Bad Dress Productions’ #WeddingMusical is a not-so-original musical at the Toronto Fringe Festival about all the things that can go wrong at a wedding. The show feels sort of like a sitcom or Family Channel show, with some groaners and a predictable, but solid structure.

Abby and Ebby are getting married, and everything that could go wrong at their wedding goes very wrong. The show does not quite feel ready for an audience, but I think it has potential, especially as a situational comedy.

Continue reading #WeddingMusical (Bad Dress Productions) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review →

There’s something truly captivating about The Templeton Philharmonic’s Toronto Fringe Festival offering. Between the solid acting and the beguiling garden setting, An Evening in July is an accomplished piece that will make you laugh as much as it might make you weep.

Continue reading An Evening in July (The Templeton Philharmonic) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review →

To truly enjoy No One Needs to Know Shania put on by Lady Grey Productions for the Toronto Fringe Festival, I’d suggest you show up to The Monarch Tavern a little bit early, have a few beers, and then watch the magic of the Shania Twain biopic unfold through one excellent cover-band concert.

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Staging a musical about one of the most controversial figures of the last 60 years might seem like a daunting task. But it has happened. Hugh and I (Bad Neighbour Productions), a musical about the formative years of Playboy Magazine founder Hugh Hefner, made its debut tonight as part the Toronto Fringe Festival. And the results were quite entertaining.

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Playing at the Annex Theatre as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival, She’s Black, He’s Jewish, They’re Married, Oy Vey! is more than a 27-year-long interracial love story between Epstein and Hassan.

These stand-up comics are marriage counsellors! They share their wisdom on how to keep relationships alive and well and full of action under the sheets.

Their training package for couples, called “Black/Jew/Love technology,” requires homework. But the audience participation involves much more than that. A few willing, good-humoured members of the crowd ended up revealing marital status, sexual orientation, ethnic background and religion. (If you’re shy, no worries, there’s a don’t-bug-me signal.) Continue reading She’s Black, He’s Jewish, They’re Married, Oy Vey! (EpsteinandHassan) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review →