The correct time to see a comedic action-adventure solo show set in a strip club is 10:30 on a Saturday night at the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival. Becoming Magic Mike: An Action Adventure Comedy gave the fairly full house exactly what it wanted — a playful romp.
Reinemer plays, well, nearly everyone with the aid of several hats and thongs. The plot, such as it is, begins in the middle of a police chase and finishes sending him undercover as Magic Mark to avenge the death of his partner, Rick.
It is, in the nicest way, a lot of nonsense. Reinemer knows it, we know it, and though the show is a brisk 55 minutes it has a looseness that comes with a talented improviser emboldened to take risks (like soliciting audience participation at 10:30 on a Saturday night in a country where cannabis is legal) because he feels confident he can roll with them. So when he gratuitously rips off his clothes or romances an audience member (from a distance; you will not find yourself with a sweaty man on your lap even if you’d welcome one), whatever happens, happens.
Reinemer has the particular charm of being fully committed and game. He’s not a ripped specimen of manliness, he’s not a gifted dancer, he’s not a virtuoso on the guitar. What he is, is a delightful goofball with great charm and enthusiasm. This isn’t to say Reinemer isn’t talented — he absolutely is. But it’s his comic timing that makes this show, not his skilled and polished dance moves. Though Adam, the young guy summoned onto the stage to play “Magic Mark’s” colleague in the strip club/band of thieves, thrilled tonight’s audience with a series of pirouettes, a full split, and a high kick worthy of a Rockette to great acclaim.
Becoming Magic Mike is fun, verging on silly, and in the hands of a confident performer it’s a fun way to spend an air-conditioned hour. A very Fringe experience.
Details
- Becoming Magic Mike: An Action Adventure Comedy plays at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse. (79 St. George St.)
- Tickets are $13, including a $2 service charge. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes and discounts for serious Fringers.
- Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Festival Box Office at Scadding Court (275 Bathurst St.), and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
- Content Warnings: mature language; gunshots; sexual content; realistic violence or gore; audience participation; not recommended for children.
- This venue is wheelchair-accessible.
- Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.
- The Toronto Fringe Festival is scent-free: please do not wear perfumes, colognes, or other strongly-scented products.
Performances
- Friday July 5th, 6:30 pm
- Saturday July 6th, 10:30 pm
- Sunday July 7th, 4:45 pm
- Tuesday July 9th, 6:15 pm
- Thursday July 11th, 8:30 pm
- Friday July 12th, 3:00 pm
- Sunday July 14th, 4:00 pm
photo of DK Reinemer by Andrew Alexander