Fringe Day One: Super Start to My 2014 Fringe with Plain Janes Superman!

I only saw one show today, but I'm a little spent!  Of course, I also walked in the parade and worked all day, so maybe my tiredness has something to do with that.  The energy was celebratory at the Fringe site as we visited with the other performers waiting for the Parade to start and I think we were all glad that Fringe was finally here! Huzzah!

My first show was the Plain Janes production of It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Superman at the Varscona. I really enjoyed Little Fish last year at the Fringe and the offerings from Plain Janes during the season, so I thought this would be a great kick off to the Festival.  It was bubbly and snappy with great singing and dancing.  The script is light-hearted and the cast ran with that.  Sheldon Elter made a perfect Superman/Clark Kent - I loved the contrast to how he played each persona, and Elena Porter was a feisty no-nonsense Lois Lane.  I think my favorite was Ryan Parker as the narcissistic Max Mencken, but there are no weak links in this show.  There are a lot of fun songs in this new-to-me musical.  It's got a real fun cheekiness to it! Perfect for all ages!

Tomorrow I have a few shows to hit (I think 5?), but my focus is really going to be on the first performance of Crack at 2:30 p.m.  Once that is up and running I can relax and watch some others!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fringe 2024 - Friday, August 16th - A Terrific Afternoon of Shows!

Image
I caught three shows yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time! Bright Lights - So funny and so well done! This script is hilarious but it only works because the acting and directing is so excellent! I mean, you have to figure those that attend a group for Alien Abduction "experiencers" are going to provide opportunity for huour but I was laughing so much! Great to see some of our finest local actors in this piece and some in roles you wouldn't expect to hilarious effect! See it! ROB AND CHRIS (BOBBY+TINA)-A NEW MUSICAL - Another excellent show. This one a new musical based on Collin Doyle's Let the Light of Day Through ( perhaps the best new script I have seen ever and I think of it often... ). The musical is the same but different, as it is a musical. But it is excellent. Doyle worked with Matt Graham to adapt the piece and it still has it's humour and heart break, but now with wonderful songs. I would avoid spoilers if you haven't seen the play as I th...
Read more

Sometimes it's hard to be nice... Lessons Learned with Donna Orbits the Moon and Spinsters in #yegtheatre this week...

Image
I caught two thought-provoking (and funny) shows this weekend.  Patricia Darbasie in Donna Orbits the Moon , Brianne Jang BB Collective Photography The first, Donna Orbits the Moon presented by Northern Light Theatre, was a one-woman show with the impressive Patricia Darbasie as Donna, a woman finding herself reacting with intense rage to inconveniences in her life. We are not exactly sure at the beginning why these moments are provoking such anger and violence, but there's something in the way that Donna tells the story that we are totally on her side. Indeed when I read a description online before seeing the show, I immediately connected. Too often we are expected to smile and be accommodating and the desire to say " No! " is often very strong with me. I see you, Donna! But there's something more to Donna's rage. There's a concrete reason she's suppressing and the reveal is deftly revealed in a touching and emotionally moving way (Directed by Trevor Sch...
Read more

Fringe 2024 - Saturday, August 24th - Young Wives and The Bells!

Image
I saw two shows on Saturday. I'm pacing myself this Fringe so I might not hit my usual 30+ total! But despite the slightly overcast weather, it was a nice day - not too hot and my feet could handle the walk to Sugar Swing and back to the main grounds! What a Young Wife Ought to Know - This was a very well done production of Hannah Moscovitch's script. I had not seen the show when it was done in the city in 2018 but was glad to catch it here at the Fringe. It deals with the challenges and trials of a young (a very young) wife in 1920s Ottawa dealing with managing her fertility despite a lack of support both socially and medically. This is pre-birth control pill times; this is back alley abortion and throw yourself down the stairs to end a pregnancy time; this is the time when women frequently dies in childbirth. This is the time when you are looked at with disgust and judged when you ask for help for how to prevent a pregnancy. Anyhow, the show was very well done. The cast of ...
Read more