After a two-year hiatus, the Capital Fringe Festival is returning this July — though it won’t be quite as large as in years past, and it’s got a surprising new address.

The event, one of D.C.’s largest performing arts festivals, used to span multiple weeks and host shows at venues in various D.C. locations. While the 2022 Capital Fringe will feature 30 theater productions, that’s down from 90 in 2019, and the festival is limited to two weekends, July 14-17 and July 21-24.

It’s also moving to Georgetown for the first time in the festival’s 17-year history — the Georgetown Park retail complex on M Street NW, to be exact. (Arena Stage, Blind Whino, and a mix of local churches helped host the 2018 and 2019 festivals.)

The change in locations is due to a major rent increase at performance venues, says Julianne Brienza, Capital Fringe’s CEO and founding director.

“Fringe is not in a position to pay the increased rent at established performance venues,” Brienza said in an email. “The last week of January [2022] there was still no solution to our venue crisis, but I knew if the Festival was going to happen we had to open the applications (which we did).”

Brienza says the Georgetown BID reached out to help Fringe find low-cost, vacant retail locations. The result is that Fringe will be hosting most of the shows in spaces that formerly housed retailers such as DSW,  Washington Sports Club, and a CrossFit gym. Festival organizers will set up theaters with 51 seats that have names like “Home Rule Stage” and “23rd Amendment Stage” to represent D.C.’s fight for statehood.

“There has been so much change over the past two years, so the Fringe Festival returning is nothing short of a miracle,” Brienza said in a press release.

Capital Fringe itself was not immune to that change. The nonprofit sold its headquarters building off H Street NE for $2.2 million in February 2021, about a year into the pandemic, D.C. deed records show. The buyer is an entity affiliated with District Growth, a condo developer, and the sale price appears to be a substantial loss for Fringe; the group bought the building for $4.5 million in 2015, with plans to build out theater spaces and create a year-round places for performers and artists to work and congregate.

Fringe now lists its headquarters as 996 Maine Ave. SW, a building at The Wharf. We’ve asked Brienza for comment about the headquarters and building sale and will update this post when we hear back.

This summer’s Fringe performances will also reflect the immense shifts happening in the world today — including the climate crisis, the pandemic, substance abuse, and even cloning. The shows include stand-up and sketch comedy, musical theater, and cabaret, among other formats.

“This year’s artists are bringing stories to Georgetown that reflect what we are experiencing on the planet right now, and just silly stuff that will hopefully make the audiences feel good,” Brienza said in the release.

Tickets go on sale June 21, when a full schedule will be released. All shows run no more than 60 to 75 minutes, and tickets are $15 for individual performances. Each act receives 70% of the ticket revenue.

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect which venues Brienza was referring to with regard to rents. She was referring to performance venues generally, not any specific venues.