Here are the 11 shows that have been selected for the Best of Fringe:

ELLAmentary

From Review: Written and performed by Christine Aziz, this one-woman show is performed by a highly energetic, oddly mature “Ella Salmon” (nicknamed “Salmon-Ella” and other bacterial forms by meaner kids at school).

Touted as a “One Person Musical About Filling Out and Fitting In”, we follow Ella in what is to be her year – a year in which she achieves the popularity she has always coveted.

Hypnogogic Logic

From Review: There is no doubt about it, those Uncalled For boys sure know how to put on a fringe show. And a standing ovation at the end of tonight’s show proved just that.The thing that makes them stand out is that they are really smart. And not smart in a pompous way so that you walk out of their show thinking, ‘I don’t get it’. But smart in a way that makes you think about what they are saying and shake your head in a sort of, ‘how did they come up with that’ sort of way. This is why I liked this show so much – it was so damn clever. And funny too.

Kim’s Convenience

From Review: Jean Yoon’s performance as Mrs. Kim is heartbreaking and beautiful. Esther Jun plays the daughter with bounce and a light heart. Andre Sills plays several distinct roles in this play smartly and with thoughtfulness. Ins Choi, who plays the son, acts with honesty and idealism. This cast is talented, to say the least. The cultural and intergenerational dialogue helps showcase their unique approaches to acting.

Kim’s Convenience has been much praised about by theatregoers and critics alike. It was winner of the 2011 Toronto Fringe New Play Contest and is rumored to be a top Fringe contender for being picked up by Mirvish to run a full production

Living with Henry

From Review: Living With Henry is not about living with a roommate or living with a spouse. It’s about living with HIV. So if this issue has any personal impact on you, or you’re just affected by sad topics, pack your tissues.

It’s also a musical, in a very classic musical style. I personally find people breaking from dialogue into dramatic song very distancing so for me those numbers gave my eyes a chance to dry. My friend who was with me, who has excellent taste and does not find such things distracting, was more of a mess than I. So if you like dramatic musical theatre, bring even more tissues.

Love Virtually

From Review: Love, Virtually is a romantic comedy that explores the world of online dating and what it means to look for love and connection in the information age but it also explores the broader idea that we all create aspirational versions of ourselves in our online identities. Not only do we tend to exaggerate and bend the truth to make ourselves look better on sites like Plenty of Fish and OKCupid we also do the same on our Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

The plot follows the dating misadventures of Lauren, a woman in her early 30s whose friends set her up on a series of dates with guys from online dating sites.

Mickey & Judy

From Review: Michael Hughes is a musical theatre performer, cabaret singer and lifelong devotee of Judy Garland. As a kid, Michael’s burgeoning obsession with musicals, Judy Garland and cross-dressing worried his parents to the point where they sent him to a psychiatrist.

Twenty years later, that psychiatrist wanted to talk to him again. Michael agreed on the condition that the psychiatrist would relinquish photocopies of all the charts from his childhood analyses to him. Those charts are incorporated into Mickey & Judy, a musical revue and “pseudo-memoir” of Hughes’ childhood.

Pitch Blond

From Review: Pitch Blond is exactly the kind of show I hope to see at the Fringe. It’s well-acted, well-written and such a stunning example of what indie theatre artists can do.

Laura Anne Harris wrote and stars in this one-woman show about 1950s screen actress Judy Holliday. Holliday was known for playing ditzy blondes, but in fact had a 172 I.Q. Her ability to play dumb came in handy when she was called to testify about her “possible Communist ties” during the McCarthy era. The production spends much of its time on this aspect of Holliday’s life, though we do get glimpses about her childhood too.

Remember Maggy?

From Review: Remember, Maggie? was a lot like real relationships: painful, funny, unresolved, disquieting and beautiful. In this performance, a sister learns that loving someone does not make them a good person, and that a blood connection does not a sister make.

