Member News

NYC-based drag artists Xena Fauxbia and Soda Pressed tackle “the greatest night in show business history” alongside cultural criticism of societal fatphobia

(Rochester, NY) August 14, 2026—Organizers of the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival announced that Judy Garland is Fat at Carnegie Hall will play for one night only on Monday, September 21 in the festival’s Spiegeltent located in One Fringe Place, at the corner of Main and Gibbs Streets, in downtown Rochester. Coming to Rochester directly from the Edinburgh Fringe, Judy Garland is Fat is at Carnegie Hall stars New York City drag artists Xena Fauxbia (Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin) and Soda Pressed (Adin Lenahan) and centers around Judy Garland’s legendary 1961 performance at Carnegie Hall, known as “the greatest night in show business history.” Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. today at rochesterfringe.com, via phone at (585) 957-9837 or through the Rochester Fringe Festival App.

Special guest star Anna Crew-Sis, Miss Gay Pride Rochester 2024, will open for the show.

When Judy Garland played Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961, everything was on the line: her financial livelihood, her legacy, and her relationship with her body. Sixty-five years later, drag artists Xena Fauxbia and Soda Pressed will resurrect this iconic performance through a messy, virtuosic, experimental lip-sync extravaganza.

Blending drag, theater, and cultural criticism, this show examines the historic and contemporary intersections of societal fatphobia and the entertainment industry. Through Judy impressions and deeply personal confession, these drag artists worship at the altar of a queer icon to mine their own complex relationships with hunger, weight, and the absurdity of never quite fitting into "The Costume.”

“This show is a deep, heartfelt tribute to Judy Garland,” said artists Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin and Adin Lenahan. “But for all the praise she received for her talent, the public was equally vicious about her weight and she was constantly under scrutiny by studio execs to stay ‘camera-slim.’ We wish we could say things have changed. But they haven’t. We’re doing this because we proudly reclaim the word FAT—not as an insult, nor something to fear or whisper about, but as a wacky, aching celebration of weighty desire.”

Judy Garland is Fat at Carnegie Hall opened this year at the FRIGID’S Queerly Festival in New York City in June during Gay Pride Month, followed by a run at the Brooklyn Art Haus in July. It will be showing at theSpace on the Mile at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland from August 24-29 before coming to Rochester Fringe. Judy Garland is Fat at Carnegie Hall is produced by Undiscovered Countries, a Brooklyn-based, peer-led incubator for new and developing interdisciplinary art. Their mission is to foster a diverse, engaged community by showcasing subversive, accessible work from artists lacking conventional support.

Audiences of Judy Garland is Fat at Carnegie Hall will experience their favorite Judy Garland songs from The Trolley Song to For Me and My Gal, interwoven into a story that faces our society’s infatuation with skinny, including corsets, pills, diets, and SlimFast. Drag artists Kaela and Adin share a lip-synced version of You Made Me Love You sung as an ode to Ozempic, while Stormy Weather becomes an emotional reaction to the relentless public criticism on Judy Garland’s own body and the pressure to stay thin, while fighting drug addiction and an eating disorder.

Judy Garland was just 38 years-old when she made her Carnegie Hall debut after a long recovery from illness, weight loss, and vocal rest. She was greeted with a standing ovation before she even took the microphone, and the crowd remained on their feet throughout the evening, including a star-studded audience with Richard Burton and Julie Andrews.  She sang 27 numbers, often interrupting herself with encore requests, and was frequently interrupted by applause. The live recording from that night became a Grammy winner for Album of the Year and spent 13 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts.

“Judy Garland is not only a brilliant vocalist, but also so emotionally authentic,” said Erica Fee, CEO & Festival Producer. “Paying tribute to her through the artistry, dynamics and humanity of drag feels gloriously on the nose and important.”

Standard tickets for Judy Garland is Fat at Carnegie Hall begin at $47 and VIP Booths seating six are available starting at $279. As with other shows in the Spiegeltent, prices rise on September 12 at 12 noon. The show duration is 90 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. Doors open 45 minutes before showtime. A cash bar is available. Content is recommended for ages 21+. The Spiegeltent is wheelchair accessible.

