularly with applicants from non-European countries.

“It has never been easy for artists from certain countries, Black and brown countries mostly, to get here. Whether it’s the left that’s in charge or the center or the right, it’s never been easy for certain folks,” she said. “We’re going to keep trying because this work is important to us.”

Audience members who bought tickets to Circus Abyssynia were encouraged to exchange their ticket for another performance in Cannonball.

Overall, the Cannonball had more performances and sold more tickets than ever, hosting 131 productions and selling about 13,000 tickets. Seats were sold on a pay-what-you-wish sliding scale. Producer Nick Jonczak said ticket valuation— i.e. more people spending more money per ticket — was higher than in previous years.

Also caught in the new visa policy were members of the production “Dambudzo,” a dance by the Zimbabwean-born, New York-based choreographer nora chipaumire. Three dancers in her production are residents of Zimbabwe.

During the summer, the dance company toured Europe and prepared to come to Philadelphia as a headline show in the Fringe Festival, Sept. 18-21. The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe has paused all visa services in the capital city Harare, forcing Zimbabweans to go to Johannesburg, South Africa, to apply.

“These artists showed up at a consulate office in Germany and were denied their visas. We had to fly them to Johannesburg to go to the consulate there to get their visas approved,” Bang-Jensen said. “They were eventually able to make it over, but it took a lot more money.”

Because the “Dambudzo” performance was already booked in several U.S. cities, Bang-Jensen was able to collaborate with other presenting organizations to bring them over.

“Having multiple institutions working with [U.S. Sen.] Chuck Schumer’s office in New York, because the show was going to the Brooklyn Art Museum,” she said. “It took that kind of muscle.”

Another production called asses.masses from Vancouver, Canada, was not so lucky. While the show did go on at the Fringe, Bang-Jensen said some members of its crew were not able to be in Philadelphia due to visa problems.

“We are, in many ways, more than ever committed to international collaboration because of this,” she said. “It feels more and more important to be in touch with the global community.”