The script was surprisingly funny for a play that is certainly no comedy. Alzheimer’s and drug addiction are usually no laughing matters, nor is total family breakdown. Despite the heavy subject matter, the punch-lines are laugh out loud funny (no other way to say it) and the comedic timing demonstrated by the four clearly experienced and gifted actresses was superb.

The Soaps!

From Review: What can be said about National Theatre of the World’s Toronto Fringe Fundraising show The Soaps that hasn’t already been said? Great characters + hilariously relatable premise + 8 of the wittiest people working in theatre, film and TV = either Pi or The Soaps. Either way the talent is infinite. This round is set in the theatre town of “Shawford” (sound familiar?) behind the scenes of the latest show which, of course, is fraught with drama, conflict and intrigue. The audience laughed from the first sentence until the lights went down at the Bathurst St Theatre.

Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go

From Review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go!, directed by Allison Beula and playing at the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace, is a homage to the beach party films of the 1960s. I mean, what better way to celebrate the final weeks of summer vacation but throwing a beach party? It won’t happen if The Big Tuna has his way! And how else do you solve a problem but with a surf-off?

I’d heard rumours around the festival that the show was excellent, and frankly they aren’t wrong. It’s is an absolute riot, a delightful, entertaining musical that will have you humming the songs hours after you leave the theatre.

Details:

Opens Jul 20 and runs to Aug 5, shows performed in rep, nightly at 7 and 9 pm, mats Jul 29-30 at 4 pm. See website for details. $15. Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge. tocentre.com. 

Boyfriends, written by Alexander Carson and Nicholas Martin, is an imagined backstory for the stars of the 1970 film Husbands. Not the characters, mind you – this is an imagined evening in the lives of the three stars when they’re much younger. I imagine that a theatregoer with some familiarity with any of those actors – Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, and John Cassavetes – would have a richer experience of this play than I did. Without that, I was left to take it on its merits, which were somewhat uneven but in the end enough to make it worth seeing.

In this production, Ben and Peter are moving John into his new apartment. John invites Shirley, an escort, to the apartment and sets up a game in which they see which of them can most successfully woo her. Shirley, played by Katerina Georgieva, is marvelous in this role. She lets the audience see her managing the men - and the situation – just enough; it’s utterly right without falling over the fine line into parody. Johnathan Sousa was well cast as Peter, and brought an openness to the role that seemed perfectly true to the character. He’s the sensitive one; he falls for Shirley a little, and we get the sense that he could fall a little for anyone who was kind to him. It was well done.

I deeply wished that Nadeem Umar-Khitab, the actor who played Ben, came with a speed control of some kind, and director Benjamin Carson seems not to have found it either. Despite a lot of natural charisma, Umar-Khitab’s delivery ended up making nearly everything seem like an argument. I understood that the play was in some part about these friends who argue often, but I wanted some variation to the pace and volume.

We see less of Edward Charette then anyone else in his role as John, but he was solidly fine if also somewhat speedy. As it ended up, I felt a little tired by the fast loudness of large chunks of the work. That may account for my fondness for Georgieva and Sousa – they provided one of the few quiet, natural moments in the show.

For some reason, sound designer Jonah Greenbaum-Shinder made the choice to have the sound of rain running nonstop through the entire production, which I am forced to assume was a choice about movie-style realism. For sure, I am a less-is-more kind of guy when it comes to pre-recorded sound cues, but this was aurally numbing for me, and made it hard to hear the actors. I wouldn’t have done it. That said, I still think the piece is certainly worth seeing – especially for fans of the actors who have become characters of this film.

Details:

Boyfriends played at Factory Studio Theatre as part of the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival.

Operation Impervious is about two roommates, Randall (Bil Antoniou) and Martin (Michael Soulard) who set themselves to the task of proving that the most famous actor in the word, Tom Cr-shhh!, is gay. As the two embark on their mission by first infiltrating a celebrity-run cult, Randall’s ex-boyfriend Amos (Joel MacMeekin), having been presumed lost on a deserted island, returns.

