Take A Bite

Artpoint Gallery

August 1, 3 and 5

http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/08/05/332-take-a-bite

 

Have you ever gone to a restaurant and had a magnificently delicious meal followed by a mediocre and flavourless dessert? You can’t really say that the dessert ruined the meal for you as the main dishes were wonderful. But somehow that letdown at the end of the meal leaves you with a niggling sense of disappointment that you just can’t shake.

This is how I felt seeing Take A Bite. A solid 99% of the play delivers a creative story with interesting ideas and fantastic acting. The end however let the air out of the balloon.

The play opens with two strangers, Vera and Dion, locked in a room together without knowing where they are or how they got there. Dion, an 18-year-old coming down off and acid trip and covered in blood assumes they are in jail and for lack of any other explanation, Vera, a 33-year-old ex-teacher agrees.

With nothing else to do but wait till their release, the two start talking. Or rather Dion starts talking rather frenetically about sex and girls and anything else his stream of consciousness speaking patterns allow. He tells Vera that the girl he sleeps with, Tonya, is actually dating a big and violent man named Steve who beats her regularly.  He figures the blood on his shirt is Tonya having a nose bleed on him mid-coital and that having sex with Tonya is the last thing he remembers before waking up in the cell. He tells her about his sex-ed class in school where he witnessed a condom being put on a banana and subsequently thinking a man needed a banana to have sex. He also tells her about his cheating father and how his mom used to bake gingerbread for him. It all comes out in a scattered but sweet and often funny rant made even kookier by the malapropisms that Dion tosses in. The situation is iconic instead of ironic, his was given corporeal punishment at school instead of corporal punishment and Vera seems inhabited instead of inhibited. Some of these word switches Vera corrects, but neither she nor the audience is really sure if Dion does them on purpose, making them even more amusing.

Vera eventually opens up to Dion, explaining that the reason she is wearing a sexy nightgown is because she was at her boyfriend Eric’s place before waking up in the cell. She also tells Dion that she has never felt pretty or desired and hints that there are problems between her and Eric, but recoils when pressed about what they are.

Finally through his un-ironic praise of Vera and laying bare his own background, Dion is able to coax Vera into telling him her story. It’s not what the audience expects and I was grateful for the clever twist which was neither farfetched or melodramatic but rather interesting and introspective.

Since I am going to ruin the ending of the play for you (stop reading here if you don’t want to know) I will not ruin the best part of the play for you. The part leading up to the end. All I will say is that Take A Bite takes an existential turn and makes the plot utterly believable and surprisingly not weird in the slightest. Up to this point, the script is brilliantly written, the story moves along perfectly and Liana Shannon as Vera and Isaac Andrew as Dion give near flawless performances.

Then the dessert. It was all a dream. Not only did the story not happen, Take A Bite goes ones step further and rubs in the fact that it was only a dream with dreadfully corny last lines of dialogue. I shook my head. Why after such intelligent story telling did the playwright choose to wrap things up in a tidy mundane package? Of course I’ll never know, so I’m just trying to focus on the 99% of the play I really liked and hoping the ending won’t give me indigestion.

 

RATING

For the guys – It’s weird and funny and cool. SEE IT

For the girls – Vera’s story will move you and you will and you will find yourself liking Dion like a lost and somewhat smelly puppy. SEE IT

For the occasional audience – It will be one of the fastest hours at the Fringe you will spend. Time flies when things are good. SEE IT

For the theatre junkies – I will feel your pain at the ending. But go for the rest of it. SEE IT

A Stroke of Malice

Alexandra Centre Society

August 1, 2, 4 and 5

http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/08/05/328-a-stroke-of-malice

 

In the Calgary Fringe Festival brochure, A Stroke of Malice is described as “A story…..that exposes the horror and malignancy of elder abuse.”  To my mind, the only thing that was truly abused in this play was my time spent watching it.

