Finster Finds

My apologies for the lateness on this one… I’ve been Fringing hard and needed to breathe! It’s been a glorious Fringe though! Lots of new titles on this list. Trust the recommendation of the random strangers I met in line ups and go catch a show! Crack in the Mirror Butcher Mark of the Minotaur History of the World in 7 Days Drag Me to the Opera God is a Scottish Drag Queen Charade Lemon Fags in Space Crisp Trepidation  Re: Construct Salsa Lesson Chase Padgett For Science!  Josie and Grace Juliet: A Revenge Comedy Mules Robert will Show You the Door Blueberries are Assholes Ladies of Jazz

So, I have seen 17 shows so far, I have at least 11 more to see and I might increase that if I have the stamina! Here's just a few quick reactions to some of the shows that I've seen so far: Jesus Teaches Us Things - Hilarious! This is the most fun you will ever have at a Sunday School class taught by none-other-than Jesus! We may have strayed from the official curriculum a bit, but boy was it fun! Lots of great songs, audience participation (low risk and totally up to you), jokes that are hilarious but not hateful! Can't go wrong with that!  The Big Sad - A really well crafted children's show for the wee ones ( I'm thinking 4-8 years - 3 if your child is particularly verbal ). It's about grief, but actually a lot of fun. The company also does brilliant work teaching the audience how to interact with the participation elements before the 'show' starts so that everyone can have a good time and participate appropriately if they feel comfortable.  Hunchbac...

We're starting to get a few repeats! That's awesome! If you still aren't sure what to see at the Fringe this year, this list was curated by asking random strangers ( and some folks that although they might be a bit strange, I would actually call them friends ) who I met in line-ups and asking them what they've seen that I should go check out!  Juliet: a Revenge comedy The Flying Detective  The Ladies of Jazz The Dreamer's Cantata Ten (The Show) Dirk Darrow: Magic of Future Past Blueberries are Assholes SqueezeBox Cabaret: Divas Disney Delusion Suor Angelica Josie and Grace Conjoined Marv and Berry A Life, with Surprises (and Songs) Iago vs Hamlet Horseface Underbelly Crack in the Mirror Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls Chase Padgett: Lucky Break Salsa Lesson Generic Male: Just What We Need Another Show About Men As always, if you have other recommendations, please feel free to add them to the comments! I'm working my way through a few of these and hope you can find some c...

Another Fringe Day, another list of shows that were recommended to me by people I chatted with in lines! I talked to a wide demographic today, from 14 years to 60+ years, first time fringers and long-time fringers, and I think that's reflected in the recommendations I received!  Remember, if you have a Word of Mouth recommendation (shows you have seen that you really liked!) pop it in the comments! Chase Padgett: Lucky Break The Walk in the Snow: The True Story of Lise Meitner For Science Ally Anne Shot in the Dark Hacking and Slashing Butcher Juliet: A Revenge Comedy The Flying Detective Eleanor's Story: An American Girl In Hitler's Germany Jesus Teaches Us Things Ride the Cyclone Thundercats Drag Me to the Opera Epidermis Circus I'm off to see three more shows today! If you want tickets to any of the above, you can purchase them HERE. Some of these are selling out and selling fast so don't delay (for example, a friend was going to join me for Ride the Cyclone la...

Here's the low-down on my Word of Mouth recommendations from Saturday, August 13th! I was running around quite a bit so I didn't get to have as many line-up chats as I would have liked. Please feel feel to put your Word of Mouth recommendations in the comments!  Josie and Grace Queer Music History: A Concert Blueberries are Assholes Suor Angelica Jesus Teaches Us Things  For Science Six Chick Flicks or a Legally Blonde Pretty Woman Dirty Danced on the Beaches while writing a Notebook on the Titanic Epidermis Circus Reyna: The Story of a Zapoteca Queen Are you lovin' it? Drag Me to the Opera Crack in the Mirror Happy as Larry Plays by Bots You can get all your Fringe tickets here: LINK And a note: You will get electronic tickets if you can't make it to a ticket booth for a physical ticket! That's nice when you are going to something at a BYOV! 

I've caught five shows so far - here are my super quick reactions! Fags in Space - So very cute and adorable. Was happy to get ALL the nerd jokes, even the Doctor Who ones! This was a nice gentle and humorous rom-com about two young men who are destined to be together.  Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls - A fine mix of ghost stories and burlesque! Send in the Girls (or Ghouls, in this case) delivers for the burlesque fans out there with a spooky theme!  Conjoined - Great songs and singing in this show about conjoined twins who find challenges in being together all the time. A cool premise with a bit a of a twist ending! Josh Travnik is definitely one to watch!  White Guy Onstage Talking - I can't describe the show, but my friend said, "This was what I thought Fringe shows would be, before I saw an actual Fringe show!" I laughed so hard and I am betting that it will be hard to top the amount of laughter. It's weird and ridiculous and not what you expect...  Charlie and the S...

It's just the beginning so people haven't seen a lot of shows yet, but here is my first Word of Mouth post for the 2022 Fringe (Isn't it great to be back!!?!?): Generic Male: Just What We Need Another Show About Men Josie and Grace Epidermis Circus Ride the Cyclone White Guy Onstage Talking Walter. Crack in the Mirror Like, I said, it's early so my list is short. I will be in 5 line ups today and will hopefully get a lot more Word of Mouth recommendations for you all! 

