Fringe Reviews: JOSEPHINE and TRAGEDY: A TRAGEDY

Josephine
Venue 1: ATB Westbury Theatre

Something drew me to this show right from the start and I am so glad because it turned out to be a real highlight of my Fringe experience this year! I knew a little about Josephine Baker before seeing the show, but I soon realized that I didn't know very much. Her life was incredible and this one-woman show performed by the engaging and charismatic Tymesha Harris leaves you wanting more! It's hard to pack so much into 75 minutes! I left wanting to find out more - searching my wikipedia for details and looking up images online... now I'm looking for a good biography. Now that's the sign of a good show! If this makes it to hold-overs, do try and catch it, because it's Sold Out for the rest of it's performances.

Click here for tickets.

Tragedy: A Tragedy
Venue 3: Walterdale Theatre

Blarney Productions does it again with this quirky, odd piece by Will Eno. A brve news team tries to capture the unfolding event in the wake of a tragedy, but nothing much is happening... still they report... making much of nothing, until that becomes too much for them. The cast captured the style perfectly and it was hard not to laugh, so I did! Thoroughly enjoyable.

Click here for tickets.

Fringe Reviews: THE GREAT GROMBOOLIAN PLAIN, PUNCH UP!, MISCAST and CULT CYLE

Monday was a great 4 show day! It's amazing to me that I can see 4 shows and it's still light out when I drive home! it was also a nice mix of shows, so I felt like I got a great grab-bag of theatre!

The Great Gromboolian Plain
Venue 4 - The Academy at King Edward

This was a very nice piece of theatre about the nature of time travel and sisters and what is real and whether someone is crazy or not. It's well acted and staged, however I wished there was something more in the resolution as it left me with many questions. I did like how we discover that sometimes people do things that may seem hurtful and controlling but they are actually doing those things to protect others.

Click here for tickets.

Punch Up!
Venue 9 - Telus Phone Museum

A terrifically funny show. I think I laughed from start to finish. The script (by Kat Sandlers - who is the playwright on-board to write an upcoming duo of plays, The Candidate and The Party, at the Citadel next season) is quick and fast and clever, and the trio of actors onstage (Perry Gratton, Evan Hall and Merran Carr-Wiggin) are perfectly cast to pull it off. The premise: The Most Pathetic Guy Ever kidnaps the Funniest Man Alive to make the Saddest Girl in the World laugh. I won't tell you if he makes her laugh, but I will say the lengths he goes to certainly made the audience laugh!

Click here for tickets. 

Miscast 

Venue 4 - The Academy at King Edward

As one who has been in and auditioned for many musicals, I know full well that it's sometimes hard to learn that you will likely not be cast in your dream role because you're too tall, too old, too heavy, or too "something". That's what this show explores as eight gifted performers tell their stories and sing a song that they might not normally get to. Well, some of the choices actually seemed perfect for the performer onstage, so perhaps they just need the right opportunity! All are excellent singers and if there is one drawback it's the balance within the space between the band and the singers. Sometimes it was difficult to hear the vocalist over the instrumentation. Always a challenge in a 'created' space. But super fun with wonderful group numbers to offset the solo work!

Click here for tickets. 

Cult Cycle
Venue 35: Théâtre - La Cité Francophone

A new musical about spin class and murder! This show was so much fun. I felt like it embraced the old-school fringe feel of going for the biggest choices no matter how ridiculous or campy or melodramatic and the results were hilarious. Plus, the whole cast is composed of amazing singers who not only belt out anthems but they do so while pedaling at a very high rate. 

Click here for tickets. 

A Couple of Nice Reviews of the Show... First week recap...

The first five shows (plus two previews) are done and tonight we head into the final stretch.  We had a nice opening week and I am excited to get back onstage this evening.  When you spend so much time with people you like you really miss them on the dark day.  But it was a much needed dark day as there was a lot of laundry to do!

Opening Night was tonnes of fun with an audience who seemed primed to laugh. It's always interesting to see how different audiences react - some are laughers and some are listeners.  This is a play that requires heavy duty listening skills, but it's worth it.  Best night for me was Saturday night because my sister was in town all the way from Toronto and she and a friend came and saw it.  It has been a long time since she has seen me onstage so I was very happy that she made it out for this one. Plus, she is sharp and a loud laugher so she got a lot of the funny stuff and we were rewarded.