The show is zany, bizarre, funny, over-the-top and campy, very campy. Sometimes a little too much on the camp, but you get into the hang of it soon enough. The performance is high and energetic (refreshing at 10:30 pm) which at times lead to rapidly delivered dialogue that comes out a bit too quick.

When the show began and I started to get into it, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, especially when Amos enters the scene followed by this tall, gun-toting, black Amazon of a woman with a big afro, heels and a gold lame dress (very Foxy Brown/Cleopatra). She is later revealed as Cassie Starbuckle (Ree Andrews) who is an enforcer type of character for the celebrity cult – an interesting addition that I would’ve liked to have learned more about. She also serves as marquee girl dancing across the stage while the crew changes set pieces between scenes. Gives you something to look at.

The show takes a very humorous jab at pop culture, the foundation for most of their jokes, and leads us to a rather amusing revelation to the mystery of Hollywood religion and star power. It also felt quite familiar to me because I grew up with friends in high school that remind me of Randall and Martin, who kept me always in the know of celebrity gossip…whether I liked it or not. (And I blame them and easy television access for my continued fascination, curse you TMZ!)

I enjoyed Operation Impervious; it’s a helluva lot of fun. It could use a little bit of tweaking in dialogue, delivery and staging but it’s still well worth the watch. As this is the closing night for this production, I do hope they get another run soon.

Operation Impervious is written by Bil Antoniou, directed by Victoria Shepherd, and stars Ree Andrews, Bil Antoniou, JP Baldwin, Sarah Cunningham, Joel MacMeekin, Alan Shonfield and Michael Soulard.

Details

- Operation Impervious is playing at the Robert Gill Theatre (214 College St).

Performances

July 7 – 8:15 pm
July 8 – 5:15 pm
July 10 – 12 pm
July 11 – 10:30 pm
July 12 – 6:15 pm
July 15 – 2:15 pm
July 16 – 10:30 pm

Tickets

- Individual Fringe tickets are available at the door for $10 ($5 for FringeKids), cash only. Late comers will not be permitted.
- Tickets are also available online at fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062, or in person at The Fringe Test, 581 Bloor St. W (Advance tickets are $11 – $10 + $1 convenience fee)
- Money saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows.

With 145 shows, it’s impossible to see everything. So I asked my writers what they will be sad to miss if they don’t get to see it. Here’s what they told me:

George Perry – George hopes he gets a chance to see One Good Marriage. It was recommend to him while waiting in line at two other shows. It’s from a hotbed of theatre, Winnipeg. It’s also at Factory Theatre, a venue he loves.

Heather Bellingham – Heather hopes to see Headscarf and the Angry Bitch because she’s heard its hilarious – what’s not funny about someone who describes herself as the Muslim “Weird Al”?

Megan Mooney – Megan finds it incredibly difficult to narrow down the list of what she really really wants to see. She’s heard amazing things about Raton Laveur, The Soaps, Love Octagon, Virginia Aldrige, Radio Active Drag Queens from the Year 3000, Tiki Bikini, of course Kim’s Convenience (since she doesn’t live under a rock) and a million more. She hasn’t gotten to very many shows at all this Fringe because she’s been busy coordinating coverage for Mooney on Theatre, CBC, chasing her toddler around and being stupidly pregnant. So, what she really really wants, is to be able to clone herself a couple times and go to everything.

Nadaa Hyder – After having a new found appreciation for dance performances due to some shows in this year’s Fringe Festival, Nadaa would really love to squeeze in a viewing of Bloom. Bloom seems like an intriguing and unusual show with an interesting plot that she is hoping to see on Sunday.

Samantha Wu – So many shows, so little time and with such a wide range of amazing performances to catch, you can only attend so many. The one show I would’ve loved to catch is Kim’s Convenience. Saying that there’s buzz around this show is a big understatement. Kim’s Convenience is the winner of the 2011 Toronto Fringe New Play Contest and holds a pretty impressive star-packed cast. After reading Tiffany’s review of her experience and while also coming from an Asian Canadian background, I feel this show is something I can really get behind. Hope the show gets another run, I’d love to be there. (editors note: Not only is it getting an extra show as Patron’s Pick, but it was also picked up for the Best of Fringe Uptown)

Sonia Borkar – Sonia would love to see Sex, Religion & Other Hang-ups as there’s a lot of buzz around the show and Mooney on Theatre gave it a fabulous review. She also loves that James Gangl has embraced the comment about him having “huge balls” and is going around shouting it out to people that are waiting in line to see other shows.

