The 33rd annual Edmonton International Fringe Festival is out in full force with a vivid cast of characters.
The 33rd annual Edmonton International Fringe Festival is out in full force with a vivid cast of characters.
Just skim the surface of the parade and you'll see living statues, hippies, medieval tavern wenches, zombies, fortune tellers, magicians, jugglers and acrobats.
Stroll through the packed streets of Old Strathcona and you can feel an indefinable, all-embracing electric vibe in the air.
But there's more than just the free outdoor entertainment. This year, organizers have packaged about 210 shows. Some are piss-in-your pants-funny. Others are downers. Some are delightful sleeper hits. Others will just make you sleep.
Below is a broad spectrum of shows the Gazette team has covered. Check them out. The Fringe only runs until Sunday, August 24.
McCrackin 2 The Whacking
Accidental Humour Co.
BYOV Metro Cinema at Garneau Theatre
8712 109th St.
5 Stars
Holy multimedia, Batman! Fringe favourite Accidental Humour Co. is back with another film/theatre mash-up, McCrackin 2 The Whacking, an action-packed follow-up to 2013 fringe favorite Happy Whackin' Jim McCrackin.
I hadn't seen the company's Fringe efforts before, and you don't need to have seen McCrackin's previous antics to enjoy the show. In this episode, professional killer McCrackin is in search of his infant son when a likewise deadly group of ne'er do wells captures and then enlists him to help pull off an impossible heist.
Both a send-up of and homage to the action movie genre, McCrackin 2 is another example of the sharply choreographed stage and screen interactions that are the specialty of Accidental Humour Co. Impressive fight sequences both live and on film, pizza-scarfing lumberjacks, ninjas and poison darts are all in for good measure – crowd-pleasers, every one.
Long time company member William Banfield is our hero McCrackin, playing opposite a fine crew: Cliff Kelly (man with hook), Alex D. Mackie (man with laptop), and Janine Waddell Hodder (gal with a gun and some fancy fighting).
Offerings from Accidental Humour Co. have become a much-anticipated Fringe favourite every year, and this show is no exception. It's a fantastic romp – completely engaging – and leaves the audience wanting more. Mission accomplished for another year.
– Lucy Haines
The Euphorians
Teatro la Quindicina
Varscona Theatre
10329 83 Ave.
5 Stars
A rule of thumb that I like to guide my Fringe experiences by is this: Stewart Lemoine will never disappoint. It's true and his latest creation for the Varscona stage is no exception.
Dr. Welko Marianus (Mathew Hulshof) starts off as a somewhat stuffy and sullen psychoanalyst who is in the middle of interviewing a new assistant (Shannon Blanchet as Serena Glass) when he has an epiphany about his practice.
He's tired of seeing sad, depressed patients with deep personal problems. He resolves to only book in happy people who love their lives. He meets Lillian (Jenny McKillop) and Arline (Amber Bissonnette) at an unusual art exhibit: there's no art on the walls. Together, they stumble onto a mystery about it that leads them to a magnificent story of unrequited love and one man's endless search for a dream girl to fulfil his life.
Lemoine is a master playwright who knows the value of awkward silences, word play and never playing cheap with guns or sex to entice the audience's interest. This is an adult work, but one that doesn't require mendacity or the ‘lowest common denominator' to succeed. Instead, he goes for the highest common denominators of truth, beauty, love and hope for a very enriching experience. We laughed severally and we cried at moments too.
I couldn't recommend The Euphorians more. It will leave you exhilarated for both having seen some wonderful live theatre and for having a wonderful life.
– Scott Hayes
Tin
Mischief Managed Productions
Venue 45, Sea Container
10330 84 Ave.
3 Stars
Held in a grey sea container on the lawn next to Steel Wheels pizzeria, Tin is a drama about revenge and the inability to let go.
When two siblings, Abe and Jess, stow away on a freight train heading north they encounter a slimy train hopper, Sylvan, hidden on their freight. Sylvan, played by Myroslav Shewchuk, gets all the best lines and steals the show as a silver-tongued devil.
Equal parts charming, sarcastic, and intimidating; Shewchuk's performance alone is worth the watch.
Tin is one of the shortest shows at the Fringe this year, clocking in at less than 30 minutes total. Despite the runtime, the plot never feels rushed and the dialogue is satisfying and realistic.
Unfortunately, Tin probably couldn't run any longer if it wanted to due to limitations of the set. The sea container is unbearably hot and claustrophobic and has an unpleasant smell that stayed with me until I showered. Further, the sight lines in the container are terrible and anyone who isn't in the front row will have their view blocked for most of the show.
It is a shame because there is a lot to like about Tin. Sylvan is an excellent character and the story explored themes of dependence without becoming preachy. It is a snapshot of Abe and Jess' life, a 20-minute conversation they have with a stranger, too short to lead to an epiphany or massive character development.
