LOON
For people who attended last year’s Calgary Fringe Festival, you may remember a fabulous production called Grim and Fischer by Oregon’s Wonderheads. The show’s two actors — Kate Braidwood and Nathan Phoenix, who also developed the show — told a tale about a granny outwitting the Grim Reaper.

Performing without dialogue while wearing huge masks, they went on to win Best of Fest at last year’s Calgary Fringe, as well as a number of other awards from other Fringe festivals.

The Wonderheads are back this year with a new show, Loon. It’s also a quirky tale, about a man in love with the moon. So far, this “live-action Pixar,” as the work has been called, has received excellent reviews from the likes of CBC and the Winnipeg Free Press.

The surprising humanity in the masks is amazing and — based on what I saw from the Wonderheads last year — Loon is a “must-see” at this year’s Fringe.
— KATHLEEN RENNE

BURNT AT THE STEAK
Burnt at the Steak looks like a ton of fun. I mean, the show opens with a woman in a cowboy hat dancing to “Cotton-Eyed Joe” while swinging a pair of large “balls” in front of her. (The term “raucous” has been applied to Carolann Valentino’s performance by at least one reviewer.)

Burnt at the Steak tells the story of an Italian girl from Texas who heads to New York to make her dreams of performing come true. Instead, she ends up managing a multimillion-dollar steakhouse, and meets a ton of quirky characters along the way. Valentino sings, dances, cracks jokes and portrays 18 different characters throughout her 60-minute show.

Not only does Burnt at the Steak look entertaining and funny, it also offers audiences a real-life glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes at such establishments.
— KATHLEEN RENNE

2 TO DJANGO
Colin Godbout returns to the Fringe fest with his virtuosic guitar technique and storytelling prowess, this time exploring the life and music of gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt. Join the caravan in Jacqueline Suzanne’s Bistro as Godbout and his guitar take audiences through Reinhardt’s fantastical life story. The Belgian-born gypsy pioneered a new style of jazz guitar technique in the ’30s, but only after being caught in a caravan fire at age 18 that permanently crippled his third and fourth fingers on his left hand. Yep — Reinhardt tore through his legendary rapid-fire solos with only two fingers. Godbout (presumably using all available fingers) tells the Django story from that fire to occupied France and beyond.
— CADENCE MANDYBURA

BREATHE NORMALLY
Globetrotters and casual travellers alike have probably all been there: some of our most traumatizing travel experiences transform into comical anecdotes once you’ve set foot back home. Seasoned solo performers and Fringe artists Keira McDonald and James Judd have logged many miles and travelled all over the world, and the two tell riveting tales of the resulting joys and sorrows in Breathe Normally. With subject matter as accident-prone as this, hilarity (and poignancy) is assured, and anyone who’s ever boarded a plane will identify with McDonald and Judd’s expertly told misadventures. The work of these two has been acclaimed across North America.
— CADENCE MANDYBURA

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH
Not to be confused with the Vincent Price classic of the same name, The Last Man on Earth by Toronto’s Keystone Theatre Ensemble tells the story of how the Devil and his Minion attempt to “corrupt the last vestige of innocence on Earth” — the embodiment of this pure-heartedness being our hero, Gormless Joe. Will he cave in to the temptations of evil? Can’t give you an answer to that, but you can definitely expect a piece of comedic physical theatre with this one, as the Dora Award-winning theatre company attempts to evoke the look and feel of old silent films. Be warned — although rated PG, they admit to instances of “flirty pie eating.”
— ZOLTAN VARADI

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE STUPID
Bring in the clowns — The Pi Clowns, that is. The San Francisco-based ensemble physical comedy troupe — which describes their work as a mix of Charlie Chaplin, Saturday Night Live and Looney Toons — fittingly brings a wild west theme to our Fringe, promising horse races and gun fights that will owe as much to P.T. Barnum as the OK Corral. Inspired by the circus, Pi Clowns bring elements of dance, puppetry, live music, improv and, of course, clowning to their craft. Should be fun.
— ZOLTAN VARADI

REDHEADED STEPCHILD
I’m not particularly fond of adults playing children, especially preteens described as precocious. That said, Redheaded Stepchild looks to be an exception, with Toronto’s NOW calling the main character, Nicholas, “the most charming theatrical preteen since a troubled girl named Claudia.” For those who didn’t catch it, that would be Claudia from the Canadian theatre classic I, Claudia. Those are big, little shoes to fill.

The story follows Nicholas, a lonely and bullied ginger who hates his stepmom, as he struggles with the prospect of getting beat up by the biggest kid in Grade 6. Oh, and you’ll get to meet his “fabulous” alter ego Rufus Vermillion as well.
— DREW ANDERSON

TINFOIL DINOSAUR
It’s probably because I worked as a server and bartender for way too long, but there’s something appealing about Sam S. Mullins’ tale of anxiety and redemption while working a hectic restaurant shift. On the verge of a breakdown, Mullins gets one more table — a family — which turns his night, and his life, around. This will be one of those touching, based-on-real-life Fringe stories that warm you up rather than grossing, sexualizing or improv-ing you out. In other words, a nice change of pace.
— DREW ANDERSON