Fringe Festival

A collection of everything to do with the Toronto Fringe Festival, including reviews, features, press releases etc.

SQUAT: A super secret back-alley musical – Toronto Fringe 2013 Press Release

squat_-_character_production_shot

From press release:

“Squat: A Super-Secret Back-Alley” Musical brings life to a hidden Toronto treasure

An original musical, in an original spot. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Spadina  Avenue, in an alleyway behind 401 Richmond sits a historic coachhouse. Usually it’s Cinecycle,  a cinema cum bicycle repair shop, but for two weeks in July it will become 401A – Toronto’s  only secret art squat. “The minute audience members walk in they’ll become immersed in the  characters’ world” says Leora Smith, 25, one of three playwrights. “That’s the best part of a sitespecific show – you’re watching it, but you are also a part of it.”

The show is “Squat: A Super-Secret Back-Alley Musical.” Suzie, a tough kid from Toronto and  her boyfriend, Ben Fife, sang love songs every night in 401A, the city’s most romantic secret  hideaway. When Ben was “discovered” and whisked away to Hollywood, Suzie was left behind  and disappeared on a heartbroken, alcohol-fueled bender. The show picks up as Suzie returns to  find the squat has been taken over by hipster duo Lex Zeppelin and Baritony Danza. Disgusted  and determined, she vows to reclaim her venue. Torontophiles can expect plenty of local  references to keep them laughing, including a full number about posing as a Toronto hipster sung  by a policeman undercover as a “social media expert.”

The musical began as an idea at the Burning Man Festival. Now 2 years, 5 scripts, and countless  Monday night writing sessions later, playwrights Smith, Eyal Rosenblum, and Jacob Ulrich are  ready for another festival – the Toronto Fringe. As newbies to the Toronto theatre scene they’ve  enlisted help from veterans Alex Soloway, Musical Director and Producer/choreographer Daniel Bennett.

“Squat” pays homage to big Broadway so expect energetic musical numbers, larger than life  characters, and of course – a love story. Still, it’s got a contemporary twist. “Everyone in Toronto  knows what it’s like to have hipsters take over your favourite spots” says Rosenblum, “It can get  under your skin. We’re really playing with that.” “Let’s just say, this is a 14+ show” says Smith.  “And also, we’re grateful that a lot of words rhyme with s***” adds Ulrich who wrote 11 original songs for the show. Despite her crassness, you’ll certainly come to love and root for  Suzie and her ragtag crew who bring this space to life.

Squat: A Super Secret Back Alley Musical is the inaugural production of theatre company Watch  The Elbow. Only 40 seats are available at each performance -so come early!

Show times:
July 4 -6, 11-3 @ 8pm – 8 pm
July 6, 13 @ 2pm
Tickets can be purchased through: Toronto Fringe #403 – 720 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2R4
(416) 966-1062  www.fringetoronto.com

Assassinating Thomson -Toronto Fringe 2013 Press Release

AssassinatingThomson_publicity1_72dpi

From press release:

Critically acclaimed Visually Impaired visual artist Bruce Horak lives with 9% of his vision and has, over the last two years, painted a series over 400 unique portraits which attempt to capture the way that he sees, aptly named The Way I See It.

As he tells the story of The Way I See It, the tale of Canadian painter Tom Thomson’s unsolved murder is interwoven throughout, including the truth and lies behind the mysterious death of one of Canada’s greatest artists and the subsequent rise of The Group of Seven. The mystery takes you from the tiny community of Canoe Lake, to the hallowed halls of our nation’s capital, and eventually on to the World stage.

Art, politics, greed, ambition, love and murder are intertwined in a one-man tour-de-force as Horak exploits icons of Canadian History, including Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris, and William Lyon Mackenzie King.As he reveals his controversial perspective on Canadian Art History, he shares the unique way he sees the world through an original portrait of each new audience.

