Pick of the Fringe:
Celebrating a Legacy of Excellence
For nearly a decade, Pick of the Fringe offered audiences a curated selection of the very best productions from the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Modeled after the tradition of the Edinburgh Fringe, Pick of the Fringe featured highlights from top-tier shows across genres like drama, comedy, musicals, solo performances, cabaret, and variety.
A co-production between Combined Artform / Asylum and Fringe Management, the series drew on the expertise of over 20 judges—ranging from venue managers to independent representatives—who reviewed hundreds of performances each year to select standout productions. With its unique "taster" format, audiences could enjoy a dynamic evening of 5–8 live highlights, showcasing the creativity and talent that defined the festival.
Twice nominated for Best HFF Cabaret & Variety, Pick of the Fringe was a trusted resource for theater lovers, helping them discover the hidden gems of the festival. Though no longer running, its legacy continues to inspire and celebrate the innovative spirit of Fringe theater.
A co-production between Combined Artform / Asylum and Fringe Management, the series drew on the expertise of over 20 judges—ranging from venue managers to independent representatives—who reviewed hundreds of performances each year to select standout productions. With its unique "taster" format, audiences could enjoy a dynamic evening of 5–8 live highlights, showcasing the creativity and talent that defined the festival.
Twice nominated for Best HFF Cabaret & Variety, Pick of the Fringe was a trusted resource for theater lovers, helping them discover the hidden gems of the festival. Though no longer running, its legacy continues to inspire and celebrate the innovative spirit of Fringe theater.
Complete List of
Pick of the Fringe Winners
(2014–2023)
2014
Harold & Stella - Love Letters
Made in America
Odessa
The Mermaid Who Wanted to Fly
The Wake
TELENOVELA WIVES OF PANCHO VILLA
Moby Alpha
Belli Gemelli: An Opera Sitcom
Poly Bunker Sings
The Navigator
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights
Women
GIMPLECAPPED: A JOURNEY OF "INSPIRATION
Hard Travelin’ with Woody
2015
Max & Elsa
No Traveler: A Comedy About Suicide
Stupid Songs
The Poe Show
Tiananmen Annie
dating: adults embracing failure
late with lance
Shakespeare’s Last Night Out (or What? YOU, Will??)
split/screen
the oy of sex
thenardiers inn – a les miserables cabaret
8:03
Aliens vs Musical
Is There Sex After Marriage
Simon Coronel – Glitches in Reality
The Legend of Bobby Darin
2016
Thirteen's Spring
All the Best Killers are Librarians
Night Witches
Groundwork
Einstein!
POWER! STOKELY CARMICHAEL
Tilt
ANGEL'S FLIGHT
BOUND
2017
A Harmony Boys Christmas
Devadasi
F*ck Tinder
Human Hothouse
Secret Identity Crisis
A Void
Here Comes Rutherford
In the Valley of the Shadow
Narsociety: The Social Media Shaming Musical
Thanksgiving
The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign
13th Grade
An Evening with John Wilkes Booth
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Ladies in Waiting- The Judgement of Henry the VIII
Nic & Brooke’s Comedy Dance Party
A Steady Rain
Charlie Moose Makes His Move
Chimpskin
Just Old Woman From Old Country…
Nothing Bad: A Werewolf Rock Musical
Titus Sharkdronicus
Transition
The Motherf**ker With The Hat
Under the Jello Mold
Secure Storage
Terror on the High Seas
The Wedding Night
2018
Blackballed
Katy and Jennifer
Manson’s Girls
Man is Wolf
Movers & Shakers
…meantime at Hojo’s
The Day I Became Black
Butoh Medea
Echoes
The People vs. Hell Kross
Buzz’d Out Live!
Still
I Died Today
Sex and the Musical
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Foxhole Stories: Twist, Pull, Smoke, Run-Motherfucker-Run!
Mutant Olive
Trojan Women
What I Want To Say to You
Play On
Keeping up with the Prozorovs
The Universe 101
The Runaway Clone
The Woman is Perfected
Sam Shaber: Life, Death & Duran Duran
2019
Temple Tantrum
This Way Yonder
Loose Underwear
If It Goes There
Let’s Write A Musical?
Dandy Darkly’s All Aboard
S.O.S
One Man Improvised Musical
Greenwood 1964
Crazy Horse: A Dream of Thunder
Olivia Wilde Does Not Survive the Apocalypse
Four Clowns presents Shakedown at the Dusty Spur!
Made for Each Other – Studio C
Monkey Mind – McCadden
Batter Up – Studio / Stage
In Conclusion – LGBT
Eva Peron – Hudson
And Now It is All This – Complex
Straight White Men Trying to Woke – 2nd Stage
Mr. Yunioshi – Broadwater
Tobincon – Stephanie Feury
Mil Grus – McCadden
Scarlett Fever – Broadwater
Tattered Capes – Studio / Stage
Squeeze My Cabaret – Lounge
Public Domain : The Musical – Actors Company
Blackboxing – Complex
Death of Sam Mobean – Broadwater
Gunfight at the Not-So-OK Saloon – McCadden
Jessie’s Messy Mind – Studio / Stage
Son of a Bitch – Broadwater
The Bully Problem – Broadwater
The Duchess & The Stripper – Lounge
2022
Ben and George (Asylum)
Dickin’ Around (The Broadwater)
MADE IN AMERICA (The Complex)
So Proudly We Hailed (The Broadwater)
Vincerò- The Italian Opera Experience (Asylum)
Di Lady Di (The Broadwater)
Abortion Weekend (The Broadwater)
WEST (The Broadwater)
Lvl One Gygax & Of Branch, Of Beast, Of Beatnik (Studio Stage)
Gummy Worm (Stephanie Feury)
Are you lovin it? (McCadden Theatre)
Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical (Studio/Stage)
Dead Skin (Zephyr Theater)
DOG (The Broadwater)
Housewife ’52 (The Broadwater)
Reconsider Me (LGBT Center)
Teaching a Robot to Love (The Broadwater)
The Ramón Show: Spiritual Cheerleading 101 (LGBT Center)
The Toughest Man In Chicago (Actors Company)
2023
A Retrospection – (Actors Company)
The Allure of Thug Life (905 Cole)
I Can’t Indian Good – (Zephyr Theatre)
Rhythm Delivered – (The Broadwater)
Runaway Rue -(Actors Company)
Things to Avoid in a Eulogy (The Broadwater)
A Child of Tennessee (Actors Company)
A Shark Ate My Penis: a history of boys like me (The Broadwater)
Haunting Rights (The Broadwater)
If I’m Good (The Broadwater)
Jolly Playtime (The Broadwater)
Oh, Lorraine! (The Broadwater)
Prince Harry: Live! At Coachella (Studio/Stage)
Beth Rickey: A PowerPoint Presentation (Studio/Stage)
SoundTrip: Fringe Edition (The Broadwater)
Dream Big (Stephanie Feury)
Grown Up Orphan Annie (The Broadwater)
Smote This (The Broadwater)
Take Me As I Am: a Joni Mitchell Tribute (Three Clubs)
Wounded (The Broadwater)
Yoni Ki Kahaniya: Vagina Stories (The Broadwater)
