Reports
One of the great things about the Fringe is that talents both established and up-and-coming can be seen back to back -- even in the same production.
I'll just briefly mention how wonderful it is to see, in The Gladstone Variations (yes, we talk about it a lot, but it's a pretty remarkable show) actors like Robert Naismith and Janet Amos, who helped pioneer Canadian theatre in the 70s, working with performers I first saw in the 80s (Stewart Arnott and Richard Greenblatt, for instance) as well as newer lights like Marc Bendavid, Athena Lamarre and Brett...
Here are the FRINGE 2007'S Patron's Picks plays! Chosen by you, the ticket buyers, by box office results. Congrats to all the companies.
Tickets go on sale today (Fri) at noon, and 100% of them are available in advance - call 416-966-1062 (10am-8pm) or visit the ATB (noon – 8pm) at 292 Brunswick Ave. Remaining tickets will go on sale at the performance venues starting one hour prior to show time
SUNDAY, JULY 15
Venue 1 - St. Vladimir’s Theatre: Miss April Day's School For Burgeoning Young Strippers (6:00pm)
Venue 2 - Robert Gill...
Some of the cast and crew of The Gladstone Variations, the Fringe’s hardest-ticket-to-come-by show, took in another big-buzz hit yesterday, Dave Carley’s hilarious Conservatives In Love.
Writer/producer Julie Tepperman, director/producer Aaron Willis and actor Stewart Arnott caught the sold-out 9 pm performance. How’d they make it over so quickly from the Gladstone to the JCC? Yesterday was their sole matinee, at 2 pm. From now till the end of the Fringe it’s back to 7 pm for all four simultaneously running shows.
Later Wednesday, another Gladstone cast member, rising star Marc Bendavid (who plays a bellhop)...
Expect theatres across town to observe moments of silence today for the man who had a huge influence on the city's, and country's, culture.
At the Edwardian Royal Alexandra Theatre (which he purchased in 1962 and lavishly restored), Ed Mirvish presented touring productions of Broadway and West End hits. Later, run by Ed and his son David, the Royal Alex and the Princess of Wales Theatre (built in 1993) housed long-running mega-musicals like Les Miserables, The Lion King, and Mamma Mia!
Whether fans of those shows or not, everyone has fond memories of attending...
JON & GLENN ANSWER...
Frequently Asked Questions:
“How do you choose the plays you see?”
Jon Kaplan: Artists’ track records and subject matter that strikes my fancy.
Glenn Sumi: Pretty much the same. But at this point in the festival, I’m catching up on word-of-mouth shows from venues I didn’t cover opening weekend. That’ll include some unknowns between shows.
“How many years have you been going to the Fringe?”
JK: 19
GS: 10ish
“What are your recommendations so far?”
JK: Let’s keep it to three each, okay? …And Stockings For The Ladies; Conservatives...
Thanks to Convergence Theatre’s co-producer Aaron Willis for squeezing me into Variation One of the sold-out The Gladstone Variations.
The eagle-eyed stage manager gave away my reserved media ticket to a waiting-list person right when I appeared asking for it – 6:45 pm, 15 minutes before the show began. I’d biked in the rain from another show, and did I really want to bike back without seeing it, with no show to review? Glad the company got some $ from the ticket.
Also in line and spotted at times while the crowds for the plays intersected were...
Today was my seven-show day. It’s past 1 am, and I have to write 7 mini reviews tomorrow morning before my first show at noon. So I’m resorting to point form here.
* Something I’ve never seen at the Fringe before: a show like Duel of Ages, which consists of six separate duel scenes. Definitely a late-night kinda show.
* Something I've never seen at the Fringe before, part II: Producer Derrick Chua not wearing his customary all-black ensemble. I believe his shirt was green!
[This just in: apparently Chua's shirt yesterday was grey,...
Some updates:
1/ The fabulous Nicola Gunn has cancelled performances of her show The Lost Property Office. Instead, she's calling it a workshop. In other words, no reviews. NOW will still go to the show, but not rate it. We'll probably blog about it here.
2/ Has anyone else noticed the first weird trend at Fringe 07? Namely, companies delivering FREE TICKETS to people? Yesterday, in line for big-buzz show (the buzz is deserved - see my review elsewhere on this site) An Inconvenient Musical, people from three shows - Fugue Code, Sahara Crossing and Lost And...
The Fringe is all about surprises. Day 2 has barely begun and already I’ve been surprised twice.
The first surprise wasn’t a pleasant one. LIKE OMIGAWD was a big letdown (see capsule review). All style and cold impression; no heart, characters or insight into that era. Lyrics and music that limped along. A couple of okay performances, but there’s more wit and cleverness in a Much Music Video On Trial 80s episode.
The next surprise was a good one. REESOR, playing over at the Factory Studio, is a very theatrical look at Mennonite pioneers in Northern Ontario...
They're off and running - the 140 shows in this year's Fringe festival, that is. And while not all of them start tonight, which marks the official opening of the fest, most will be in performance by the weekend.
If you're an inveterate Fringer like me, you'll also be bustling around, catching as many shows as you can during the 12-day festival, which runs through Sunday, July 15.
During the festival, we at NOW are offering as much advice as we can, both online and in print, about which shows to see, with online reviews, some word-of-mouth...
Fringe listings and reviews
NOW's Glenn Sumi and Jon Kaplan review the fringe. Check daily for updates!
Items marked (new!) were reviewed or updated in the last 24 hours.