Based on a true story, the play tells the tale of a post-stroke older woman named Hazel who has come to a social worker’s office seeking some kind of ambiguous help. Hazel presents as a fairly senile, rambling, critical and self-deprecating senior citizen who is suspicious of social workers and is reluctant to talk about personal matters. After several forgetful moments however, Hazel, with the prodding of the social worker, finally tells her story with the mental acuity of someone who not only does not have memory problems, but is pretty much in control of all her mental faculties. In other words, a character switch that is more than a little jarring.

Hazel’s story turns out not to be the account of elder abuse so much as the story of an ex-husband screwing his physically handicapped ex-wife out of all her possessions and finances. It’s a horrible story to be sure, there is violence and rape and verbal abuse and the story could have really elicited a deep emotional reaction from the audience. But for me the story fizzled for a whole number of reasons.

Right from the start I was totally put off by Sydney John’s portrayal of the social worker, Rose.  John played her as sarcastic, compassionless and impatient and did so with a high-schoolish delivery. I don’t mean to suggest that all social workers are Mother Theresa, but surely a social worker specializing in the elderly and who sincerely wants to coax a story out of Hazel would have been more professional. To cut John a break, the lines didn’t leave her much room for great acting. Upon hearing Hazel’s atrocious story of abuse, Rose comments “The horror of what you went through is so horrible, how did you get through it”? I was not the only person in the audience who groaned at that one.

Carrie Schiffler as Hazel brings some light to the production with her elderly shuffle, semi-paralysis and dizzying patter. But as good as she is, she cannot outpace the script which piles one awful event on top of another without enough room to digest. Hazel talks non-stop for the last 45 minutes of the play when what were really called for were some silences.

The play ends with a surprise, and I will not spoil it here except to say that while I didn’t see it coming and even if it is true, it felt false and implausible due to the its rushed nature and awkward acting all around.

Dark and disturbing is a tough genre to pull off. It requires great acting and a solid script. The way I experienced it, A Stroke Of Malice had little of either.

RATING

For the guys – A poorly configured play about an elderly female stroke victim being raped and swindled will most likely not float your boat. SKIP IT

For the girls – You’ll feel sorry for Hazel, but you won’t emotionally connect with her or the story. SKIP IT

For the occasional audience – There are WAY better plays about abuse at this year’s Fringe. Go see Spitting in the Fact of the Devil instead. SKIP IT

For the theatre junkies – Frustration at what could have been an interesting play is no fun. SKIP IT

This Is Our Youth

Alexandra Centre

August 2, 3, 5 and 6

http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/08/02/324-this-is-our-youth

There is no more fitting way to signal that a show is to be set in the 1980’s than to play audio of Ronald Regan’s speech on upholding traditional family values while the audience shuffles in to take their seats for the performance. This Is Our Youth opens in the Upper West Side apartment of a too cool for school, loud-mouth drug dealer named Dennis. His buzzer rings and to Dennis’s aggravation, it’s his friend Warren, a rich-kid burnout pothead that has finally pushed his father too far and been thrown out of the house. Not only does Warren arrive wanting to stay at Dennis’s place, he brings with him a suitcase of his prized possessions consisting of retro toys and electronics, a collector’s item baseball cap given to him by his grandfather and the $15,000 Warren has stolen from his father.

What to do with the money, questions of if they should give it back, the repercussions if they don’t and finally a plot to use the money to buy cocaine, snort some of it, resell the rest at a profit and return the money to Warren’s father becomes the narrative for most of the play. Added into the plot is a courtship story of sorts when Warren finally gets the chance to “date” Jessica, the girl he is pining for. The two meet at Dennis’ apartment when Dennis goes out to buy the coke and the pair argues, talks and eventually hooks up only to erode shortly after, leaving Warren rejected and alone as usual.