If you can look past the inadequate stage, Tin is a real diamond in the rough.
– Alex MacPherson
Send in the Girls Burlesque
Venue #46 Lat CitĂ© Francophone – L'UniThĂ©atre
8627 Rue Marie-Anne-Gaboury (91 St.)
4 Stars
Send in the Girls Burlesque is back with The Hollywoodland Burlesques, an indictment of the movie capital's corrupt underbelly.
Playwright Ellen Chorley's jumping off point is Louella Parsons, America's first Hollywood gossip columnist of the 1930s who made a living publishing the secrets of tinsel town's rich and powerful.
So great was Louella's power that at the stroke of a pen, she could make or break a career. Through it all, the Queen of Gossip kept a tight lid on her own dirty secrets.
In this 75-minute production, Louella is doing an exposé on the murder of screen goddess Jean Harlow's husband.
In a parallel story, Peg Entwhistle, a young ingénue desperate to land a role without sleeping with casting directors, approaches Louella for help. She is rebuffed. At the end of her rope, (spoiler alert), Peg commits suicide.
It's a dark story, and Chorley as Louella is riveting as the chain-smoking brash columnist who exploits others to build a reputation. Chorley has a great eye for detail and her character is the quintessential she-devil.
St. Albert's Madelaine Knight is the perfect foil as a gentle casualty in the torrential stampede to hit the silver screen. And her depiction is so prescient, especially in the wake of Robin William's suicide.
Ironically, the one jarring note is the burlesque. True burlesque is light, playful and erotic. There are half a dozen conservative burlesque numbers throughout the show and they are all executed with skill.
But watching the dark deterioration of the show's characters interspersed with the more fanciful burlesque feels as if you are watching two different shows. The elements don't mesh.
Still, the story lands a powerful punch and is one to include on your list.
– Anna Borowiecki
No Tomatoes Theatre
Venue 49 Campus St. Jean – Auditorium
8406 Rue Marie-Anne-Gaboury (91 St.)
4 Stars
There's something that just feels good about seeing a bunch of enthusiastic 20-somethings putting on a show – singing, dancing and acting their hearts out. And when the show is a Sondheim piece and the cast is as talented as this ensemble, 90 minutes goes by in an enjoyable flash.
St. Albert is well represented in The Frogs, a zany adaptation of an already adapted old Greek comedy. Taking a full-scale musical down to a cast of seven with just a four-piece band seems downright silly, but that's what earnest folk can do with a ‘why not?' attitude! And in this case, St. Albert director Lauren Boyd and musical director Michael Clark do an admirable job of not short-changing the material.
St. Albert talent (and co-founder of No Tomatoes Theatre with sister Lauren Boyd) Andrew Boyd plays Dionysus – God of wine and drama – who, with his slave Xanthias (St. Albert's Dylan Rosychuk) set out on a quest to bring George Bernard Shaw back from Hades to write a new play that will inspire a lazy, complacent people. The pair is funny and charming throughout their trek through hell – that can't be easy.
Yes, there are frogs (singing and dancing ones, of course) and plenty of colourful characters along the journey. If The Frogs is meant to have a full-scale orchestra and a robust cast, who cares? This works. These kids know how to put on a show.
– Lucy Haines
Plain Jane Theatre Company
Venue 12 Varscona Theatre
10329 – 83 Ave.
4 Stars
“In a world of doubt, we need Superman,” says Sydney in the nostalgic It's a Bird! It's A Plane! It's Superman! Amen to that.
The man in tights with the big red letter S is once more flying over Metropolis saving babies, fighting crime and wishing Lois Lane would pay attention to his alter ego Clark Kent.
In this 75-minute musical directed by St. Albert Children's Theatre (SACT) alumna Kate Ryan, the Man of Steel (Sheldon Elter) takes on the nefarious Dr. Abner Sedgwick (Garrett Ross), a bitter intellect determined to expose the comic book character.
Sedgwick is a ten-time Nobel Prize losing scientist who seeks revenge on the world's scientific community for dismissing his brilliance by destroying a symbol of good.
Ryan plays the silly plot and fun-loving songs strictly tongue-in-cheek. She's a director that gives her six actors plenty of room to manoeuvre and they push it to the limits.
Ross (also an SACT alumni), as the peevish bad guy, grabs the spotlight with his maniacal laugh and “show no mercy” mission. His solo Revenge is one of the show's hits.
Ryan Parker as the Teflon Max Mencken, a newspaperman so completely in love with himself that he aligns himself with Sedgwick, adds a level of bumbling hilarity to the proceedings.