I had a terrific two-city theatre weekend! After seeing Hamilton in Edmonton earlier this month, I tried for and won lucky lottery tickets to see the show again in Calgary. This meant a quick road trip down south with Gibson on Saturday to catch the evening show and a quicker return home because I had plans to see Clue with my Mom at the Citadel theatre in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon! Road routes were carefully planned because of the Pope's visit and it's many road closures. My article title refers to Understudies and both these experiences speak to the power and incredible skill of understudies.  First, Hamilton ! It was so nice to see the show again and seeing it from the front row was amazing. It was such a treat to see the show up close. Gibson (due to his music background) was thrilled to be able to watch the conductor at certain points in the show. I loved the show when I saw it first but this second viewing proved to me that it is the kind of show you can see multiple...

This past week I saw two excellent theatrical productions, both of which I was looking forward to for very different reasons, and both of which exceeded my expectations wonderfully!  Like many of you, I saw Hamilton this weekend as part of the Broadway Across Canada tour. Over the past few years I had become quite familiar with the soundtrack (like most musical theatre nerds) and had watched the recording of the Broadway show on Disney+ but was so happy to finally see it live in a theatre. It definitely exceeded my expectations. You are never quite sure of that, but it was marvelously delivered. I know that friends of mine who saw it in the first week mentioned some sound glitches, but they clearly got that all worked out by the time I saw it on Sunday afternoon. I laughed, I resisted singing along ( so as to not annoy those sitting around me ), I leaned in and I cried. The crying caught me off guard but that is the magic of live theatre - it moves you in ways that a recording wil...

  I had the absolute pleasure of taking in the Opening Night of  Evelyn Strange at the Varscona Theatre as part of the 40th Anniversary Season for Teatro la Quindicina. Before the show I was lamenting to my friend the challenge of another company doing a Lemoine play in Edmonton, because even though the scripts were so good, any other company was unlikely to do it as well as Teatro would, and then this production (directed by Shannon Blanchet) proved my point brilliantly.  Everything about the production was on point, from the costumes to the style of the acting, to the music and the lighting. It's perfectly cast with Gianna Vacirca as the mysterious title amnesiac Evelyn Strange; Oscar Derkx as her rescuer Perry Spangler who works to help her figure out who she is; Belinda Cornish as the glamourous wife of Perry's boss; and Jesse Gervais as Perry's co-worker and rumored lothario. The four of them are funny, invested, and tangled in a truly unusual way ( no spoilers! ) ...

 Last night, instead of watching the hockey game, we went to the Citadel Theatre to see 9 to 5 ! (It's okay, the Oilers won and are currently up 3-1 in the series so my going to the theatre did not affect that in any way.) I'd deliberately booked my tickets late in the run because of my show which had just closed on the weekend, but I wasn't going to miss this one!  It was a fun show - very silly and reminiscent of the movie, as it should be - replete with the questionable clothing choices of the late seventies, wigs aplenty, and of course the iconic title song! It's a fun night out and you have until May 29th to catch it. Stand-outs for me include Juan Chioran as the despicable Mr. Hart. I hope we see him back out West for more shows at the Citadel because he is just so good! It would be nice to see him play a more likeable character, but his portrayal of the sexist and egotistical CEO was so much fun to watch! I also loved Kristin Johnston as the uptight and infatuate...

This past Saturday we closed the show, The 39 Steps, at Walterdale Theatre. I was director. It's a role I have taken on many times before and one I truly enjoy. This one was extra special for me.  You may be aware that something happened over the last two years. I refer to it as The Great Pause and for those in theatre it definitely was a pause. For me, as both and artist and audience member it meant a radical shift in what I was doing. Now, I have mostly been doing community theatre for the last few years. I had already shifted away from ambitions of professional theatre for personal reasons, but it didn't really slow my pace. It was rare for me not to be in rehearsal or mentoring other artists at any given moment and my theatre-watching pace was easily 2-4 shows per week. When the Pause happened, I had just finished playing Great Aunt March in Little Women and was mentoring a director whose show was 2 weeks from opening (fortunately we were able to see this onstage only a...

Last Friday I took Mark along with me to check out  Two-Headed/Half-Hearted (Northern Light Theatre) at the Studio Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures. I was so glad I did. I have to be choosy about what I take the big guy to because he does not have my appreciation for brave failed attempts. He always wants the show to be 'very, very, good' and this one was certainly that. I would venture to say it felt perfect.  Rebecca Sadowski and Kaeley Jade Wiebe in Two-Headed/ Half-Hearted, Northern Light Theatre. Photo by Ian Jackson, Epic Photography The story of conjoined twins Venus and Juno Hollis (Kaeley Jade Wiebe & Rebecca Sadowski) who relay the facts of their lives and other famous conjoined twins through song, conversation and anecdote. I was hooked from the moment they began singing. The songs are atmospheric and tight with an incredible tone and harmony. Both actors have beautiful, layered voices that sound great on their own and even more so when they sing together. ...

I must admit, going to the theatre is starting to feel closer to normal... sure, there's the masks and if you're lucky a little bit of spacing, but in the past month and a half in addition to rehearsing the show I am directing, I have been able to catch 3 plays and my first ever evening of Die Nasty ! Not quite my pre-pandemic pace, but a huge upswing and it really feels good.  Photo Credit: Epic Photography; featuring Rochelle Laplante, Rachel Bowron & Jackson Card It certainly helps that two of the shows ( along with Die Nasty ) have been comedies! Most recently I caught the Opening Night of Teatro La Quindicina's first offering in their 40th Anniversary season, Caribbean Muskrat , penned by Josh Dean and Stewart Lemoine. Lemoine also directed. I took in the show with Ephemeral Pleasures and we both delighted in the lightness of the humour created by coincidence, taboo attractions, sleep disorders and a very unusual prize ( the titular Caribbean Muskrat ) being held ...