Fun reigns supreme in a glittery, dark, experimental piece of dance theater.

Beneath the shimmer of a disco ball, two lucky contestants dance like they have the world on a string. The year is 1976 and the martinis never run dry. They’ve hit the jackpot! What could go wrong?

While the contestants nearly lose their minds with the pleasure of being selected, The Host has reconfigured the game. Ripped headfirst from their shrimp cocktail, gameplay unfolds at breakneck speed. Cement punctures the dancehall, the party grinds to a halt, and an inky night belches to the surface.

Award-winning dance makers Lisa Fagan and Lena Engelstein, performing with acclaimed actor Marianne Rendón, bring Friday Night Rat Catchers to Philly fresh off of a sold-out run at Under the Radar Festival and Live Artery Festival.

“The High Weird” – Helen Shaw, The New Yorker

Performance Information

September 17-19, 2026

Pricing

$50 Supporter
$35 Standard
$15 Students & 25-and-Unders
$2 FringeACCESS

FringeArts Member discounts & benefits available

Venue

FringeArts

140 N. Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19106

About the Artists

Lisa Fagan and Lena Engelstein

LISA FAGAN and LENA ENGELSTEIN are NYC-based experimental choreographers and performers whose work has been dubbed “The High Weird” and “dance theater at its peak potential” by critics. Since 2017, they’ve functioned as a cogenerative, circulatory idea machine, whose unconventional performative frameworks are rooted in dance-adjacent physicality but reimagine what choreography can be used to accomplish theatrically.

Recent work includes Friday Night Rat Catchers (world premiere March 2025 at New York Live Arts; Remounted in 2027’s Under the Radar and Live Artery Festivals; One of only two 2026 Under the Radar Commissions), Deepe Darknesse (Jan 2024 in New York Live Arts’ Live Artery; full-page review in The New York Times; premiere June 2023 at The Collapsable Hole), 1-800-3592-113592 (March 2024 at MITU580 with performance collective CHILD, of which Fagan/Engelstein are founding members; included in “Best Theater of 2024, ” The New Yorker), Catches No Flies (Jan 2020, Exponential Festival; Inaugural Exponential Fellowship), Red Carrots (Jan 2019, Exponential Festival), and more. They are recipients of the 2025 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists in Dance, BAC Open artists in residence at Baryshnikov Arts Center (Fall ‘23), two NYSCA Individual artists grants, and support from Mercury Store, Coffey Street Artists Initiative, and others.

Creative & Production Team

Choreography, Direction + Performance: Lisa Fagan & Lena Engelstein
Performer + Devising Partner: Marianne Rendón
Production Stage Management: Kelly Shaffer Allen
Sound Design: Tei Blow
Lighting Design: Masha Tsimring
Scenic Design: Jian Jung and Josh Oberlander
Costume Design: Normandy Sherwood
Creative Producer: Emma Orme
Production Management: Karl Allen
Dramaturg: Iris McCloughan
Prop Design: Hannah Bird
Assistant Stage Manager: Ross Werner Winslow
Associate Sound Design: Lola Basiliere

Supporters

FringeArts Co-Producers
Christie Hartwell
Ginny and Jason Susini
Judith Tannenbaum

Accessibility

Wheelchair/Limited Mobility Seating  and Sensory Kits Available. Venue social narrative is available online. Check PhillyFringe.org for additional services for specific shows.

Content Considerations

Contact the Fringe Festival Box Office for up to date accessibility information.

Health & Safety

Masks are optional, vaccines are not required. More information about FringeArts COVID policies can be found here.