There have been a few reviews so far, and all are (yay!) positive. Here are some links.

From Sound and Noise.
"If you’re able to keep up with the rapid-fire dialogue, this play will have you laughing and leave you thinking."

From St. Albert Gazette.
"...director Janine Waddell Hodder has created a solid production that provides stimulating discussion."

A Personal Blog.
"I thought the play was very funny, and it probably would have been funnier for someone with a more intimate knowledge of the source text.  For one thing, the dialogue (some of it possibly a different Molière translation than I’d read, and some of it completely modern) was in the same kind of rhyme and metre used in the source text.  The actors – especially Brennan MacGregor who played Alceste – did a great job phrasing the long speeches for sense rather than emphasising the metre."

I hope that people can make it out.  This has been a wonderful challenge for me and I would love it if people saw it.  Learning the dialogue felt like it does when you are doing Shakespeare and I am very proud of what it is. There are only five shows left and then it's gone...

Enjoying the Kudos...

We are halfway through the run of Nine and it has been a blessed experience.  This gang is such a good group to work with, not just the cast, but the crew and the Production Team - everyone is lovely.  There are a few who verge on crazy, but it's a good spirited crazy and it makes for more fun.  I am enjoying the kudos.  I have gotten quite a few emails and messages from people about how much they like the show.  Some of them complete strangers! It is gratifying to know that you are putting something out there that people respond to.  I don't want to have people leave thinking they didn't get what they deserved as an audience member.

The reviews we have received have been extremely ego flattering - there's one in the St. Albert Gazette and one on Sound and Noise online.  I expect we will have one in Vue Weekly sometime this week and the Journal had both a photog. at media call and media comps on Opening Night so I'm waiting to see if anything shows up there. We are doing quite well in the run - being SOLD OUT for 3 of the shows so far and fairly large houses for the remainder.  We are Sold Out tonight and it's a Tuesday, so you have to be happy about that!  Between the reviews and word of mouth we can be sure the news is good!

I know it will be a bit sad when it's over, but like Guido, I tend to live some of my time in memory so I am pretty sure I can call it all back if I need to.  For now, we shall enjoy the second half of the run and try to keep cool.  The theatre proper is Air Conditioned for the audience, but the actors are upstairs in a furnace (some of them camp out in the shop where it is cooler). I think that generous souls have brought Popsicles and other cool treats to beat the heat!

* photo of Kate Holley, Mama Maddellena in Nine, by Janine Hodder

Being Rigourous and Responsible...

Had several very good conversations tonight about Arts Funding and what makes Art edgy and that sort of thing. The first discussion was just prior to the Walterdale Board Meeting. About 4 of us were there early and one of us had been to a recent meeting with the Arts and Culture Minister where the news was delivered that there was likely to be cuts to Arts Funding in the new budget. There was a lot of 'preaching to the choir' and I mentioned that I thought a major problem was the way the message was delivered. The Average Joe does not respond to the arguments that Artists make about why Art is important. Until we realize that and change the message or they way we deliver the message we are not going to convince anyone who isn't already convinced. You can say the "art is not a luxury" in a room full of theatre goers and you will get a tonne of support, but on the playground and in the hockey arena, you need to change the message. This frustrates me because you would think writers and actors would be better communicators. The problem is we cannot ever step out of our own agenda and our own belief system to understand the point of view of the non-arts supporter (who actually probably do support art in theory, but not at the expense of health care, policing, education, roads and infrastructure and athletics). I don't know myself what exactly the message should be and how it should be delivered, but I do know that what has been presented in the past has not worked and that alone should indicate that we need to find a different way to sell ourselves.