What the critics are saying about Bruce Horak the actor… the painter…the creator…

 “One of the weirdest and most brilliant shows the Fringe has ever seen” ★★★★★–The Edmonton Sun

“Horak crackles with energy…he’s unbelievably fast on his feet.” – The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax)

“All anyone could talk about after the show” – The Peak Magazine

“Delivering lines with timing to set your atomic clock by.  The man was impeccable.” – Plank Magazine

“Bold and almost shocking in its originality…I haven’t quite seen through the eyes of a blind man, but I’ll probably never get closer.”  -Kelowna Daily Courier, in response to The Way I See It at the Kelowna Art Gallery

Monster Theatre has been creating plays and touring them across North America since 2000. Their success on the Canadian Fringe circuit has lead to great popularity among presenters across Canada, bringing Monster Theatre work to professional stages year round.  Select productions include The Canada Show: The Complete History of Canada in One Hour (Winner ‘Just For Laughs’ Frankie award for Best Comedy), The Shakespeare Show (★★★★★ –Winnipeg Free Press), The Seven Lives of Louis Riel (“★★★★★The idea is as brilliant as the execution is funny!” –CBC), Freud vs. his Ego (“Utterly adept at slapstick, wordplay and sound effects, these two actors from Vancouver are hilariously in sync with each other and their audience in this quick and clever version of the “talking cure.” ”★★★★ 1/2 -Winnipeg Free Press),  2011’s “Best of Fest” winner Houdini’s Last Escape (“Monster Theatre pulls a rabbit out of a hat with this wildly theatrical show…it’s no illusion this one’s going to sell out.” ★★★★ 1/2 –Uptown Magazine), Every Story Ever Told (“Get your tickets early to what may be the funniest show at this year’s Ottawa Fringe Festival.” -Fully Fringed) and No Tweed Too Tight: Another Grant Canyon Mystery (“Brings the house down!” ★★★★ 1/2 -Winnipeg Free Press).

Assassinating Thomson

Playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival

Venue: St. Vlad’s Theatre: 620 Spadina Avenue

Air Conditioned!

Friday, July 5: 7pm

Saturday, July 6: 5:45pm

Monday, July 8: 10:30pm

Tuesday, July 9: 8:30p,

Wednesday, July 10th: 12:15pm

Friday, July 12th: 4pm

Saturday, July 13: 10:30pm

The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) – Toronto Fringe 2013 Press Release

ALD 05 - TMOM Poster 14x19-Scr2
From press release:
5 Musicals for the Price of 1 … Because Sometimes One Musical Just isn’t Enough
 
Music by Eric Rockwell • Lyrics by Joanne Bogart • Book by Eric Rockwell & Joanne Bogart
Starring Mark Cassius • Adrian Marchuk • Dana Jean Phoenix • Paula Wolfson
Directed by Vinetta Strombergs • Musical Direction by Michael Mulrooney
Costumes by Melanie McNeill • Projections by Blair Francey • Stage Management by Dylan Wales • Produced by Jim Aldridge
Factory Theatre Mainspace 125 Bathurst St.
Schedule: Wed. July 3 – 8:15 pm • Sat. July 6 – 5:15 pm • Mon. July 8 – 10:15 pm • Tue. July 9 – 6:30 pm •
Wed. July 10 – 5:15 pm • Fri. July 12 – 12 noon • Sun. July 14 – 7:00 pm
Length: 90 minutes, no intermission.
Tickets $10 • Available in advance through www.fringetoronto.com at by phone at 416-966-1062
Vintage Productions proudly presents the Toronto premiere of The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), a satiric love-letter to the musical theatre of the 20th century. First performed at Dodger Stages in New York in 2005, the show has had long, successful runs in New York City and all over the United States, as well as in Australia and the UK.  Performed in Toronto by a cast of four of the city’s best musical theatre performers,  The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is directed by Vinetta Strombergs, with musical direction by Michael Mulrooney.
The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) has a simple plot that is told in five totally different styles under five different titles.
·       CORN! tells the story in the the heart-warming style of Rodgers & Hammerstein.
·       A LITTLE COMPLEX explores the story in the sophisticated style of Stephen Sondheim.
·       HELLO ABBY! belts out the story in the style of Jerry Herman!
·       ASPECTS OF JUNITA romanticizes the story in the style of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
·       SPEAKEASY jazzes up the story in the style of Kander & Ebb.
As authors Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart have said:  “Why be a second-rate original when you can be a first-rate imitation!” The original NY cast recording is available Jay Productions CDs and online through iTunes.
 
