CONTEMPORARY, SAPPHIC 'HAMLET' ROMCOM PREQUEL ENTERS FINAL WEEKEND AT HOLLYWOOD FRINGE

Get Thee to a Beanery: A Hamlet Coffeeshop AU

LOS ANGELES, CA — Following a string of rave reviews and enthusiastic audience response, the sapphic coffeeshop prequel of Hamlet is gearing up for its final two performances at the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Affectionately set in modern-day Wittenberg, this original story takes Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy and trades the Elsinore castle for campus drama, flannel, and bumbling baristas (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, of course). The production has been winning over Fringe audiences by cleverly balancing classic texts with a highly accessible RomCom aesthetic, working relatable queer issues into seamless genderswapped romance, and thoughtfully using stage composition to overcome the limitations of a blackbox theater.

As the production heads into its closing weekend, GET THEE TO A BEANERY has garnered massive positive feedback. Audiences and reviewers alike have praised the cast’s fresh take on iconic characters, from an anxious, over-caffeinated Hamlet to a rebellious, grunge-era Ophelia, who is just trying to outsmart Polonius’s security detail.

“What a fun little romp!” notes one enthusiastic audience reviewer, highlighting the chaotic, high-energy environment the ensemble has built. “An easy and highly enjoyable theater experience for anyone.”

“It welcomes theater newcomers with an accessible narrative, beckons Hamlet lovers with knowing winks, and ensnares all with its exploration of the human condition,” another says. “Despite the play’s lighthearted tone, it ultimately deepens the tragedy of Hamlet. By staying consistent with the canon, [playwright] Alice Dranger shows us who Hamlet could have been before their quest for vengeance. They had friends, love, and the will to grow and change. But in the end, they realize the painful truth: that no one is ever fully in charge of their destiny.”

FINAL PERFORMANCES:
- Thursday, June 25th @ 7:15pm
- Sunday, June 28th @ 9:00pm

Location: Theater of Note, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd

Tickets: via Fringe box office https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/14360

With only two shows left before the Beanery closes its doors for summer break, Fringe-goers are encouraged to grab tickets as soon as possible before the run sells out!

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:

Alice Dranger (they/them) is an actor, writer, director, and producer here in Los Angeles, California. This is the first show they’ve produced for Fringe, and they are ecstatic to be on this Fringe journey. Alice has previously worked on the production team for ‘Electric, I’ and ‘Tune-In’ at Theatre of Note, and produced several shows for Open Door Shakespeare, and is psyched to do so again.

Having moved here after graduating from NYU:TISCH, they found themselves writing and acting on the internet as a series regular in several web series. They have also acted in several Shakespearean plays in New York City, including ‘Measure for Measure’ and have done several shows with Open Door Shakespeare here in LA. You can find them on Instagram @OpenDoorShakespeare and Alice @6impossiblethingsb4breakfast

ABOUT HOLLYWOOD FRINGE:

Hollywood Fringe is an annual, open-access, community-derived event celebrating freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community.

Throughout the festival, which runs 6/11/26 – 6/28/26, the arts take over the Hollywood neighborhood. Hundreds of productions are staged in fully equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other unexpected places by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers.

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