The fourth annual Fort Myers Fringe runs May 28 – 31 and features an impressive line-up of top national and internationally touring independent artists. One standout performance from this year’s festival will be the special closing performance of “Josephine: a burlesque cabaret dream play” about the extraordinary life of the first African-American international superstar Josephine Baker.
After garnering only limited success in the U.S. in the early 20th century, Baker moved to France in 1927 where she quickly became a sensation and an iconic symbol of both the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties. She was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture. She broke boundaries of gender, race and sexuality having had multiple interracial marriages and homosexual relationships. She also performed in men’s clothing long before the term “drag” entered our vernacular.
Baker was also a spy for the French Resistance during WWII, and later adopted 12 children from four continents. She was also a civil rights activist whose success allowed her to live free from the racial oppression of the U.S., buy who never stopped fighting for acceptance in America.
We take a deeper dive into “Josephine” in a conversation with the show’s co-creator, and international award-winning vocalist, dancer, costume designer, and choreographer Tymisha Harris.
If You Go:
Fort Myers Fringe special closing performance of “Josephine”
The Historic Arcade Theare at the Florida Rep
2268 Bay Street Fort Myers, FL 33901
Sunday, May 31, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.
