A Sharp, Unflinching Look at 15-Year-Old Social Hierarchy and Queer Denial Headed to The Wild Project
A FEATURED EVENT of The Fresh Fruit Festival MAINSTAGE
Rising playwright and director, Esme Roberts brings the sweltering tension of a West Coast summer to the East Village with the New York premiere of Little Bitches. Part of the 2026 Fresh Fruit Festival Mainstage, this sharp coming-of-age comedy opens Wednesday, April 22, at The Wild Project (195 E 3rd St), joining a season defined by “LGBTQ+ brilliance and inclusive storytelling.”
The Play: Hierarchy, Heat, and Heartbreak
Set in the pressure-cooker environment of a California summer camp, Little Bitches follows a 15-year-old girl navigating the treacherous waters of teenage social structures while firmly in denial about her own identity. As the temperature rises, a fracture in her carefully constructed social hierarchy threatens to expose the one thing she isn’t ready to face: the truth about being a lesbian. Roberts’ script is a “tough-love” look at the comedy and cruelty of youth, moving audiences out of their comfort zones and into the “raw truth” of the adolescent experience.
Performance Schedule:
- Wednesday, April 22 @ 6:00 PM
- Friday, April 24 @ 8:00 PM
- Saturday, April 25 @ 8:30 PM
A Proven Success on the Rise
Though making its Fresh Fruit debut, Little Bitches arrives in Manhattan with significant momentum. This marks the third production of the play, which first captivated audiences in February 2025 at the prestigious Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica. Having directed the original production herself, Roberts brings a distinct, “industry-savvy” authenticity to the staging, capturing the specific vernacular and “fighting shape” discipline of modern Gen-Z queer culture.
About the Playwright
Esme Roberts wrote her first full-length play, Little Bitches, at age 17. She produced and directed its premiere at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences to sold-out houses. Since then, the play has been produced at NYU’s Bridge Productions Playfest. A student of Drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (Playwrights Horizons studio), Roberts is originally from Los Angeles and performs with the comedy groups Etch a Sketch and The Lawfirm.
Why This Matters Now
As the 2026 theatrical landscape shifts toward more authentic, “behind-the-curtain” narratives, Little Bitches stands out as a vital entry. It joins a festival lineup that includes industry veterans like Dennis Bush and Reginald T. Jackson, proving that the Fresh Fruit Festival remains the premier platform for both established masters and the most promising new voices in the LGBTQ+ community.
Ticket Information
Tickets for Little Bitches and the Fresh Fruit Festival Mainstage are available now. Due to the high demand for Bush’s previous premieres, early booking is strongly recommended.
- Venue: The Wild Project | 195 E 3rd St, New York, NY
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