Tonight I saw the Toronto Premiere of5 O’Clock Bells, a one-man, eight (or 9, maybe even 10 – I lost count) character play written and performed by Pierre Brault about the life of jazz guitarist Lenny Breau.
I loved it. I was literally buzzing when I left the theatre – still am. Best 75 minutes I’ve spent in a while.
Before tonight I knew nothing about Lenny Breau. His name was familiar but I couldn’t remember where I knew it from. My son-in-law reminded me that Randy Bachman refers to him often – “the great Lenny Breau” – on Vinyl Tap. It didn’t matter than I knew nothing about Breau’s life or music, 5 O’Clock Bells stands on it’s own.
From the moment we walked into the lobby and were awash with the music of a fantastic Klezmer band, I had a feeling it would be a fun and quirky night. I absolutely wasn’t disappointed. The New Waves Festival, a free Luminato event running at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, features hundreds of artists in dozens of events going on in all of the nooks and crannies of the building.
I SAID “I’M NOT QUEER, GIVE ME A YELLOW STAR,” AND THEY SAID, “SURE MAKE HIM A JEW, HE’S NOT BENT.” AND THEY LAUGHED.
BUT I GOT MY STAR.
When one finds their life in immediate peril – the survival instinct kicks in. People can uproot their lives, give up relationships, make unimaginable sacrifices just to live another day. But what happens when the very thing threatening one’s life is their life itself? How much can one deny their own identity for survival – and how long can that denial last?
Here it comes! The 2009 Toronto Fringe Festival is just around the corner. Well, three and a half weeks away, but who’s counting.
The festival runs from July 1 – July 12, 2009. That’s right, it kicks off on Canada Day, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a statutory holiday than fringing.
