Arts & Entertainment

Best Theater Festival

St. Lou Fringe

In the months leading up to St. Lou Fringe, the promotional materials were sassy and brashly irreverent. When the five-day festival began in June, a slew of adventuresome plays and dance events were diverting and provocative. Even the admittance buttons had a style all their own. The brand-new, breakthrough St. Lou Fringe had just about everything going for it — except crowds. The actors showed up; the hoped-for "bold audiences" did not. It has to be disappointing when you do everything right and few turn out to see it. Executive director Em Piro (see "Best Impresario" elsewhere in this issue) has vowed to forge ahead with Fringe '13, which will give Fringe 1.0 veterans a chance to lord it over the wide-eyed newcomers. "You didn't go last year? Get out! I've been there since the beginning!"