Review: FRINGE FESTIVAL: FINAL ROUNDUP at Toronto Fringe

This year, the Fringe Festival returned more than half a million dollars to its talented, hardworking artists. Toronto Fringe may be over, but other Fringe festivals aren't! Our critic saw 59 shows in this year's festival. Here are some of her final comments as we look forward to Fringe 2024:

THE EXORCIST: AN OPERETTA

What if Gilbert and Sullivan adapted classic ‘70s horror movies? That’s the premise behind Eli Pasic’s supremely silly one-man show, where he deconstructs and reconstructs the famous film story of demonic possession as a light comedic musical romp. Suitable for fans of operetta (me) and fans of horror films (not me) alike, the show requires no previous knowledge of the movie to enjoy, though fans of each genre will probably spot specific easter eggs others won’t.

Writer/performer Pasic takes us through the whole movie, packing in jokes as he describes the scene through stage directions, expertly working the piano, and playing every role. The only direct musical parody is a pharmaceutical-oriented parody of “Modern Major General” from The Pirates of Penzance, delivered with speed and aplomb, and then even more speed and aplomb, though there are riffs and hints of other famous operettas buried in the score. Pasic shines when acting as the demon, getting positively crocodilian in his eerie smile. His lyrics are clever and sometimes surprising, and yes, they incorporate all the profanity and bodily fluids of the original, set to the rousing choruses full of party guests and servants that are the hallmarks of the musical form. It’s a delightfully strange mashup that’s perfect for the Fringe, and entirely enjoyable, a…smooth operetta.

PYRAMID

Pyramid, by Katie Miller and Steve John Dale is a musical about pyramid schemes, or MLMs—multi-level marketing scams—which rely on participants entrapping their friends, families, and others into buying into expensive products, services, or causes to sell to others as well. There’s a lot to “unbox” in this scummy type of industry, which preys on desperate people with low self-esteem, trying to convince them that the makeup or vitamins or essential oils they’re selling is the ticket to a more successful life.

However, Pyramid mostly eschews the social commentary to focus on two characters, the go-getter “girlboss” who’s so afraid of being the mediocre sheep of the family that she’s decided selling beauty products in people’s living rooms is the way to make her name and fortune (Lauren Mayer, in a perfect bubblegum-pink suit), and the lost, shy college student (Miller) too desperate for connection to turn down throwing one of these product parties, despite the strong possibility that nobody will show up.

Because of this, we lose a lot of the potential of the premise, instead leaving with the more generic message that it’s good to believe in yourself and not let others determine your worth. A good message, to be sure, but one that doesn’t really strike at the heart of the issue. Miller and Mayer give strong, committed performances. However, the music and especially the lyrics are also somewhat generic (I kept a running tally in my head of how many rhymes I could anticipate, and the answer was: a lot), and it doesn’t help that the songs’ pitch and volume don’t vary much.

MAZE

A woman (Tia Baum, doing a credible job of playing fear and frustration) wakes up in a sort of existential escape room, forced to complete a series of tests to the tester’s satisfaction before she will be allowed to see her family again. Duncan Rowe and Greenlight Theatre’s MAZE is an ambitious idea that capitalizes well on its premise by creating a mysterious and creepy atmosphere. From the masked figures that move around the doors that form potential pathways, to distorted sound effects and slow, dream-like movements, to the use of a thin sheet of plastic that separates our lead character from contact with some of the other players, the show features intriguing visual moments that help keep us confused and in suspense.

That intriguing atmosphere, however, does come at the expense of a more fully-realized story. While all the carefully-seeded pieces of information do match up to form the reveal at the end, the play’s need to keep a veil over its goals makes the mystery more important than the characterization, rather than progressing beyond it.

There’s some lovely work from Darius Rathe as an important man in the main character’s past, who seems most grounded and present in time and place. As well, the motif of music as a connecting force between people lends strength to the play’s structure. But we need a clearer reasoning for the presence of these trials, as well as more ways to discover our main player, instead of having her outline be predominantly formed by the people around her.