Anyhow, it got me thinking about one of the other major flaws with our arts community. The big one was that in our desire to support ALL art, we fail ourselves by not being rigorous with each other. As artists, we are not allowed to offer a negative critical opinion without censure from the community. I learned this the hard way with what I like to refer to as Blog Gate and if you don't know what that was, then you don't know me... Anyhow, if we dare to point out publicly Art that is perhaps substandard or even just the flaws within a competent work, the finger pointer will endure censure. There is a strong push to blindly cheer-lead everything just because it is ART - EXCEPT "popular art" (think flashy musicals). You can critique the crap out of anything that 'everyone likes' and not endure censure. In fact, critical comments about popular art is encouraged. It's idiotic. We should be demanding rigour so that we know we are doing good work. It's hard. Yeah, yeah, I had had reviews of my own work that weren't necessarily positive, but even with those people will tell me to disregard them. I shouldn't. I should look at them and look to my work and see if I can make it better based on the feedback. We can't be honest. It's a fatal flaw to our artistic world. We should be. We often do it in private conversations and spread the word that way, but how much of that will make it back to the artist? I was very frustrated at the Fringe last summer for this very reason. There was a discouragement to criticize anything for fear it would affect people's box office. We need to adopt the sports philosophy a little. When a hockey player is not playing well, his fans will let him know. The sport casters will trash him and the fans will not jump to his defense, they will join in. We should do the same with our actors and directors and demand more from them when they don't deliver. We should not tolerate 'phoning it in' on the ice or on the stage. Now, I am not saying just trashing everything, but we have created a field where the members are not held accountable for poor work. I have seen crap and paid a lot of money for said crap and I shouldn't have to. Someone should have warned me. I think it would make us better artists and make some people realize that to do this work you need to work very, very hard or else be very, very talented... And if you aren't good enough - someone should tell you.



I don't know. I guess I felt like ranting. I should probably go to bed...

Wishing I wasn't so critical...

Darn that Drama 103! I had finally got myself to the point where I could just watch and enjoy and then I took that class and it made me approach things from a really critical perspective again. So, sorry if my reviews have been tough. I want to like everything, I just can't seem to watch without dissecting things. Blah!

And in Conclusion...

So, now that I have seen everything I want to give my 'ratings'. Some of this is apples to oranges, but there it is. It is easier to assess now that I have seen more than one show. Some of the ratings are low because of script and direction (Quinn, Bellies and Daisies and to some degree Aloha and Bobby Gould) and some are low due to the actors/performers (Tap Attack, and to some degree Bellies). It is hard to compare because when you look at what they were supposed to be, some hit the mark but the mark wasn't that high. Some had a high mark to hit and failed to hit it. All in all I enjoyed the Fringe and none of the shows were a 'waste of time'. I got something out of all of them.

Diamond Dog (4 1/2*) note: I may have been tougher in my original rating. This is after seeing more shows. Clever script and wel-done production.
Aloha Pinafore (3*) note: Even with a 3* rating... I loved this fun little romp in the high seas. It is just hard to compare to the other more sophisticated scripts without being tougher.
Oleanna (3 1/2*) note: I debate on this... the first 1/2 got a 3* and the second half a 4 1/2*. I sort of split the difference. They just took a while to warm up and I think we should have hated the professor more after the first scene.
Don't Make Fun of Jesus (4*) note: a stand-out stand-up routine... not a play.
Bobby Gould in Hell (3*) note: The script was a little silly. I think it was well done, but the point was hard to get. I really liked the Devil and the girl-friend.
Tap Attack (2*) - note: dance recital...
A Body of Water (5*) - note: This was exactly what the show should have been. There was nothing more they could have done. Some people may have been unsatisfied with the script, but it is supposed to leave you hanging.
An Oak Tree (3 1/2*) - note: would have liked it more as a rehearsed production without the gimmick of the guest performer unfamiliar with the script.
Quinn's Death (2*) - note: I felt that the actors did the best they could with the material and direction that they were given. The script needed much more development and the production as a whole needed a concept.
Pagliacci (5*) - note: degree of difficulty was through the roof. The uncomfortable seats almost made me take 1/2 a * away, but it was just so good!
25 Plays About... Love (4*) - note: I debated on this. The script is not as strong as it could be, but the production as a whole was well put together. I almost gave it a 3 1/2,...
Pushin' Up Daisies (2 1/2*) - note: Cheesy, but not cheesy enough. Camp, but not camp enough. I do expect good things from these guys in the future.
Stars and Sons (4*) - note: I liked this. A stronger ending would have earned it a 4 1/2.
Bellies, Knees, and Ankles (2*) - note: The script was tres weak! The direction was heavy handed and misguided. Some of the actors were obvious and indicating.
Coffee Dad, Chicken Mom and the Fabulous Buddha Boi (4 1/2*) - note: Good script, GREAT actor.
Green Eggs and Kerouac (3 1/2*) - note: Clever script, well thought out production. Wanted a little more depth.
Sylvie (3 1/2*) - note: I liked this, but I thought that it could have been trimmed a bit and I am n into the narrated story as compared to the 'lived' scenes. I thought there could have been more choices by the actors explored.
Putting It Together (5*) - note: This show was EXACTLY what the show should have been. It was sophisticated and the level of difficulty such that to achieve what they did was amazing. It may not be for everyone (too sophisticated?), but it was phenomenal. The most polished and well-put together Fringe show I saw this year.