The Fringe takes place September 15 – 26. Tickets to all shows are available online at rochesterfringe.com, via phone at (585) 957-9837 (additional phone fees apply) or via the Rochester Fringe Festival App, which is available for download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the festival’s main box office at One Fringe Place at the corner of Main & Gibbs Streets starting September 13.

Rochester’s not-for-profit Fringe has become one of the largest, most successful, and most prominent fringe festivals in the nation, the largest multidisciplinary performing arts festivals in New York State, and one of the region’s most anticipated festivals each year. The 2026 Fringe will feature 715 performances of 297 productions at 45 venue locations in just 12 days, including Comedy, Theatre, Dance, Music, Kids’ Shows, Multidisciplinary & Circus, Spoken Word, and Visual Arts & Film.  

ABOUT THE ESL ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL:
The 12-day ESL Rochester Fringe Festival is one of the nation’s largest fringe festivals and has been recognized by the New York Times as “one of the country’s more prominent multidisciplinary events.” It is also New York State’s largest performing arts festival and the current winner, three years running, of CITY Magazine’s Best of Rochester Award for Best Arts Event. This year, the Fringe celebrates its 15^th season. Nearly a million people have attended more than 7,000 performances and events at the Fringe since its inception in 2012. The non-profit organization’s mission is to offer platforms for artists, new audiences for venues, and unparalleled public access to incredible art. It strives to be diverse and inclusive, as well as to stimulate downtown Rochester culturally and economically. The Fringe showcases the work of regional, national, and international artists from emerging to superstar. Audiences at Fringe also have the rare opportunity to attend a performance at the Spiegeltent, which is one of the most unique performing arts venues in the world.

ABOUT ESL:
With more than 100 years of locally owned history, ESL Federal Credit Union serves as a full-service financial institution to more than 465,000 members and 18,800 businesses. Founded in 1920, the company provides personal banking, business banking, mortgage services and wealth management services through its locally based 33-branch network; telephone, mobile and online banking; and live chat center. The Rochester-based financial institution employs more than 1,000 people in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region and holds more than $10.8 billion in assets. Since 1996, ESL has paid out 30 consecutive years of Owners’ Dividends to its members totaling more than $350 million. Since the creation of its Community Impact initiative in 2018, ESL has reinvested more than $182 million in grants throughout the community. The company has appeared on Great Place to Work® lists since 2010. ESL Federal Credit Union is headquartered at 225 Chestnut Street, in Rochester, and can be found online at www.esl.org.

ESL ROCHESTER FRINGE SPONSORS:
ESL; Rochester Area Community Foundation; New York State Council on the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust; Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation; 7Crest Financial Partners; Dr. Dawn F. Lipson; Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation; City of Rochester; Monroe County; University of Rochester; RIT; Mary Mulligan Trust; Elaine P. and Richard U. Wilson Foundation; Louis S. and Molly B. Wolk Foundation; Konar Enterprises; Golisano Foundation; The Rubens Family Foundation; Lake Beverage; The Inn on Broadway; Hyatt Regency Rochester; Nazareth University; St. John Fisher University; Monroe Community College; The Pike Company; Hamilton A/V; Wilkins RV; McCarthy Tents & Events; Broccolo Tree & Lawn Care; Liccardi Radio Services; Finger Lakes Distilling; Aspire Transformation Services; Visit Rochester; The Spindler Family Foundation; The Harley School; Wegmans; City Blue Imaging; Canandaigua National Bank; Yelp!; AdHouse Productions; Walk Up Advertising; Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC; and House of Guitars.

ABOUT FRINGE FESTIVALS:
In 1947, eight theatre groups showed up - uninvited - to perform at the newly established Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. Although not listed in the official program, the groups performed anyway, at venues they found for themselves. The following year, a Scottish journalist coined the term “festival fringe” to describe these non-curated shows that began turning up annually. The Edinburgh Fringe is now the world’s largest arts festival and the third largest event after the Olympics and the World Cup.  Today, there are more than 250 Fringe Festivals worldwide, with nearly 50 in the United States. The ESL Rochester Fringe Festival was the first in Upstate New York.