“THE BODY” LANDS AT HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL ‘26

THE BODY

(May 13, 2026 – Los Angeles, CA) After last year’s sold-out premiere run at The Sherry Theater, “The Body” comes to Hollywood Fringe Festival ’26 at the Hobgoblin Playhouse June 7, 14, 20, 24 and 28. Four darkly comedic one-acts all center on a mysterious tragedy and the wildly varying POVs of the people who watch the evening’s events unfold from different units of a coveted apartment building. The body in question (never shown to the audience) brings up issues for the characters: grief, sex and fidelity, family dysfunction, addiction, corporate greed, workplace misogyny, and social media obsession. Each vignette is a take on a genre: rom-com, supernatural thriller, dramedy and satire.

Succinctly, “The Body” has been described as “Only Murders in the Building” meets “Four Rooms.” The one-acts include “Content” and “Fish” written and directed by Janna King, and “Séance” and “Leverage” written by Genah Redding and directed by Allen Barstow. The talented cast includes (in alphabetical order) Allen Barstow, Alyssa Berkowitz, Leah Friers, Dom Johnson, Kara O’Connor, Genah Redding and Peter Schiavelli.

In a 2025 review, NoHoArtsDistrict.com said, “The actors know each other well and they work together perfectly. The characters are both wild and real. The storylines are believable as well as a little outrageous.”

Longtime creative partners King and Redding came up with the concept because they enjoy working with a device that links one-acts. Their original collection, “The Ho Bag” – about a gaudy handbag that is passed between friends – sold out three years in a row, with “The Ho Bag 3” capping off the collection in the spring of 2024.

Writer-Producer Redding, co-founder of Breakdowns Productions, is no stranger to the Hollywood Fringe, having produced many successful comedy shows at the fest, such as Nick Pupo’s solo show “Addicted,” which was nominated for Best Comedy at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe and ended its run at the Edinburgh Fringe. She was also associate producer on J. Elijah Cho’s “Mr. Yunioshi,” a solo show that has had a multi-state run and won Best Solo Show at the 2019 Hollywood Fringe. Past producing credits include “The Great Gatsby” in Thousand Oaks, “Poly-theist” at The Yard and “Piping Hot” at The Sherry. She can be seen at various open mics around town and with her sketch comedy group “Prenup” at The Pack Theatre the second Wednesday of every month.

Writer-Director-Producer King is a screenwriter with 25+ years of produced credits in TV movies and series, working with the likes of Disney, Lifetime and WB. As co-founder of Riveter Entertainment, she is currently producing two feature films, one of which she wrote and will be directing. She has written and directed three award-winning short films and several plays, and is the author of two published novels. This is her first Fringe go.

Director-Producer Barstow recently played Beau in “The Cottage” at the Torrance Theatre Company. He has played numerous roles in an adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” Victor in “Private Lives” with Kentwood Players, Bert in “Mary Poppins” at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, and Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with House of Bards. Other highlights include singing in the tenor ranks of “Christmas Matters” caroling company and directing musical theatre with Performing Arts Workshops. He was

“The Body” is a Riveter Entertainment/Breakdowns Productions co-production. King, Redding and the cast of “The Body” can all be found on their respective social media accounts.

Tickets for “The Body” are available at www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13592. The Hobgoblin Playhouse is located at 1516 N. Gardner St., Los Angeles, CA 90046, (323) 591-4849.