Today's Fringe brings three recommendations your way.
First, some preamble. I am a strong believer that there is not such thing as "children's" theatre or "adult" theatre. There is good, engaging theatre, and there is the other kind. A great amount of "adult" theatre can and should have more children in the audience, and a good amount of "children's" theatre should have more adults in the audience.
The two shows that I saw today as part of the FringeKids! part of the Fringe festival are good plays, pure and simple, and I have no hesitation recommending them to both adults and children.
First, The Cat of Kensington, by Kirsten Harvey and Shaun McComb (who also appear in the show) with music and lyrics by Waylen Miki. This adaptation of the Puss in Boots story, with an obvious Toronto flavour, is simply told, and entertainingly acted. I was a bit dissapointed in that it did not follow the thread of the original Pereault tale very closely, which it could have done to good effect. However, the story as presented was still an entertaining tale. If there is true critisism to be had, it is that the energy level of the cast seemed to be low. However, it was still an entertaining evening, and a performance not so late in the day would succeed better in keeping the energy up.
Next, Fairy Tale Ending by Kieren MacMillan and Jeremy Hutton. The show opens with Jill (Meagan Tuck), our protagonist, wondering why the tales her grandmother told her as a child have started to lose the happy endings alluded to in the title. This is a brilliant piece, and a must-see for any Fringer. The witty music, and lyrics reminded me a little of Jason Robert Brown, in a good way. The book stretches the well known fairy tales of Goldilocks, The Three Little Pigs, and The Billy Goats Gruff, without ever fracturing them. The packing is quick, and there's more than enough banter and character work to keep people of all ages entertained. The performances were spot on, across the board. However, I have to make special mention of Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski, Carl Swanson, and Mike Wisniowski as "The Three."
I will not be surprised if an expanded version of this show is seen on a main stage in the near future. See it now so that you can say you were there.
The third show that I took in today was Bosco and Jones, book and lyrics by Rachael and Brett McCaig and music by Scott white. Depite my statement about how there isn't really "adult" theatre, this production is most certainly not suitable for young children. However, for adults (late teens and above) it is a delightfully dirty musical talking a walk on the off-colour side of comedy. When vaudville performer Bosco (Paul Constable) is reunited with his Ventriloquest dummy Jones (Matt Bois) a number of years after falling out, sparks fly as old wounds are reopened, but ultimately healed. The conceit of the show is a bit of a strech, but is easily forgiven as songs such as "She Gives Me Wood" and "Bumper Sticker Love" take you to a happy place of guilty giggles. A number of jokes here push (and cross) the boundary of good taste so if you are easily offended, you might stay away. However, compared to something like South Park, the content is surely tame. The program notes indicate that this is a shortened version of what was originally a 90 minute script. I hope to see the full version at some point in the future. In all, a great way to end the evening.
All of these shows continue to run this week at the Fringe Festival. Don't miss out.
First, some preamble. I am a strong believer that there is not such thing as "children's" theatre or "adult" theatre. There is good, engaging theatre, and there is the other kind. A great amount of "adult" theatre can and should have more children in the audience, and a good amount of "children's" theatre should have more adults in the audience.
The two shows that I saw today as part of the FringeKids! part of the Fringe festival are good plays, pure and simple, and I have no hesitation recommending them to both adults and children.
First, The Cat of Kensington, by Kirsten Harvey and Shaun McComb (who also appear in the show) with music and lyrics by Waylen Miki. This adaptation of the Puss in Boots story, with an obvious Toronto flavour, is simply told, and entertainingly acted. I was a bit dissapointed in that it did not follow the thread of the original Pereault tale very closely, which it could have done to good effect. However, the story as presented was still an entertaining tale. If there is true critisism to be had, it is that the energy level of the cast seemed to be low. However, it was still an entertaining evening, and a performance not so late in the day would succeed better in keeping the energy up.
Next, Fairy Tale Ending by Kieren MacMillan and Jeremy Hutton. The show opens with Jill (Meagan Tuck), our protagonist, wondering why the tales her grandmother told her as a child have started to lose the happy endings alluded to in the title. This is a brilliant piece, and a must-see for any Fringer. The witty music, and lyrics reminded me a little of Jason Robert Brown, in a good way. The book stretches the well known fairy tales of Goldilocks, The Three Little Pigs, and The Billy Goats Gruff, without ever fracturing them. The packing is quick, and there's more than enough banter and character work to keep people of all ages entertained. The performances were spot on, across the board. However, I have to make special mention of Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski, Carl Swanson, and Mike Wisniowski as "The Three."
I will not be surprised if an expanded version of this show is seen on a main stage in the near future. See it now so that you can say you were there.
The third show that I took in today was Bosco and Jones, book and lyrics by Rachael and Brett McCaig and music by Scott white. Depite my statement about how there isn't really "adult" theatre, this production is most certainly not suitable for young children. However, for adults (late teens and above) it is a delightfully dirty musical talking a walk on the off-colour side of comedy. When vaudville performer Bosco (Paul Constable) is reunited with his Ventriloquest dummy Jones (Matt Bois) a number of years after falling out, sparks fly as old wounds are reopened, but ultimately healed. The conceit of the show is a bit of a strech, but is easily forgiven as songs such as "She Gives Me Wood" and "Bumper Sticker Love" take you to a happy place of guilty giggles. A number of jokes here push (and cross) the boundary of good taste so if you are easily offended, you might stay away. However, compared to something like South Park, the content is surely tame. The program notes indicate that this is a shortened version of what was originally a 90 minute script. I hope to see the full version at some point in the future. In all, a great way to end the evening.
All of these shows continue to run this week at the Fringe Festival. Don't miss out.