Author Archive
Review: Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes (Second City Toronto)
By Megan Mooney
One of the things I love about going to a Second City show is that I know I’m going to get to laugh. Even if there are skits that drag, things that aren’t stupendous, there is *always* something I’ll like. I will *always* laugh.
Compared to the previous more theatrical revue, Second City for Mayor, the current one, Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes seemed to bring the company back to more pure sketch comedy roots, and it works.
2010 Buskerfest in Toronto should be on your to-do list for this weekend
By Megan Mooney
I just spent a wonderful 6 hours at the 11th Annual Scotiabank Buskerfest in support of Epilepsy Toronto.
This kind of thing is just one of the many things that I love about Toronto. Front Street is closed off from Jarvis to Yonge Street and it’s packed with things to see and do. There’s all the requisite festival food (mmm, funnel cake), there some interactive festival stuff (face painting seemed to be a big hit), and it’s all held together by amazing performances from amazing people.
There are the big stages and spectacles, but then there are also little gems tucked away in surprising places. Like, the mini–musical-ride offered up by The Renfrews on a sidewalk by a cafe. Even with cardboard horses the Mountie uniform makes people look regal. It’s impressive really.
Contest – Win tickets to Love, Loss and What I Wore playing in Toronto (extended to October 2nd, 2010)
You have no doubt heard the buzz, Love, Loss and What I Wore is making even more fans with it’s current run in Toronto. So much so that the show has been extended by a month, and is now playing until October 2nd.
In case you have it in your head that only women will enjoy it, Richard Ouzounian gave the production 4 out of 4 stars in his review for the Toronto Star. And yes, a Mooney on Theatre review will be published soon too.
But here’s where it gets even better. You have the chance to win a pair of free tickets to the show!
Please excuse our silence…
Just a quick note to apologize for the lack of articles this week, we’re applying for a grant and it’s taking up every waking second we have.
But, don’t worry, articles galore are to come, since Summerworks starts this week, and so does our coverage of it.
Alphabetical list of 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival Reviews
Toronto Fringe Reviews
If you’re looking for an alphabetical list of all the 2010 Fringe Festival shows we’ve covered then click here.
Clicking on a play title will take you to the review.
Enjoy!
Pick of the Fringe (Punch In the Box Productions) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
There are a few ingredients needed to make a great sketch show. You need talent, a point of view, strong writing and competent directing. Simply put, Pick of the Fringe has it all.
The Devil and Billy Markham (Chaos Theory Theatre Company) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Megan Mooney
If you don’t already know Shel Silverstein’s piece The Devil and Billy Markham, picture a raunchier, graphic, and more profane grown-up version of something like Casey at the Bat set in good ol’ Mudville. Because of the rhythm and flow it feels similar, although, it’s certainly not something you’d be teaching your children to recite in grade school.
The piece is billed as ‘storytelling’, and it makes sense with this as the text they’re working from. Storytelling differs from ‘traditional’ theatre because the person on stage is actively talking to the audience, and although different voices are used, there isn’t the same focus on ‘developing a character’. In fact, for me, when it works best for me is when it feels as great as it did when my dad would read to me when I was a kid, using all sorts of different voices for the characters.
Oy! Just Beat It! (Theatre Ji) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Megan Mooney
Michael Jackson and Bollywood take the stage in Toronto’s Fringe Festival
Anita Majumdar has a reputation and track record to live up to. She’s a woman with a phenomenal amount of talent. Her most recent piece, Oy! Just Beat It! may not work as well for me as her earlier work, but there is still a lot to recommend this piece.
(Sponsored Post) The Whores at Toronto and Hamilton Fringe
By Megan Mooney
At Mooney on Theatre we are grateful for the support from our sponsors. We hope that to reward their support of the arts in Toronto you go and check out their show.
I’m talking about The Whores at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show has been getting some positive buzz. I am hearing great things and hope I get a chance to see it.
Darreck Chua, the president of the board for the Toronto Fringe Festival (aka, the Toronto Fringe God) named this one as a play to see.
And, an awesome added bonus, A portion of the proceeds from these performances will go to support Maggie’s Toronto, an advocacy group for sex workers.
Cactus: The Seduction (Jonno Katz) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Megan Mooney
Okay. Cactus: The Seduction is a friggin’ weird show. Luckily, it’s also a friggin’ awesome one.
This is a show that’s been selling out everywhere it’s gone, and the buzz clearly followed it to the 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival. I got there close to 20 minutes before the show started and was glad I had pre-booked my ticket. I’m pretty sure they were already sold out.
What’s particularly impressive about that is that it was the first performance of Cactus in Toronto at this year’s festival. Sometimes it seems a bit like pulling teeth to get audiences out to the first show of the festival. Everyone wants to wait for reviews to come out so they can choose which of the 150+ shows they’re going to go to.
If you’re looking for a traditional narrative, this isn’t the show for you. But if you have a sense of humour that sometimes trends towards the more base pursuits, and don’t mind a touch of the absurd, then you may very well pee yourself laughing at this one. Which would perhaps fit perfectly into this show.