And SACT music director Rachel Bowron as Max's dogged assistant Sydney sets a new bar for her comedic talents and brings a refreshing spunk to the show.
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Superman is a charmer. So let it whisk you away on a cosmic journey.
– Anna Borowiecki
ZyZi Theatre
Venue 28, Old Scona Academic High School
10523 – 84 Ave.
5 Stars
The Real Inspector Hound plays the long con with a punchline that takes 50 minutes to set up and still catches the audience off guard.
The show follows two reviewers, Moon (Parker Ali) and Birdboot (Chase Jeffels), as they take in a premiering murder mystery. The neurotic Moon and the lecherous Birdboot bicker back and forth and crack jokes at each other's expense in haughty faux English accents. They make an entertaining pair and could easily carry a show between the two of them.
In the background of the reviewers gabbing, a six-character murder mystery plays out. The play within a play is an over the top ham-fest stuffed with physical comedy and ridiculous over-acting. Mrs. Drudge's (Jasmine Zyp) wild-eyed stares at the increasingly shocking events were my favourite gags but all of the actors were excellent.
The twist deserves to be seen rather than spoiled but it was worth the wait. Playwright Tom Stoppard penned an excellent story and Director Phil Zyp ensured that the comedy hits all of the right beats.
One of the best jokes is a bit where different characters will steal a glass of whisky and then fill the bottle back up with water when another character is talking. It's subtle and speaks to Zyp's attention to detail.
If the show has any flaws, it was that the stage was a little uninspired and one of the jokes, an unnecessarily crude line that references sexual assault during Moon's rant, needs to be cut. These are nit-picks, the jokes are funny and the acting is inspired.
Fringe-goers looking for a good comedy should keep The Real Inspector Hound in mind this week; it is one of the best shows of the festival.
– Alex MacPherson
I Love You Because
Foote in the Door Productions
Venue 32, Hi-Edmonton Hostel
8208 106 Street
3 Stars
The familiarity of a classic opposites-attract plot does not take away from the charms of I Love You Because.
A quirky little six-person musical featuring characters meant to be gender-swapped analogs of the main characters of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the songs are cute enough and its actors engaging.
The resemblance to the characters of Jane Austen stops at the character names, but that shouldn't stop those on the hunt for a nice little love story from smiling.
Coming in at two hours, it's a bit long for a Fringe show, especially in a hot theatre.
St. Albert's Russell Farmer in the lead as Austin Bennett, and Ruth Wong-Miller as Marcy Fitzwilliams are simply adorable as their characters. Farmer is particularly appealing as the buttoned-down, unlucky in love Austin, while Wong-Miller is whimsical as the free-spirited Marcy.
They're supported by Jennifer Lizée as Marcy's best friend Diana Bingley, who makes being an actuary both funny and sexy, and Dustin Berube as Austin's brother Jeff, a laid back dude with heart, get together as the secondary, opposites attract love story.
Andrew Kwan and Kathleen Sera both do impressive turns as every other character needed for the show, from irate waiters to sympathetic bartenders, and sound great doing it.
The songs helped drive the plot along, with a four-person number in the second act called ‘But I Do' a particular highlight.
I Love You Because isn't a deep play but if you're looking for a light romantic comedy, this one's a good bet.
– Victoria Paterson
Famished: A Victorian Zombie Musical
The October People Productions
Venue 9, Telus Building
10437 83 Avenue
4 Stars
With a stellar cast, some great songs and awesome costumes, Famished: A Victorian Zombie Musical is sheer entertainment.
A musical that postulates a zombie invasion in Victorian-era London, destined to be stopped by a couple of mad “social” scientists who hunger for world domination, the show is a hilarious romp with terrific comedic touches, from a shuffling and grunting zombie pianist with a talent for classical music to matriarch Lady Avery's dedication to her husband's rather large … moustache.
The cast all have singing and dancing chops and put them to use, culminating in the fabulous “Zombie Rag” near the end of the show.
Be warned, those with zombie-crazed young children – this show does have rampant adult-level innuendo and sight gags.
It's a large cast that's managed and directed well – almost everyone gets a moment to shine.
John Evans and Dean McQuay as a pair of evil doctors, are clearly having the time of their lives and are perfect in their roles, Amanda Neufeld and Curtis Knecht as Lady and Colonel Avery are hysterical, Sturgeon County's Nadine Veroba as the flirtatious Amelia Avery is very funny and Owen Bishop's turn as Henry Forbes is delightful.
Kat Evans as Silas is both creepy and humorous, Meredith Honda's Annie is saucy and Kara Chamberlain and Marsha Amanova both do well as various supporting characters.
Famished: A Victorian Zombie Musical is a funny show with a heck of a twist ending put on by a talented cast who throw themselves into their roles.
– Victoria Paterson
