Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2: Kisses for a Pfennig (Soup Can Theatre) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review

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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 →

Shakespeare, M.D. (Spur-Of-The-Moment Shakespeare Collective) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review

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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.

Continue reading Shakespeare, M.D. (Spur-Of-The-Moment Shakespeare Collective) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

Fringe for Free! Toronto Fringe ticket giveaways for shows playing on Friday, July 5th

fringe-for-free-contest3Ever wanted to attend an opening night performance?  Ever wanted to do so on a swanky Friday night? Toronto Fringe 2013 is two days in the deep and the party is just getting started. As you know from previous years we like to spread the love during Fringe and invite our readers to participate in contests for a pair of FREE Fringe tickets to different shows every day of the festival. So enter a contest and Fringe for Free!  Here are the FIVE shows that are we are giving away tickets for on Friday, July 5th, 2013.

The shows are: 

Radio :30 – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 1:15pm show at Tarragon Mainspace (Venue 1) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Radio 30 Contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 4th, 2013.

Hazards – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 5:15pm show at Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (Venue 8) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Hazards Contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 4th, 2013.

Inge Snapshots – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 8:45pm show at Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (Venue 8) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Inge Snapshots Contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 4th, 2013.

DABDA – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 10:30pm show at Factory Theatre Mainspace (Venue 12) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “DABDA Contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 4th, 2013.

Burnt…and Toasted – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 11:00pm show at Tarragon Extra Space (Venue 2) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Burnt and Toasted Contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 4th, 2013.

See below for details on each show, how the contest works:

Continue reading Fringe for Free! Toronto Fringe ticket giveaways for shows playing on Friday, July 5th →

Dance at the Toronto Fringe Festival

There are lots of reasons why festivals are awesome, but one of the reasons why I especially love the Toronto Fringe Festival is all of the great dance performances.  Starting six years ago Fringe, in partnership with Dance Umbrella of Ontario, opened its doors to dance with the Dance Initiative. Every year eight spots are reserved specifically for dance shows.

So why is this a big deal?  A few years before Fringe started doing this the Toronto Dance Festival had to call it quits. Fringe seized the opportunity and has welcomed dance artists to share the stage ever since, and so have audiences. Continue reading Dance at the Toronto Fringe Festival →

Stop Kiss – Toronto Fringe 2013 Press Release

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From press release:

gun shy theatre presents STOP KISS BY DIANA SON
TORONTO FRINGE 2013

In their inaugural production, gun shy theatre presents the Toronto premiere of Diana Son’s (Satellites, The West Wing) award-winning STOP KISS directed by Shaun Benson (Heartland, Populaire, Steel Kiss). Melissa Hood (Dirty Singles, The Listener), a graduate of the CFC Acting Conservatory will take the stage and co-produce with 2013 Dora-award nominee Kate Ziegler (Laws of Motion, Flashpoint). Opening July 3rd, STOP KISS will play at the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace as part of the 25th Anniversary of the Toronto Fringe Festival.

Set in New York City, this powerful love story explores an unexpected attraction between new female friends. First we meet Callie Pax (Hood), a savvy city-girl who relies on her magic eight-ball to make life decisions whilst maintaining an on-again off-again relationship with ladies man George (Stefano DiMatteo; The Listener). Enter Sara (Ziegler), a plucky teacher from St. Louis who has recently left her long-term boyfriend Peter (Mark Paci; Pains of Youth) to pursue a controversial teaching fellowship in the Bronx.

What follows, is an arresting and real portrait of new love interrupted by a shocking and random act of violence. In what the New York Times (1998) called “a sweet, sad and enchantingly sincere play”, the story engages both characters and the audience in an exploration of commitment, identity and profound love.

Toronto audiences will be struck by the brutal relevance of STOP KISS, 15 years after it premiered off-Broadway (with Canadian actress Sandra Oh as Sara). Despite the jarring themes in the play, Diana Son heeds, “I would never personally say ‘This is a play about homophobia. This is a play about gay bashing. This is a play about the civil rights of gays and lesbians in America.’ I would describe the play as a love story.” (American Theatre Magazine, 1999)

Rounding out this cast are Trish Adams (A Chorus Line), Ronnie Rowe (The Firm) and Anthony Ulc (Rookie Blue). First-time director Shaun Benson will collaborate with two-time Dora award-winning lighting designer Sandra Marcroft (Laws of Motion, The Monument.

Tickets are $10, advance tickets are $9 (+$2 service fee, per ticket)
http://www.fringetoronto.com/ Box Office:  (416) 966-1062 x 1
Runtime: 90 minutes; no intermission.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013 10:30pm-Midnight
Saturday, July 6, 2013 – 5:15pm – 6:45pm
Sunday, July 7, 2013 – 10:00pm – 11:30pm
Monday, July 8, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:30pm

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 – 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Thursday, July 11, 2013 – 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Sunday, July 14, 2013 – 5:15pm – 6:45pm