THE TORONTO CAST
MARK CASSIUS has been featured on Broadway, in Jesus Christ Superstar, Ragtime and Shenandoah.  Other credits include, Cats, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber In Concert, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (with Donny Osmond), Miss Saigon and Showboat.  He has performed at both the Shaw Festival and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.  He also spent eight years with the world-renowned acapella group, “The Nylons”.  Since leaving the group in 2005, his work as a Music Producer, Director, Writer and Teacher continues to inspire those in pursuit of creative excellence.
ADRIAN MARCHUK is making his Fringe debut after a decade in the Toronto theatre scene.   He was most recently seen in Toronto as Dr. Madden in Next To Normal (Clearwater Theatre – Tarragon), and as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys.   Other recent work includes playing Fabrizio in The Light in the Piazza and the world premiere of a new musical Scenes from the Bathhouse at Talk is Free Theatre.   Adrian is also the creator of The Sweetest Sounds (A Century of Song from Rodgers to Guettel), a new concert musical that has been performed around Ontario and which recently made its New York debut at the historic Birdland Jazz Club.
 
DANA JEAN PHOENIX is an Urban-Electro-Cabaret Performer from Toronto and a graduate of Sheridan College’s prestigious Music Theatre Program. When not in the studio recording her original material, she can be seen onstage fronting the Juno Nominated NuFunk band God Made ME Funky. Select Theatre Credits: ‘Mama’ Morton in Chicago, Herself in Neil Bartram & Brian Hill’s The Theory of Relativity, Donna Marie in Blood Brothers (Theatre Sheridan), Helen McDougal in Bloodless (Theatre 20/CMTP Workshop), Groovin’ Thru The 60s (Port Hope Festival Theatre), Sarah Good in Obeah Opera (b.current Productions), Sally Brown in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (The Singer’s Theatre).
www.DanaJPhoenix.com
 
PAULA WOLFSON has been a professional actor since 1980 (Godspell, Bayview Playhouse).  She is a seasoned performer with a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance (Shaking the Foundations, Buddies in Bad Times), and a shared Vancouver “Jessie” for Outstanding Ensemble (When We Were Singing). She has toured much of North America with “mega-musicals” (1st Canadian National Les Miserables; 2nd American National Beauty and the Beast; White Christmas). She is an accomplished musician (piano, guitar, autoharp, ukulele and washboard) and is an Artist Educator with the Royal Conservatory of Music.  Paula writes and performs her own cabarets at various venues. Her one-woman show “Between Engagements” has been presented a the Stratford Summer Festival; the Diesel Playhouse, Tallulah’s at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Statler’s Lounge, and P.A.L. in Toronto.
 
MICHAEL MULROONEY studied conducting, piano, and voice at the University of Toronto, and has pursued an eclectic musical career centering on theatre. He has served as pianist, conductor and/or musical director on nearly 200 productions, frequently contributing arrangements or original music as well. Conducting credits includeThe Kiss of the Spider Woman (World Premiere, Toronto), Show Boat (Toronto and New York), Starlight Express (Bochum, Germany), and Les Misérables (Toronto and Canadian Bilingual Tour). He has participated in the development of many new works in Canada’s regional theatres, as well as the pre-Broadway Toronto productions of Kiss of the Spider Woman, Show Boat, and Ragtime. He currently teaches at Sheridan College, serves regularly as a mentor for the National Academy Orchestra, and has taught musical theatre at the Randolph Academy and York University.
THE CREATIVE TEAM:
 
