Are you Priest Enough?, Artpoint

Are You Priest Enough? is the biggest "pleasant surprise" of the Fringe thus far.  I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. 

Playwright and performer Bob Legare draws on his own experiences in the seminary to put together a 60-minute show that explores if he, as a priest-in-training, is really prepared to take his final vows and all they entail.  The vow of celibacy looms particularly large.  Legare portrays a very realistic situation:  a young man uncertain of his career path.  Even though he's studying to be a priest, he has doubts if he's suited to be a man of the cloth, and he's certainly not "holier-than-thou" about anything. 

There are a few silly little songs throughout, and lots of Catholic jokes along … Read More

The Cock Whisperer — A Love Story, Old Garry Theatre
 
Put simply, this show sucked.  Pardon the pun; my attempts at humour are as bad as Colette Kendall's, the creator and star of the one-woman show.  I feel bad saying this, because Kendall seems like a nice person, but she just doesn't seem comfortable with her own show. 

She tries too hard to be funny and provocative, her delivery is off and, I think, the show suffers from some "poor me" syndrome.   When she throws in material about an abusive marriage — in some ways among the best and most sincere parts of the show — it doesn't jive well with the overall tone of the play.  Nor do I find humour in an adult woman trying to elicit laughs by telling of a Grade 4 boy's understanding of his male organs.  Something … Read More

The Rocky Horror Show, Alexandra Centre,
 
I have heard so much over the years about The Rocky Horror Show, that I was really looking forward to finally seeing it at this year's Fringe.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a major disappointment. 

The majority of the cast members do not have strong enough voices to carry the songs, nor enough stage presence to make these larger-than-life characters come alive.  The one exception is the young man who plays the show's infamous transvestite, Dr. Frank-N-Furter.  He looks good in his garter belt and hose and has the personality to carry off the part, complete with a wonderfully-developed character voice.  (The other plus of the show is the costumes.  They are very well done.)

Now, I know there's a … Read More

TransCanada '69, Ironwood, Sunday, 7:00
 
My first reaction to this show was, "Why is this part of the Fringe?"  I mean, there's no doubt guitarist Colin Godbout is good.  Really good.  He certainly has mastered his instrument.  The only thing is, it feels like a show you could see at the Ironwood any weekend of the year.  

There is no narrative storyline linking the songs together.  That's kind of what I was expecting, to give the show a more theatrical feel.  For that reason, I would skip it and see something else instead, unless you just want to chill out in-between running from Fringe show to Fringe show.  

Godbout plays music by Joni Mitchell, Fiona Boyd, Oscar Peterson, Leonard Cohen, and several others.  To be frank, I hardly recognized any of the songs.  For … Read More

Confessions of a Baby Boomer Bombshell, Monday, 7:45

My favourite show so far! I laughed my way through the entire 60 minutes of Zandra Bell's stand-up comedy routine. 

Bell takes on the persona of Shirley Best, a flamboyant, middle-aged housewife, complete with a green, leopard-print turban.  Her routine hits the nail on the head of so many challenges women face, from the travails of squeezing into "one-size-fits-all" pantyhose, to the difficulties of giving a urine sample because we can't "write our name in the snow." 

It's an ideal show for women, particularly for those reaching middle-age themselves, or for those who are past wanting to look like "model scrawnabes" (instead of "wannabes" - get it?!) and can laugh at the societal pressures to … Read More