Reviews of theatre, dance, opera, comedy and festivals. Performances can be in-person or streamed remotely on the web for social-distancing.
Montreal sketch crew The House of Style invades the Toronto Fringe Festival
The three men of The House of Style are plucky and energetic, and I felt a little bad that the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace was so empty for their first show. This trio of funny guys hailing from Montreal brought with them Get Off the Stage presents: All Their Golden Hits, a sketch comedy endeavour that was a tad lacklustre, though still fairly enjoyable.
In the wide and wonderful world of Fringe, we all know there are hits and misses. I was keen to start myself off with a hit – to set the tone, so to speak – and picked Morro & Jasp: Go Bake Yourself as my first Fringe show. As ever, these Fringe-favorite clowns are delightful as they scrap and scheme.
Morro, the mischievous younger sister, and Jasp the older and-also-wiser-just-ask-her, have cooking show aspirations but vastly different visions of how this cooking show will manifest. Morro imagines a Kitchen Stadium, BBQ Battle, Who Cooked It Better type of situation, and gears up accordingly in her kitchen armour for the fight. Jasp, a more mature young lady, sees a refined, classy cookery programme as befits her grand (self-)image. Hijinks, as you can doubtless imagine, ensue.
Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2: Kisses for a Pfennig is a cabaret night in the style of the 1920’s; songs interspersed with comedy acts from the MCs, who also give you a two part story number regarding a corrupt, buffoonish character who becomes burgermeister (mayor) in a remote Bavarian town, a narrative attuned to the municipal politics of Toronto today.
A lot of the songs are from Kurt Weill who is, in my mind, one of the best examples of musicianship with an impact both emotional and political. He may have died in 1950 but his songs remain resonant today, and are adeptly handled by Soup Can Theatre. The costumes are fabulous, the music and song almost always compelling and the staging has that underground feel, where it is well choreographed but never too polished to delude you that these aren’t real, actual people up there. Continue reading Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2: Kisses for a Pfennig (Soup Can Theatre) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
If it weren’t for the smell of jambalaya, I could have been in any doctor’s office – handed a bewildering form and a mostly-expired pen and sent to sit and wait my turn with nothing but a two-year-old issue of Canadian Living for company. The form at Shakespeare, M.D., however, requested a distinctly odd set of details about my astrological sign, personality, and favored snack foods.
From Press Release
“Liza Live! is a Liza impersonation done right by the firecracker talent of Jennifer Walls. Walls’ earth-shaking set of pipes alongside an impersonation that steers clear of parody and goes all in for a loving, caring portrait of Liza.” – Michael Lyons, FAB Magazine
Experience Liza Minnelli like you’ve never seen her before. Featuring music and memories from one of the most dynamic (and dysfunctional) female stars of the last 60 years, Liza Live! is a hilarious and heart warming look into the life of a woman who when the going got tough, the tough hit the stage.
After her sold out run at the Next Stage Festival, Jennifer Walls gives you Liza Minnelli like you’ve never seen her before.
LIZA LIVE!
Don’t worry. Just stick with me. I’ll never let you down. I won’t. Just believe me, not what you read. Just believe what you see, all right? – Liza Minnelli
Annex Theatre
730 Bathurst St
July 8 – 3:15pm
July 9 – 10:15pm
July 12 – 4:30pm
July 13 – 2:15pm
Conceived, performed and produced by Jennifer Walls
Featuring Donavon LeNabat and Jamie Bird
Directed by Byron Laviolette – Original Dramaturgy by Ryan G. Hinds
Stage Managed by Sonia Vaillant – With additional writing by Shane Hollon