VINETTA STROMBERGS started her directing career with an acclaimed all-female production of CAESAR at TWP.  Her eclectic career has included brilliant one-man shows (premier of Wild Abandon with Daniel MacIvor and Smoke with Hume Baugh), large cast musicals (Rodgers & Hart: A Celebration; Lysistrata; Godspell; A Chorus Line), edgy dramas, frothy comedies, and of course Shakespeare (outdoors and inside theatres).  She has had a long association with the development of First Nations playwrights and actors and has directed several premieres at various regional theatres.  Her production of 60 Below for Native Earth garnered 7 Dora nominations including outstanding direction.
 
MELANIE MCNEILL is a Toronto based set and costume designer. Select designs include: The Odyssey(costume, Driftwood Theatre); Shakespeare’s Nigga (costume, Obsidian Theatre); Les Fourberies de Scapin(costume, Theatre Français de Toronto); Bloodless (costume, Theatre 20); Expire (set & costume, ProArte Danza), Spelling 255 (set & costume, Carousel Players); Doc Wuthergloom’s Haunted Medicine Show, Madhouse Variations (set & costume, Eldritch Theatre); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (costume, Birdland Theatre); Andromache, Hamlet (assistant costume, Necessary Angel); and eight seasons with Videocabaret.  Film/TV: Todd & The Book of Pure Evil, season 2 (Assistant Costume Designer, SPACE). Melanie has received one Dora Award (for Madhouse Variations) and was nominated for the 2013 Virginia & Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design.

Genesis & Other Stories – Toronto Fringe 2013 Press Release

From Press Release

genesis“GENESIS & OTHER STORIES” GOES SITE-SPECIFIC

A play-within-a-play-within-a-church, within a real church!

May 15th, 2013. Toronto ON. “It’s just a play my dad wrote, set in Eden, USA, 1965… and I think we may be… overthinking this.” Following the success of last year’s Fringe hit The Wakowski Bros., Aim for the Tangent Theatre is proud to present their first site-specific outing: the hysterical, church-themed meta-farce: Genesis & Other Stories by rising playwright Rosamund Small.

After his father’s death, Christopher, a theology student, leads a misfit cast of amateur actors in a production of his late father’s play: a hyper-sexed version of Adam and Eve set in 1960’s USA.  Slapstick, satire, and meta-theatre frame a surprisingly complex story about lonely people trying to fill roles on and offstage which don’t match who they truly are.

The play was originally written by Small in 2009, during the first of her three years as a playwright-in-residence with the Paprika Festival. Since then it has received much development, including significant mentorships with Damien Atkins, Susan Coyne, and Ravi Jain. A sold-out production was featured in this year’s festival at the Tarragon Extra Space with the same cast and creative team.

Making her directorial debut is local actress Vivien Endicott-Douglas (Stopheart, Factory Theatre; Forests, Hush, Tarragon Theatre) who takes the reigns after assistant directing Natasha Greenblatt’s The Peacemaker (Next Stage, 2013). Rosamund Small is similarly making buzz, with her new play Vitals premiering in Theatre Passe Muraille‘s upcoming 2013/2014 season, produced by Outside the March and directed by Mitchell Cushman.

Hailed as “Arrested Development meets Noises Off meets community theatre meets Jesus”, the cast and creative team are thrilled to officially debut this play at the beautiful Trinity St. Paul’s United Church. Audiences are invited to engage in this fully immersive, site-specific experience that is equal parts hilarious, moving, and maybe… just a little bit sinful.