Tiffany Budhyanto – Tiffany wishes she could see Shotgun Wedding because a) she’s been hearing rave reviews about it, b) she loves musicals, and c) there’s a character from Scarborough where she lives.

Wayne Leung – Wayne is hoping to have the chance to catch Living With Henry because he is interested in seeing a musical in the classic style tackling the serious subject matter of living with HIV/AIDS from today’s point of view.

The Traveling Saleman & His Magical Suitcase of Desires! by Zanni Arte Productions is a great show. One that works for both children and adults. I think that kids between the ages of 4 – 12 or so would be in their bliss during this piece filled with zany antics. But it’s also great for adults too. I’ve spoken to a number of adults who went and really enjoyed it, and I’ve recommended it to adults without children.

The description of the piece says that it’s told in the style of Commedia dell’arte, which personally, I think is kind of a shame. Not because I don’t like Commedia dell’arte, or think it’s inappropriate for children, but because I think that unless someone is really really really into theatre, they probably haven’t heard of it, and it sounds kind of fancy and intimidating. In truth it’s just kind of over-the-top comedy, kind of somewhere between farce and slapstick, that is just about perfect for a kids show.

And it was true to that over-the-top feel, in a way that just felt right.

Everyone did a great job on stage, but I was particularily in love with Tara Gerami in her roles as the Mayor and the Mayor’s daughter.

My one quibble? I’m pretty uncomfortable with the writer, Vincenzo Aliberti’s, director (Teodoro Dragonieri) and Joanne D’angelo’s use of a stutter as the thing to indicate when her character someone is ‘stupid’ and the lack of it to indicate he has become ‘smart’. Maybe pointing this out is pedantic, but stutters are generally either a neurological disorder, or based in trauma. Seems pretty unfortunate to take a disability and relate it to stupidity. Especially in a kid’s show, because I can picture a kid with a stutter going to this and being embarrassed and heartbroken through the whole thing.

But, that aside, it really was a great piece of entertainment. I highly recommend checking it out.

Details:

The Traveling Saleman & His Magical Suitcase of Desires! playing at The Palmerston Library Theatre

$10 for grown-ups, $5 for kids. Each show runs 60 mins.

Thu. July 7, 4:00 PM
Fri. July 8, 6:15 PM
Sat. July 9, 11:00 AM
Sun. July 10, 2:15 PM
Tue. July 12, 11:00 AM
Wed. July 13, 4:30 PM
Fri. July 15, 11:15 AM
Sat. July 16, 7:30 PM

- All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only). Tickets are available online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062, in person at The Fringe Tent at 581 Bloor St. W. (Advance tickets are $11 – $10+$1 convenience fee)

Photo of the full cast by Alex Nursall

The Bright Idea is a playful children’s play that will appeal to kids ages 4 – 10 or so I’d say. Narrated by a night-light, this piece follows two children as they help a lost shadow return to shadow land.

There is a bit of ’choose your own adventure‘ where the audience is given the choice between two things to move the action forward. I loved the idea of choose your own adventure in play format, but I’m not positive it worked here. I think the choices were too similar. They wouldn’t actually take the story in different directions, only change one action. Of course, I realise that developing, rehearsing and executing a more complex version where the choices drive the story may be a bit ambitious for a Fringe show.

There were more grown ups than kids in the one I saw, so the reception to the ‘which path should they take’ was luke-warm, but I think that little kids would probably really get into the idea of being able to choose what happens next.

I also felt like there was a missed opportunity for a bit more shadow-puppet play during the piece. In my experience, kids love shadow puppets, because it’s something they can try at home on their own, they don’t need special equipment.