DEAD END

DEAD END is a professionally-produced, tightly-plotted little thriller with the usual trappings of murder and intrigue. In this case, there’s a country house for sale, with couple Kevin and Lil (Chris Gibbs and Cara Hunter) getting the tour from realtor Reg (Julian Ford), who is supposedly throwing himself into work to cope with the mysterious disappearance of his wife. But is everything as it seems? Probably not.

It's fun to watch three seasoned actors own the stage, chewing the minimal scenery. Director Briane Nasimok cuts off most of the large space of the Al Green with a curtain, which is a mixed blessing; yes, things seem less cavernous, but at the same time, this limits the staging, often resulting in blocking that feels static or two-dimensional. Similarly, Gibbs doesn’t get to use his fabulous comedic chops here playing a deeply angry man; perhaps because of this, he starts the belligerence so high that the character feels one-note even when hidden depths are revealed. Still, the story is slick, the actors are clearly having a good time, and there’s more than one fun twist and turn. Worthwhile for mystery lovers.

JACKES AND JILLS

There aren’t a lot of standup shows that begin with the act dragging tied-up bodies off the stage, but this isn’t your average standup act. This is Ruby Jackes’ (playwright Brynn Bonne) last stand…up, a forcible takeover of the stage which occurs after her regular slot at the bar is given to a “more promising,” younger male act.

It’s less of a comedy show than a meditation-cum-meltdown about the difficulty of being a woman in comedy, as Jackes bares her teeth before baring her soul. Bonne gives a fantastic performance as the so-over-it Jackes, letting her “just one of the guys” persona gradually slip as she strips both metaphorically and physically. It’s clear just how exhausting it is for her to try to mold her persona to something non-threatening and acceptable while pandering to toxic masculinity’s sense of humour, and how she’s lost her identity by trying to please a formative ex and an audience primed to be hostile to her based on her gender.

What’s missing from this otherwise fascinating show is a sense of what Jackes actually thinks is funny; the deliberately provocative anti-humour goes on a bit too long, and we never get a taste of who she could have been if so much of her schtick wasn’t reactive. A clearer contrast could sharpen this comedian’s tragedy.

ABSOLUTE MAGIC WITH KEITH BROWN

In Brown’s solo magic show, he focuses on the concept of wonder and imagination, and finding the miraculous in the mundane. Brown is an able, game performer who can effectively tell a story, and his faux “mistakes” during his tricks only serve to heighten the feeling of magic when it’s revealed that they were part of the plan all along. It’s not just about the magic; this is a “hang out” show, where Brown’s charm and kindness go a long way. One thing to note is that the tricks are also very similar to Brown’s last show, which may or may not affect your enjoyment if you saw the last one. For those who are new to Brown’s illusions, however, sit close to the front, participate if you can, and prepare to be amazed.

HULLABOO AND THE END OF EVERYTHING

In the fine tradition of Inside Out and Kat Sandler’s Mustard, HULLABOO asks the question: what happens to our imaginary friends when we no longer believe in them? Andrew Wade has created a lovely, emotional script that examines the relationship between Mikaila and her imaginary friend Hullaboo, from their first meeting in Mikaila’s childhood to Hullaboo’s anguish at being ignored.

 Wade and Bonnie Duff are a great double team. Duff’s bright-eyed “Mikaila the Magnificent” persona gives us a daring young adventurer constantly at war with “The Snarl,” a villain who makes everything grumpy and drab; her ability to get over her own fears once she has a friend to protect is heartwarming, and the stories are acted out with great verve and imagination. Hullaboo is a charming, soft-spoken, mostly-human imaginary friend with a glittery dragon tail and ears, dressed in bright blues and yellows, and Wade wrings real pathos out of his struggles to be heard and his fear for the loss of his friend’s wonder at the world.

While a silent third character’s occasional appearances don’t build up to the level of the rest of the material, that character’s design is also intriguing and whimsical. If you want to shed a few tears for the child within you lost along the way, Hullaboo is a strong contender.

