By Shari Barrett
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual, open-access, community-derived event celebrating freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community during which all forms of the performing arts infiltrate the greater Hollywood neighborhood. Hundreds of productions offer thousands of performances in fully-equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other unexpected places by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers.
Participation in Hollywood Fringe is completely open and uncensored. This free-for-all approach underlines the festival’s mission to be a platform for artists without the barrier of a curating body. By opening the gates to anyone with a vision, the festival is able to exhibit the most diverse and cutting-edge points-of-view the world has to offer. Additionally, by creating an environment where artists must self-produce their work, the Fringe motivates its participants to cultivate a spirit of entrepreneurialism in the arts, giving 100% of box office revenue back to participating artists and venues – that’s over 5 million dollars since the inaugural festival in 2010!
For more information about this June’s annual Hollywood Fringe Festival 2026, including a complete chronological listing of shows and tickets, visit https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/schedule.
Or you can drop by this year’s free-to-visit Fringe Headquarters from June 4 through June 28 on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 5 PM – 12 AM, and Saturday + Sunday from 2 p.m. – 12 a.m. in East Hollywood at 4304 Melrose Ave. (just west of Heliotrope), Los Angeles 90029, where you can purchase low-cost soft drinks, caffeine, beer + wine, as well as light snacks in Bryan’s Bar, a casual meet-up space for artists and audiences alike. Or if you’re feeling overwhelmed looking at this year’s massive program, Box/Shop Concierges are always there to help find the right shows for you, assist with purchasing tickets, or buying this year’s Fringe merchandise.
For those who prefer fully-staged Musicals, here’s a short summary of several onstage in May and June in the greater Los Angeles County area, listed chronologically by opening date.
Flower Drum Song (April 16 – May 31) by East West Players at JACCC’s Aratani Theatre: With updated book for 2026, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s enchanting golden era musical centers around Mei-li, a young Chinese opera artist fleeing communism, who arrives in America and is drawn into the dazzling world of the Grant Avenue nightclubs in San Francisco’s Chinatown. https://www.eastwestplayers.org
The Sound of Music (May 5 – May 24) at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre: The classic Rodgers & Hammerstein family-friendly story about the Von Trapp family who is transformed when novice nun Maria arrives as the children’s governess. https://www.broadwayinhollywood.com
Next to Normal (May 8 – June 14) by Kentwood Players at the Westchester Playhouse: This Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical explores how one suburban household struggles to find normalcy as a wife and mother is suffering from bipolar disorder. https://kentwoodplayers.org
Disney’s The Little Mermaid (May 8 – June 14) at the Nocturne Theatre in Glendale: A vibrant, family-friendly undersea adventure about a mermaid wishing to become human. https://thenocturnetheatre.com
9 to 5 the Musical (May 9 – June 7) at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica: Office workers Violet, Judy and Doralee live out their wildest fantasy – giving their boss the boot – in this hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era. https://www.morgan-wixson.org
Brigadoon (May 13 – June 14) at the Pasadena Playhouse: Two American travelers lose their way in the Scottish Highlands and stumble upon a mysterious village that appears for just one day every hundred years, Will they choose to return to modern life or stay forever in the enchanted, unchanging village? https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/event/brigadoon
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (May 16 – May 31) at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica: This charming musical based on the comic strip by Charles Schultz explores a day in the life of Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang. https://www.morgan-wixson.org
Peter and The Starcatcher (May 21 – June 9) at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A.: A creative prequel to Peter Pan, presented by the EPIC Players Los Angeles. https://odysseytheatre.com
A Little Night Music (May 22 – May 31) at Santa Monica College. Set during a summer weekend in the country, a world of shifting romances, missed connections and second chances unfolds, guided by Stephen Sondheim’s elegant score and sharp storytelling. https://www.smc.edu/calendar/theatre-arts.php
Hell’s Kitchen (May 26 – June 21, 2026) at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre: A brand-new Broadway national tour featuring the hit songs of Alicia Keys, based on her upbringing in the Bronx. https://www.broadwayinhollywood.com
Anatasia (June 5 – 28, 2026) at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts: The romantic and adventurous stage adaptation of the classic animated film that follows Anya, an amnesiac orphan, searching for her identity. https://lamiradatheatre.com
Mamma Mia! (June 23 – July 19, 2026) at the Ahmanson Theatre: Desperate to find her father to walk her down the aisle, 20-year-old bride-to-be Sophie secretly invites three men from her mother Donna’s past diaries to their fictional Greek Island, sparking hilarious reunions and self-discovery set to ABBA’s greatest hits. https://www.centertheatregroup.org/shows-tickets
The Phantom of the Opera (June 24 – August 9, 2026) at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre: A disfigured musical genius haunts the Paris Opera, becoming dangerously obsessed with a young soprano, Christine. https://www.broadwayinhollywood.com
Shrek the Musical (June 27 – July 26) at the Morgan-Wixson in Santa Monica: Centers on a grumpy, misunderstood green ogre who sets out to rescue a feisty princess in order to regain the peaceful isolation of his swamp from a group of banished fairy-tale creatures. https://www.morgan-wixson.org/