Bottom line, I think this is a piece that has a lot of potential with a bit of workshopping. Where it stands right now I’d say it’s really just for kids. I’m not sure there is a ton in this for adults as a stand alone piece.

While there is room for improvement, I do think kids would get a kick out of the piece as-is. I also think that the 30 minute run time is a fantastic thing for a kid’s show. I wish more of them were in the 30 – 45 minute range.

Details:

The Bright Idea plays at Palmerston Library, 560 Palmerston Ave

Showtimes:
Thurs. July 7th @ 5:45pm
Fri. July 8th @ 8pm
Sat. July 9th @ 2:30pm
Mon. July 11th @ 1:15pm
Wed. July 13th @ 6:15pm
Thurs. July 14th @ 4pm
Sat. July 16th @ 1pm
Sun. July 17th @ 7pm

- All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only). Tickets are available online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062, in person at The Fringe Tent at 581 Bloor St. W. (Advance tickets are $11 – $10+$1 convenience fee)

It’s a bit difficult to describe this non-linear dance/theatre piece, so forgive me for stealing from the program notes here. Co-creator Tyson James refers to it as “wild and sexy, and full of sass, but it’s also full of confusion and sadness.” I’d say that’s a fair description – all of those emotions come across in a brief 50-minute show.

James is a rather elegant drag queen onstage, while his co-star Paul Charbonneau is more of a gay club kid. They take us through a series of monologues (some enhanced by voiceover) and dance pieces, illustrating some of the things they’ve come to discover about themselves and their sexuality.

Like any show that is made of a series of pieces, some moments come across stronger than others. I think I liked their monologues the best, like when James tells about his rough high school experience and his self-discovery in theatre school. I also enjoyed when Charbonneau showed off his skills as a contemporary dancer; his technique was quite strong.

That said, there is a dance piece in the middle of the show that goes a little too long for my liking. Performed only to the sounds of grunting and moaning, it shocks at first but starts to grate on the ears after a couple of minutes. I also wish that James and Charbonneau’s characters interacted more. Although they do physically dance together at times, their stories skew in opposite directions, so it sometimes feels like two one-man shows put together.

discharge has only one show left, so head down to the Robert Gill Theatre on Sunday if you want to see what is probably one of the more boundary-pushing works at this year’s Fringe.

Details: 

discharge is playing at The Robert Gill Theatre, 214 College Street, Toronto. 

Showtime: 50 min.

Sun, July 17. 2011 2:45 PM

- Individual Fringe tickets are available at the door for $10 ($5 for FringeKids), cash only.
- Latecomers will not be permitted.
- Tickets are also available online at fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062 or in person at The Fringe Tent (behind Honest Ed’s). Advance tickets are $11 – $10 + $1 convenience fee.
- Money saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows.

This is the story of farmers, a man/creature named Thog who lives in a log, and their friend the talking Raven. I really, really wish I could tell you more about the plot but I found it hard to follow. It might just be one of those things that only kids can fully appreciate and understand!

There is an issue of corn – I think the Raven is eating it – and Allen Hughes’s character is named Shadow. He says he is a shadow but he is a farmer. Then there is the very lovable Farmer Betty played my Jennifer Phipps. I have to say watching these two most veteran Canadian actors playing these parts is much akin to watching Christopher Plummer and Maggie Smith on Sesame St – all at once endearing and ironic – bringing their years of awards, training, and Shakespeare to the children.

The farmers have many discussions with the Raven, played by Jessica Seguin. She is stuck behind the trees for all of the play sadly, but manages to be engaging and kid friendly through her wings and voice. Rounding out the cast is Jake Chalmer’s Thog, who lives in a log. I enjoyed his sort of Newfie take on the character – both in accent and in seaworthiness.

So after a trial about the corn, the cast decides to go on a trip to the sea and there is a lot of business about what one does at sea and what needs to happen to save the corn. Allen Hughes tries very hard to keep the kids engaged and to incorporate them into the movement of the story.

