Kahlil Ashanti in Basic Training at Orlando Fringe Credit: Courtesy Photo

Just to be clear, Fringe legend TJ Dawe is not personally appearing at this year’s Festival, but he is presenting this off-Broadway award-winner in his stead, which should be reason enough to pay attention to solo writer-performer Kahlil Ashanti’s astonishing autobiographical tour de force. In Basic Training, Ashanti recounts his journey from an abusive childhood home to the U.S. Air Force, where he joined the elite Tops In Blue performance troupe and came under fire while entertaining troops during the first Iraq war. 

Much like Stanley Kubrick’s movie Full Metal Jacket, some of Basic Training’s most memorable moments involve an aggro drill instructor, but this one would make R. Lee Ermey break down and cry. Be warned that this script is stuffed with shocking racial and sexual slurs, as well as disturbing violence. But the show is also suffused with inspirational intimacy — as when Ashanti bonds with a fellow recruit who is bullied for having Tourette’s, or sings for a terminally ill child — as well as frequently fall-down funny. Finally, the Oedipal explosion that comes at the end is among the cathartic climaxes I’ve ever seen on a Fringe stage. 

However, what truly elevates Basic Training above the sea of solo Fringe shows is not simply the stories Ashanti tells, but the mesmerizing ways in which he fully embodies all his characters — from his loving yet secretive mother to his conspiracy-spouting Black Nationalist uncle — with razor-sharp distinctions in body language and vocal quality. Don’t let his grey hair and dad bod fool you; Kahlil commands the stage with the fluid physicality, hyper-expressive peepers, and impressive old-school hip-hop skills of the hungry young stand-up he was at the end of the last century. 

Basic Training is far from the first Fringe show about how a biological family can be destroyed by secrets, and then restored with the help of chosen family; but Ashanti’s raw, vulnerable take on this universal story comes from a veteran’s perspective, which we don’t frequently see at the Festival. Although he’s performed it internationally, this is Kahlil’s first time touring this show in the USA. Thank him for his service by supporting this singular show ASAP, so it won’t be his last tour.

TJ Dawe (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Green Venue, Orlando Family Stage
60 minutes; 13 and up (Warning: Adult language)
Tickets: $15

Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

This article appears in Orlando Fringe 2026.