Fringe Full of Stars - Off to Eden in Pair of Guys Lost!

I finished up my second Fringe Full of Stars day by taking in Pair of Guys Lost: A New Musical at the Mile Zero Dance venue. It was an absolute riot! This is the kind of show that is made for the Fringe and that the Fringe is made for. A new musical by first time playwright/composer David Son, it supposes a Trump-like God (Zack Seizmagraff) who only wants the denizens of Eden to say he's great and do what he says. He also doesn't want to do any of the managing so he leaves that to Kelly Anne (Nicole Gaskell) . In the garden is only Adam (Andrew Cormier), until the three fates/muses (Sika Clarke, Erin Mclean, & Kaitlyn Power) bring him a companion - Steve (David Son). It's Eden, so there's also a snake (Jack Hunting) to tempt the young lovers. But that's just the story. The show itself is irreverent and hilarious, as parodies should be. The songs are complex and fun and the script is well peppered with topical refences and jokes that kept the audience laughing from start to finish. The whole cast can really sing and dance and the songs are bops! There's a cascading Disney parody that had me giggling from start to finish. A super fun show that's smart, silly and saucy!

Kicking off Fringe Full of Stars with some Magical Musical Mayhem!

Voldemort and the Teenage Hogwarts Musical Parody

One show down and it was a terrific one! I started the Fringe last night with the Harry Potter prequel parody which tells the story of Voldemort (Jayden Leung) as a teen in Hogwarts. He has a Hufflepuff girlfriend Muffin (Carly Pettit) and their classmates include a young Hagrid (Jeremey Zimmerman), Genevieve Gryffindor (Katelyn Cabalo), Ravenclaw Mertle Warren (Alisha Breton), and Hufflepuff Derald Bacon (Stefan Sikanja). They are instructed by a young Dumbledore, played hilariously by Lucas Paterson. This was a very funny production, filled with Harry Potter Easter Eggs for the indoctrinated, wonderful singing and dancing throughout (Standout Songs: Pettit and Leung have a terrific duet, and Zimmerman shows some major vocal chops!). The Choreography (By Director David Son) is fabulous and all commit 100% to the moves and tone of this cheeky and saucy productions. There's also a major dig at the source material author, and the score makes it clear she's not seeing a dime from the show! I recommend! But buy soon as the opening show SOLD OUT and I can see there's another sold out show on the roster. 

Note: Despite the source material, this is NOT for the little ones. It's rated 14A in the program for a reason. 

Stranger Sings! What a Riot!

Last Friday I went to Opening Night of the absolutely hysterical Stranger Sings presented by DarkStage Productions at the Backstage Theatre. It is what is sounds like it might be, a musical parody of the Netflix show Stranger Things. Like the TV show, it is set in Hawkins, Indiana, where four nerdy tweens play D&D and one of them (Will Byers - a puppet voiced by Melenie Reid, who also plays his mom, Joyce Byers) goes missing on his way home! All the folks you expect to see are there: D&D buddies Mike (Jeremey Zimmerman), Lucas (Jason Wong) and Dustin (Renell Doneza - who does an amazing imitation of Gaten Matarazzo), Steve Harrington with the hair (played by Brian Christenson who also plays Jonathon Byers with a quick switch of a wig and a moor slouch), Nancy Wheeler (Liz Janzen) and best-friend but forgotten Barb (Carly Pettit), Eleven (Jack Hunting), Hooper (Connor Foy) and, of course, the Demogorgon (the clearly never-shy in his life - Lucas Paterson). I mention them all because they are such a fabulous ensemble. No one is weak in this bunch. They all sing terrifically and embrace the camp of the show and handle the fun choreography (Director/Choreographer David Son) expertly! 

I loved this show because I loved Stranger Things. It doesn't recreate the entire show, but it hits the moments and highlights the ridiculousness of the situations. All the cast members clearly understood the assignment - it's obvious they've watched the show and know the mannerisms of their characters and they go for it. Melenie Reid's Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers is simply hysterical, and Carly Pettit is a bang-on Barb. Jack Hunting has Eleven's physicality down to an art. 

I also loved this show because it's a musical theatre fan's treasure hunt! The songs are fun and there's homage to many musical styles. I heard references from Yentl, Dear Evan Hansen, The Muppet Movie and Gypsy! to name just a few! Every single cast member was giving it 100% whether in a solo or an ensemble piece. There were times where they were all singing and it was so fabulous to hear! What a great sound. 

It helps to have seen the show, I would think. My friend even went so far as to binge the first season before going and I think she felt that was a good idea. But if you are a fan of the show, you will not be disappointed. If you haven't seen it, it's not too late to binge and then check out this delightful parody!

Tickets for Stranger Sings are $37.00 and can be purchased here. They have already Sold Out a few performances so buy sooner rather than later. They run to October 26th!