Something Funny

I'm talking to Erik der Waal who has a kid's show here at the Fringe and he tells me that the reviewer from See or Vue (Sherry Dawn Nettles) who lambasted his show then went to the online Journal reviews and rebutted all the reviews that disagreed with her.  So, if she didn't like their review she wrote an even more scathing review to follow-up online.  What the?  didn't she have her chance to review?  

Assorted Online Reviews...

We have been getting pretty consistent reviews - 3*s and 3.5*s. The text has been positive with only one review commenting on the script having some flat dialogue but then clarifying that the little girl beside him didn't seem to mind. Here they are:

Global TV (you have to pick the Aug 18 clip)
http://www.canada.com/globaltv/edmonton/video/index.html

Edmonton Journal (Look! I got a nice mention!). If you scroll down you get audience reviews. I bet that a lot of them are from friends of ours... I'm a little cynical!
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/culture/features/festivals/story.html?id=151f887b-302d-4b3a-819a-7ccfe2da3d55

Vue Weekly (Note: the reviewer thinks the director writes the script...)
http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=9334

Can't find See Magazine Reviews online - but we got 3*s from them and a nice write up. We haven't been reviewed in the Edmonton Sun yet, but hopefully soon.

I saw A Body of Water and An Oak Tree today. Both were pretty good. A Body of Water was the better of the two. I would have liked An Oak Tree better without the gimmick of the guest actor who hadn't seen the script. Last night I saw Don't Make Fun of Jesus (a very funny stand-up routine), Tap Attack (a dance show that was technically good but lacked passion), and Bobby Gould in Hell (another Mamet play, this one a comedy, that was fun). Tonight I think I will stay home and clean up a bit.

Three Shows Down...

We have had wonderfully full houses and it seems to be going very well. Yesterday Mark and the boys came to see the show. They said they had fun. I got Gibson onstage 2x. The first time he got down and then said he didn't want to do it and I had the audience help him. The second time he bowed with a large group of people at the end and it was all good. Oliver participated but I didn't get him onstage. Apparently he was in a mini-play at the kids fringe so he wasn't too worried about it.

We were reviewed by The Vue and received a nice review and 3* which is what I thought we would get. We do a good job, but how do you compare Children's Theatre to work written for adults? It's apples and oranges. Most of the kid's shows got 3*, with a couple getting only 2* and only one getting 4* and it was a professional puppet show (The Ugly Duckling - KayBridge Company). I am happy with the review as it was generous to the cast as a whole and there was nothing negative in it.

Looking through The Vue Weekly's reviews I discovered that I have tickets for a no star, a couple of 2*, a 3* and some 4* shows. A real mixed bag. I will be positive for my friends. I like variety and I am enjoying supporting my friends as well as seeing new things. I am getting to a lot of theatre, even though I can't get to everything.

Shaking Things Up a Bit...

I went to see Antony and Cleopatra at Walterdale Playhouse last night. I did find a date - two, in fact. My mom filled in for Mark and then at the last minute Mark showed up and bought a ticket. Mom and I went to Packrat Louie's before the show for a little supper and it was very lovely. I had only eaten 12 points earlier in the day so I was free to enjoy my dinner (I would've enjoyed it anyhow, but it was nice to know I was still being good points wise).

