She Said Yes (Dv8 Productions) 2015 Toronto Fringe Review

She Said Yes at the 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival. Photo of (L-R) Jon Champagne, Virginia Woodall, Jennifer-Beth Hanchar, Jamie Champagne

 

She Said Yes (Dv8 Productions) at the 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival is a comedy about dating and relating in the 21st century and is told through the eyes of its playwright, Virginia Woodall.

I found Woodall’s dry, witty delivery and relaxed attitude really charming as she narrated her dating highs, lows, and total misfortunes. I liked that it felt like she was talking right to me. Clearly, she is a talented comedic actor and writer with some serious potential to go far.

Woodall should be very proud of her work. She is a smart, sharp, witty writer with a clear sense of how to reach her audience. That being said, there were a couple moments where the energy dropped, or the cues weren’t quickly picked up. I felt like the script could have used a tighter edit here and there. It sometimes flowed like it was a bunch of sketches loosely stitched together.

Incidentally, even though this was Woodall’s show, I felt the stand out performances were by Jamie and Jon Champagne. Twin brothers in real life, they nailed every character they played and fed off of each other’s energy. They stole my focus every time they were on stage because of their enthusiastic commitment to everything they were doing. Every gesture, every word and every quirk was completely justified. These guys are comedy gold.

Woodall’s sidekick, Jennifer-Beth Hanchar, was the perfect best friend/straightwoman. She definitely had a couple of characters up her sleeve and I really appreciated that she didn’t play for the laughs. She just IS funny and that’s enough.

All in all, this cast really plays well together and  the audience was definitely kept laughing. This show has its flaws but they are more than made up for in the performances. Go see this show and have a good belly laugh. You may even be able to identify with some of the dating horror stories!

Details

  • She Said Yes is playing until July 12th at Tarragon Theatre Extraspace (30 Bridgman Ave.)
  • Tickets are $12 in advance, $10 at the door. The festival also offers a range of money saving tickets and passes for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062), from the festival box office down Honest Ed’s Alley (581 Bloor West), or from the venue box office starting one hour before the performance. Venue sales are cash-only.
  • Be advised that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted. Set your watch to CBC time, and arrive a few minutes early to avoid disappointment.
  • Warnings: Mature Language

Show Times

  • July 05 at 07:00 PM
  • July 06 at 01:00 PM
  • July 08 at 11:00 PM
  • July 09 at 01:45 PM
  • July 10 at 09:45 PM
  • July 12 at 03:30 PM

Photo of (L-R) Jon Champagne, Virginia Woodall, Jennifer-Beth Hanchar, Jamie Champagne by Calwyn Shurgold