Nothing wrong with the story itself, but some of the dialogue and the props threatened to derail the show right from the start. Let’s start with the ubiquitous joint that Warren and Dennis smoke throughout the performance. It is HUGE and plastic and white and allows the performers to exhale smoke after inhaling. I appreciate the affect…but I had to giggle every time I saw it. It looked as though they were toking on a big white spit ball tube. It was a minor problem, but I found it bothersome. More concerning however was the whole 80’s setting. At the risk of dating myself, I remember the 80’s well and was probably around the age the characters were meant to be in the play in that infamous decade. Other than a turned up polo collar shirt, oversized bomber leather jackets, high-waisted jeans and the buying and doing of coke, I failed to find any real 80’s vibe or reference in the dialogue. Where was the “gag” or the “gnarly” or “psych” or “dweeb” or “lame”…..I could go on but I’ll stop there in case it becomes catchy. Frankly, without the lingo, the story could have taken place today and it would have been just as effective. Without a solid 80’s immersion, the setting felt half-baked to me.

All this could have been forgiven if the acting was strong all around. The relationship between Dennis and Warren is the centre of the narrative with Dennis hurling verbal abuse at Warren all the while claiming to be his friend. It’s a belittling that Warren for the most part takes and counters with his oral diarrhoea and filter-less spewing of thoughts and opinions. The two are very charged and wordy with each other and ultimately were unequally matched in acting chops. Geoffrey Brown as Warren is a joy to watch. Channelling a geeky-cool, semi-insecure persona, Brown is by far the standout of the play. When the dialogue failed and the plot drifted, I found myself happily watching him and his ability to fully embody a character even when the attention wasn’t on him. Randy Burke as Dennis by comparison often projected a try-hard energy that felt overacted at times and amateur at others. Burke did have a glimmer of brilliance in a monologue he delivers at the end of the performance where he describes himself as “stoned with fear” after the death of his drug source, but by that time it’s too late to put himself on par with Brown. Cassidy Warring gives a good enough turn as Jessica and does manage to hold her own with Brown’s verbal sparring, but still falls short of Brown’s immense talent.

In the end, This Is Our Youth failed to wow me. The story has potential and I was delighted to be introduced to Brown’s acting ability, but the bright spots just didn’t justify the 1.5 hour timeframe or the narrative commitment.

RATING

For the guys – There are drugs, and chasing women, the threat of violence and guys sassing each other. The testosterone is high if not the quality of the play. MAYBE SEE IT

For the girls – If you want to see a good 80’s story, go home and rent any of John Hughes’ movies. SKIP IT

For the occasional audience – The energy is up the entire play, there is a distinct story and arc to the plot and the actors do a good enough job to make it move along. MAYBE SEE IT

For the theatre junkie – Write down Geoffrey Brown’s name. If you ever hear of him in another performance, run to see it. SKIP IT

Spitting In the Face Of the Devil

 Artpoint Gallery

July 31 &August 1,3,4 and 6

http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/07/30/321-spitting-in-the-face-of-the-devil

 

“When I got the phone call that the Devil was dead, I felt nothing.” At hearing this first line of Bob Brader’s one man performance, Spitting In The Face Of The Devil, we the audience feel nothing as well. But within minutes of the play’s highly charged dialogue, it becomes apparent that soon we will feel anything but nothing for the Devil in this play – Bob’s repugnantly abusive father.

The drama of what transpired between Bob, his father, his family and certain of Bob’s friends is shown to us through Bob’s running monologue in what feels like a series of short but achingly powerful stories. We hear about the physical abuse he suffered as a child when his father would whip him for wetting the bed, the verbal abuse as his father belittled his every accomplishment and claimed to be embarrassed by Bob’s lack of talent and the discovery of his father’s predatory sexual abuse and pedophilia.

Heavy material to be sure. Material that could have been melodramatic or self-pitying or even clichéd. But Spitting In The Face Of the Devil is none of these things. Instead Brader uses a matter-of-fact delivery in combination with volcanic sized energy and hints of humour throughout the play to allow the audience to follow along without getting bogged down in the sorrow of the story.

And then there’s the impressions. In telling the personal vignettes, Bob take on the personas in the dialogue playing his mother, his teachers, his doctors, his girlfriends and even the Devil himself. But it’s Bob’s impressions of himself as a toddler, a young boy and a teen that are the standouts here. Using both voice and physicality, Brader transforms from the adult on stage to the ages he talks about in the dialogue. The scene where Bob as a teenager dishes to his friend about his first breast fondle  is itself worth going to see the play for and one of the necessary funny reprieves from the central theme of the show.