The show was really well done. I was impressed with it overall. I think, however, because it is a play that I was completely unfamiliar with and a tragedy it was hard to leave it with a excited rush. I find that Shakespeare's language, no matter how much it is raved about, fortifies the fourth wall instead of opening it up. You never lose the sense that a Shakespeare Play is "happening now" because the language adds the the theatricality of the production. That being said, I don't mind that. It just prevents a total emotional investment for me.

The director (who I know as a friend, so I will try to be objective) did some wonderful things with tableau and shadow. It really worked as part of the production and didn't come off as a "drama school assignment" that sometimes happens when people try to use those techniques. He also trimmed the script effectively so that it raced along and kept the audience with it. I liked that because it came in at just over 2 hours and you didn't feel bored. He did a nice job with the edits.

I was also very impressed with the overall calibre of the actors. I was very pleased with all the "men who could act and speak Shakey's language". There was a broad spectrum of ages and no one stood out as weak. Nice to see. The 3 leads were particularly good. I have only seen Cody before (Octavian) onstage. But he, Marc Antony and Cleopatra were all really strong. You believed all three of them. I also really liked Enobarbus.

My only problem, and I almost hate to comment, was a costume/make-up thing. Okay, Here you have Cleopatra, who is giving her heart and soul to her performance. She's really good. You believe her. She's funny, she's passionate, she commands the stage. She is working hard out there and doing her work well. She should be dressed in an outfit that really complements her. One that outshines the clothing of her "women". She is Cleopatra. She's in a society where the opulence of the royalty would be displayed. BUT her primary costume is plain in comparison to her handmaidens and was ill-fitted and distracting. I know it may sound petty, but I think the designer let her down. Why do the handmaidens have sparkles and more elaborate hair. Is she not the queen? I felt it was a mistake of the design. I also wished that all the Egyptian women, and most particularly Cleopatra, had stronger makeup. They looked quite washed out and all were in need of a little lipstick (dark lips ladies!). This is Egypt where the ladies use kohl and henna and paint with gold on their skin. Like I said, it is a minor issue with an otherwise successful production. I just think that all the pieces need to support the work not detract from it.

Overcoat - Overblown?

I went to see The Overcoat at the Citadel today with my Mom and AM. I had heard a lot of good things about it so I was really looking forward to it, but I was a little underwhelmed by it. It was done really well, and it was a really cool concept (no talking) but to me was not much more than a ballet. Like I said, it was really well done, but.... hmmm... Okay, maybe if I sort out what I didn't like:

• The first act was too long and too repetitive. With a show like this everyone was really focused in the audience. We didn't need to see "the man" get bullied twice at the office to get the idea. Several other bits were too long and needed a good editing. AM postulated that perhaps it was to accommodate the music since it was apparently a specific choice.
• I didn't like that "the man" doesn't get the overcoat until so late in the show. It makes its appearance in the last moment of Act I. Although the making of the coat was one of the coolest sections of the play, I think if they had taken out the second "bullying" section at the office they would've gotten to the coat sooner and had a little more time with the coat. Then the first Act would've ended even more positively, which bring us to the next point...
• The guy has the coat for far too short a time. He doesn't have it long enough to really make it a part of himself, so it is gone too quickly. He needs to fall farther and from a higher height. It was too rushed a rise and descent.
• Finally, the end just happens - poof! The music doesn't support the end so the audience as a whole was kind of confused.
• Oh yeah, I hated the words on the scrim crap at the beginning. We all had programs - we didn't need the movie credits!

Yeah, it is hard to think about this one. I was disappointed, but I don't know if it is because I had high expectations. It was very well-done. There were just things that I felt were wrong with it.

We value your opinion....

Well, yesterday we got the review in Vue Weekly (previous blog). I was very delighted since I got such a lovely paragraph and I thought overall that it was a very nice review. It was then more difficult at the show. It is tough in a cast of 6 to have 2 people singled out in the extreme positive, 2 others with a mention, 1 not mentioned at all, and the 6th mentioned but in a somewhat negative way. I feel for my cast mates. I personally cannot see the characters as anyone else but them now after the process we have gone through so it breaks my heart that they are affected by the review. It is hard too, because I would not give back my paragraph, for I love it, but I find myself comforting my castmates and I worry that they see it as hollow. It isn't.

Two more shows. I pray for the right combination of emotion to sustain the last scene through to the end of the run. It is very draining and I feel empty sometimes.