I just found it hard to be both in a farmer’s field and at sea when there were all those trees around. They are really nice trees, but I was confused. I would have preferred the trees to be moved to allow for a bare stage with oceanic lights. That would have felt more like the ocean floor to me.

I also felt like there was too much dialogue off the top. The trial of corn seemed to take a really long time and I was squirming in my seat. So kudos to the kids there for being so well behaved (for the most part, there were a few that were less into it). I just like my kids shows with fast paced movement and as much change as possible – maybe my brain is just wired that way!

That said – I think the cast did a fine job in working with the text as it is written by Hughes. There was certainly a lot of love on the stage for both theatre and for kids.

Oh, Raven!! is on at The Palmerston Library Theatre, 560 Palmerston Ave

Final Performance is:

July 17, 3:30 pm

Tickets:

- All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only). Tickets are available online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062, in person at The Fringe Tent at 581 Bloor St. W. (Advance tickets are $11 – $10+$1 convenience fee)

- Several money-saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows

All the patron’s picks are Sunday evening, a listing of the time in each venue is in bold in the Sunday section of the Master Schedule.

See below for a listing of all the patron’s picks:

•  Venue 1 – Tarragon Mainspace: Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go
• Venue 2 – Tarragon Extraspace: When Harry Met Harry
• Venue 3 – Bathurst Street Theatre: Kim’s Convenience
• Venue 4 – Annex Theatre: Infinitum
• Venue 5 – Solo Room: Every Woman I Ever Slept with Before I Met You
• Venue 6 – George Ignatieff Theatre: Giant’s Garden
• Venue 7 – St. Vladimir’s Theatre: Breaking News
• Venue 8 – Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse: Misprint (1st Issue)
• Venue 9 – Robert Gill Theatre: Tyumen, Then
• Venue 10 – Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace: Queer Bathroom Monologues
• Venue 11 – Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace: Sex, Religion & Other Hang-Ups
• Venue 12 – Factory Theatre Mainspace: Swoon
• Venue 13 – Factory Theatre Studio: Saved

So, if you missed any of these because they were sold out before, now’s your chance, get an advanced ticket to Sunday night!

Trotsky & Hutch: On Patrol did for comedy what real cops do on every shift. They accomplish the near-impossible. Trotsky & Hutch did it at Tarragon Theatre Extra Space. Real cops do it everywhere, all the time, all over the civilized world.

I’m not a fan of improv. For me it seems like a combination of old-school televised wrestling and cheap magic tricks. I’m more interested in watching Three-card Monte with my cuz in Times Square.

So with that mindset, Kevin Patrick Robbins (KPR) and Sean Tabares had what one would think a tough sale winning me over. But win me over they did!

These two men blew me away. I was laughing loudly early and laughing often.

There is a great chemistry between KPR and Tabares. They seem to genuinely like each other, and they pick up each other’s nuances like a pitcher and catcher working together at Game 7 of The World Series.

It IS improv, so the play changes to a certain degree every night. What remains the same is KPR and Tabares as cops in a squad car. I’m sure another constant is hilarity. They work great together.

On my visit, the themes taken from the audience were scientology and prostitution. This would suggest a cameo appearance by Nicole Kidman, but no such luck.

Trotsky & Hutch is a LOT of fun. I poke fun at improv, and we all tell jokes about cops at donut shops. We complain a lot. We don’t recognize the skill and hard work that goes into these services. We need to recognize good work too.

I thank KPR and Sean Tabares for making me laugh for an hour or so and coming out of the theatre a better person than I was going in.

Details:

Trotsky & Hutch: On Patrol is playing at Tarragon Theatre Extra Space

Warning: Mature Language

Sat, July 16 5:15 PM
Sun, July 17 1:45 PM

For example:

- All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only). Tickets are available online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062, in person at The Fringe Tent at 581 Bloor St. W. (Advance tickets are $11 – $10+$1 convenience fee)

- Several money-saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows

photo of KPR and Sean Tabares