HOW TO BECOME A SAINT (WHILE WEARING PANTS)
Written & Performed by Lex Alston, Becca Canziani, Brooke Ferris, Lynn Hodeib & Ania Upstill
Presented by the New York City Fringe Festival
April 1, 2026 - April, 4, 2026
What in the name of all that’s holy did I just witness?
As you enter, you know you are here for something special because you’re greeted by two angels who know you as a saint. These angels are dressed in slightly upgraded Christmas pageant outfits with lots of blue eyeshadow. This is Saints’ Heaven, and on your saint day you reenact the story of your sainthood. Today is Saint Marinos’ Day, and this is one shy saint! But the story of Saint Marinos is quite fascinating.
Raised as a devout Christian, Marina convinced her father, Eugenius, to let her join a monastery with him. To do so, she shaved her head, donned men's clothing, and took the name Marinos.
After Eugenius died, Marinos continued her ascetic life in secret. During a journey, an innkeeper’s daughter was seduced by a soldier. Following the soldier's instructions, the girl falsely accused Marinos of fathering her child. Rather than revealing her sex to prove her innocence, Marinos accepted the blame, preferring to be seen as a male sinner than an honorable woman.
The abbot expelled Marinos, who lived as a beggar outside the monastery gates for years. When the child was born, the innkeeper abandoned it with her. Marinos raised the boy with devotion until the monks eventually persuaded the abbot to let them return. Marinos spent her final years performing grueling manual labor while raising the child.
At age forty, Marinos died. While preparing her body for burial, the monks discovered she was biologically female. Realizing her immense sacrifice and innocence, the monastery hailed her as a saint.
How to Become a Saint (while wearing pants) uses clown, physical theater and music to celebrate the queerness of sainthood. In addition to St. Marinos, they cover Margery Kempe (mother to virgin), and Joan of Arc (country girl to gender nonconforming military leader and icon). They are reinterpreting how we see our saints.
Brooke Ferris as Marjery Kempe steals the show with her Ecstasy of Saint Marj. It’s a show stopper. But what more do you expect from a saint who bore 14 children and still gets to call herself a virgin!
If you haven’t been too scandalized, you'll really enjoy the Sainthood Bingo!
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Nicole Jesson.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on April 4, 2026. All rights reserved.