SADEC 65: A LOVE STORY

Sadec 65 is a simple storytelling show done right, allowing its fascinating narrative to unfold with artful language, raw humanity, and genuine emotion. Writer-performer Flora Le tells her tale of travelling across Vietnam on a motorcycle, which she had zero experience riding, on a trip to clarify her complicated relationship with her estranged father after his cancer diagnosis. Le had never been to her father’s homeland, let alone riding across 2000 miles of it; on her journey, she reflects on her coming of age in Canada, and how little she knew about her father’s life before arriving there. Le artfully weaves together past and present in satisfying ways; it’s a little confusing at first, but differentiating the time periods with different light washes goes a long way toward clarifying what’s happening when. The intimate, personal nature of the story and its expert construction means that it doesn’t matter that there are no acting bells and whistles; it’s just a solid piece, expertly told, and often spellbinding.

THE CAMP CAMPY CAMPFIRE SHOW

It’s time to have a campfire, with “songs and stories and so much s’more!” But what if the campfire is missing? The Camp Campy Campfire show, by Dan Boyer and Jonathan Hoss, is an adorable show for children and adults alike that deals with anxiety and identity in subtle ways appropriate for its young audience. Camp director Honkie the Goose presides over Counsellors Dan (Boyer), Gianni (Gianni Sallese), and Meg (Mégane Degouseé), who search the grounds for the necessary elements to build the campfire before they run out of time (there’s an ever-present clock on stage) to have fun. There’s plenty of fun to be had in the search, though, and the show’s most effective element is the way it includes and facilitates audience participation smoothly and without pressure, dividing up the audience beforehand with colourful stickers and making sure that the participation is engaging but low-stakes and always in groups. The cast keeps things moving with high energy and delightful rapport, as Gianni learns to deal with his fears of making a mistake, and Meg learns to separate her identity from whatever she is doing at the current moment. Camp Campy is very campy indeed, and a sweet treat.

DANCER

Jim Betts and Marek Norman’s Dancer, winner of the 2023 Adams Prize for Musical Theatre and purportedly the largest-cast musical ever seen at the Fringe, is an entertaining spectacle that tells the story of Northern Dancer, Canada’s first horse to win the Kentucky Derby. It’s full of energy and heart, and seems to be champing at the bit to make a move to a larger audience. It’s likely that we haven’t seen the last of this thoroughbred of a show, as Canadians love stories where we best our American counterparts.

The main attraction in Dancer is its cadre of dancers, beautifully choreographed by Stacey Tookey. We have dream ballets, so why not equine echappés? This Ballet Beauty envisions its horse races and horse behaviours as dances, and, refreshingly, JB Nelles uses only simple neutrals as costuming (no masks or tails). While this requires a certain suspension of disbelief, it’s a better choice than going full Cats. Keanu Ushida is a particular delight as the titular thoroughbred who can’t be fully tamed, infusing his movements with spunky personality. Another standout is Moses Rankine as the behemoth of a horse that proves his greatest competition. The clear humanity of the “horses,” however, does lead to a small amount of discomfort when some songs verge on love ballads.

Dancer also runs into the problem, despite the size of their prize pony, it’s difficult to see E.P. and Winnie Taylor (Daniel Kash and Barbara Barsky) a couple who owns hundreds of horses as scrappy underdogs. This is somehow made more obvious by how hard the script tries to excuse and obfuscate that privilege rather than acknowledging it and moving on, insinuating that Mrs. Taylor is oppressed by the era’s lack of women’s rights, and playing up her kind treatment of both Northern Dancer and his African-Canadian groom Bill Brevard (Sterling Jarvis) in contrast to expert trainer Horatio Luro (Gene Gabriel). This feeling aside, Barsky and particularly Jarvis inject warmth and humour into their parts, Kash is effectively acerbic, and Gabriel is delightfully pompous and over-the-top as the Argentinian trainer.

Overall, Dancer has many things going for it, including catchy music, fabulous movement, and a feel-good story. I’m sure we’ll be seeing it again before long…or furlong.

Photo of Darius Rathe and Tia Baum in MAZE by Cassandra Bourchier

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