FROM HEDGE FUND BOARDROOMS TO THE FRINGE STAGE:
WRITER-PERFORMER ADAM BRADLEY PREMIERES RAW, MUSICAL SOLO SHOW
“IS THIS THING ON?”
Directed by Award-Winning Director Padraic Lillis, the Candid Exploration of Ambition, Grief, and Reclaimed Artistry Runs September 8–10 at Philadelphia Fringe Festival

PHILADELPHIA, PA — What happens to the version of yourself you put down — and is it ever too late to pick it back up? Writer, musician, performer and executive Adam Bradley answers that question with vulnerability, sharp wit, and original live music in the world premiere of his autobiographical solo show, Is This Thing On?, running for a strictly limited three-performance engagement at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival from September 8–10, 2026, at the Yellow Bicycle Theater.

Directed by acclaimed developer of new theatrical works Padraic Lillis (The Farm Theater, Rise and Fall of a Teenage Cyberqueen), Is This Thing On? tracks Bradley’s unconventional trajectory across two vastly different worlds.

From a boy discovering something real at the piano to international tours with the legendary Yale Whiffenpoofs, Bradley’s early life was defined by melody and performance. Yet as the weight of adulthood, career, marriage, and fatherhood took hold, his artistic dreams were quietly shelved for a high-stakes corporate career—including a decade inside one of the world’s most intense hedge funds, where colleagues rated each other’s performance in real time.

Following a profound personal loss, Bradley began confronting the distance between the life he had built and the artistic identity he’d left behind. The result is an intimate, laugh-out-loud, and deeply moving stage work about identity, responsibility, and the quiet cost of compromise.

“At its core, the show is about stepping back into my voice and reclaiming who I’ve always been,” says Bradley. “It’s about the version of yourself you put down somewhere along the way—and whether the parts of ourselves we leave behind ever really leave us.”

PERFORMANCE & VENUE INFORMATION
Title: Is This Thing On?
Written & Performed by: Adam Bradley
Directed by: Padraic Lillis
Venue: Yellow Bicycle Theater, 1435 Arch St., Floor 2, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Performance Schedule:
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Tickets: $25
Audience: 18+ (Adult language)
TICKETS

ABOUT ADAM BRADLEY
Adam Bradley is a writer, musician, performer, photographer, and executive leader. Raised in the Catskills of New York, Bradley has spent his life bridging the artistic and corporate realms—from university stages and international tours with the Whiffenpoofs to songwriting rooms in New York and Los Angeles, alongside an executive business career. He lives in Stamford, Connecticut with his wife, twin sons, and two parakeets that double as backup vocalists.

ABOUT PADRAIC LILLIS (DIRECTOR)
Padraic Lillis is a director, writer, and educator with over 25 years dedicated to developing new plays. Under his leadership at The Farm Theater, the College Collaboration Project commissioned and developed Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor Is the Villain (seven-time Tony Award nominee, upcoming feature film). His directing accolades include the NY IT Award for Outstanding Director (Rise and Fall of a Teenage Cyberqueen), the NY International Fringe Festival Directing Award (Bully), and Best Director at the United Solo Festival (The Road Back). Lillis is a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company and current director of the upcoming Kathleen Turner film Joan’s Teeth. (Instagram: @thefarmtheater)