Aim for the Tangent Theatre
in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents

Genesis & Other Stories

by Rosamund Small

Directed by Vivien Endicott-Douglas

 

Featuring:        Jared Bishop

Wesley J. Colford

Tess Dingman

Hayden Finkelshtain

Katie Housley

 

Lighting Design by Adam Tate-Howarth

Stage Management by Chelsea Ranger

 

 

Opens  July 3rd, 2013 runs to July 14th, 2013

At Trinity St. Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St. West

 

Performances:

Wed.          July 3, 9:00 PM

Thurs.       July 4, 9:00 PM
Fri.            July 5, 9:00 PM

Sat.           July 6, 9:00 PM
Sun.          July 7, 8:00 PM
Tue.           July 9, 9:00 PM
Wed.          July 10, 9:00 PM

Thu.          July 11, 9:00 PM

Fri.            July 12, 9:00 PM

Sat.           July 13, 9:00 PM
Sun.          July 14, 8:00 PM

There is absolutely no latecomer seating.

 Ticket Prices:                

Advance Tickets: $11

At the Door: $10

Tickets:

After June 15th tickets can be purchase online at www.fringetoronto.com

or by phone at (416) 966-1062

Payment options: Visa or Mastercard

 

After July 4th tickets can be purchased in person at the Fringe Tent behind Honest Ed’s (34 Lennox Ave.)

Sour Grapes – Toronto Fringe 2013 Press Release

From Press Release

sourgrapes

Sour Grapes tells the deeply personal story of a suicide survivor grappling with a second chance at life

Dark new comedy runs  July 5th – 13th at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace

 

TORONTO, ON – June 18, 2013 – The Aft End in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents Sour Grapes, a dark new comedy written by Allan Turner and based on his experiences as a suicide survivor.  Sour Grapes marks the first time Turner (otherwise known as Mullet, Toronto’s hit zombie clown) and director Bruce Hunter have worked together in their respective roles – although they have collaborated previously.

 

The two have known each other since 1998, when Bruce Hunter was teaching improvisation at The Second City and Allan Turner was his student.  Since then they’ve appeared in assorted shows together, including Lunacy Cabaret and Mullet’s Make-a-Play, Allan Turner’s first foray into the Fringe in 2011. 

 

“Bruce’s experience as an improviser and clown makes him a natural fit for this project,” says Allan Turner. “Not to mention his equally dark sense of humour; I can’t imagine anyone else being a better fit for this material.”

 

Sour Grapes takes an artful approach to its serious subject matter by combining a cast of all-new clown and bouffon characters — including a new one for Turner — with physical comedy and word play.  In addition to Allan Turner as Coyote, the lead “trickster,” Sour Grapes features  Dave McKay as Spider; Chloe Payne as Clown and Darryl Pring as Doctor.  Andrea Ouellette stage manages.

 

Circle your calendar for your choice of the following Sour Grapes performance dates:

  • Friday, July 5 at 11:00 PM
  • Sunday, July 7 at 4:00 PM
  • Monday, July 8 at 8:45 PM
  • Tuesday, July 9 at 4:30 PM
  • Thursday, July 11 at 7:00 PM
  • Friday, July 12 at 6:15 PM
  • Saturday, July 13 at 12:00 PM

 

How do you sum up Sour Grapes? According to the author,  “It’s basically about acknowledging that while life may be meaningless, that’s no reason to let it get you down.”

 

Advance tickets are $11, go on sale June 15th and may be purchased online @ fringetoronto.com or by phone at 416-966-1062, ext 1. During The Fringe Festival, tickets are $10 at-the-door and are available starting one hour prior to show time at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace – cash sales only.  Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.

 

About key players:

Lead actor and writer Allan Turner is also a director and one of Toronto’s most sought after and respected clowns. Currently, he produces and hosts Mullet’s Night Show, a live cabaret in the style of a TV talk show. Director Bruce Hunter has been associated with the local improv scene for more than 30 years, most notably as a teacher with The Second City and performer with veteran comedy troupe, Illustrated Men. His spectrum of work has won numerous awards, including Best of the Fringe in 2010 for A Freudian Slip of the Jung; two Canadian Comedy Awards and a Gemini. Andrea Ouellette, stage manager, first worked in theatre at age nine. She has stage managed Lunacy Cabaret; the Toronto Festival of Clowns and Mullet’s Make-a-Play. She’s now with Centre of Gravity, circus studio and vaudeville theatre.