The Fringe blurb describes Spitting In The Face Of the Devil as a “daring, uplifting and comedic solo show”. After seeing the play I find this somewhat misleading. The play is daring – Brader certainly lays himself and his family bare in the play. But uplifting and comedic? Sure there are humourous moments, some quite funny, but I would in no way call this performance comedic. In fact I found many of the “funny” bits rather sad and pathetic in the way I think Bader intended them to be. As for uplifting, well that I don’t get at all. This is a play without a happy ending or a neat resolution. It’s a true story that is messy and fraught with contradictions. An authentic, horrific, real slice of life. And that’s what makes it so good.

RATING

For the guys – Hopefully you can’t relate to the story, but you will most certainly empathize with the struggles of a boy and young man trying to navigate a tragic upbringing. SEE IT

For the girls – He doesn’t ask for your pity, but your heart will bleed and you will be rooting for Bob and his mother the whole way though. Even if they disappoint you. SEE IT

For the occasional audience – Solo shows without any action are often hard for this group. But Bader’s high energy performance and gripping story will wow you. SEE IT

For the theater junkie – Some of the vignettes could have been edited out and there were notable holes in the story line. However this will not take away from your appreciation of the superb acting job and compelling script. SEE IT

 

Bedlam

Alexandra Society

June 29, 30, August 1, 2, 4 and 5

http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/07/30/322-pretty-bird

I’m embarrassed to say that I broke the #1 rule of fringing on the first night of this year’s Calgary Fringe Festival – ALWAYS get there early!!! I had planned on seeing This Is Our Youth this eve, but by the time I showed up, the play was sold out and not even my fancy-shmancy media credentials could help me worm my way in. Serves me right! And good for This Is Our Youth!! I’m delighted the production is a solid draw and I will for sure show up in plenty of time to catch tomorrow’s performance. Reviewer’s honour!

So, after scrambling around to find another performance that tickled my fancy, I settled on the one man show Bedlam, described in the program as “the true story of the father of modern lobotomy and his horrific quest to end mental illness”. A heady subject for sure (pun intended) but it certainly sounded interesting and relevant and as those of you who read me regularly know….I like the dark stuff. Fortunately for me, my mistake earlier in the evening paid off. Bedlam is an interesting and disturbing slice of history told with tense dialogue and barely-there staging.

Alexander Forsyth who wrote and stars in the play as Dr. Walter Freeman, the doctor infamous with brining lobotomy to America and then tweaking the procedure to make it his own, gives a strong one hour performance that is full of audience discomfort in all the right places.

The play opens with Dr. Freeman reading from medical files describing his psychiatric patients and how drug and therapy cures have resulted in no long-term cure. Freeman reads these histories without any empathy or compassion. Instead, he’s frustrated that he isn’t able to overcome these medical obstacles and create a name for himself. I instantly took a dislike to him. And then became worried as to how I was going to watch this cold-hearted unpleasant character for a solid hour. But once I settled in and understood the characterization Forsyth was projecting, it all made sense to me. I wasn’t supposed to like him. Dr. Freeman was (in this play) a careerist who was smarmy, bitter and ultimately after his own glory.

Freeman goes on to explain his discovery of lobotomy, his retoling the procedure, his minor successes and all the failures and wrecked lives he caused, including his disasterous operation on Joe Kennedy’s daughter Rosemary that left her comotosed.  All this while claiming to be the only one who truly cares about the mentally ill and their suffering. It’s difficult to listen to, but fascinating at the same time. Like staring at a car crash, I couldn’t help but be engrossed in the gruesome details of the operations including a very nauseating and graphic description of his orbital lobotomy procedure.

This type of ghastly curiosity only works because Forsyth is telling a true story. A slice of history that is important to hear about for anyone interested in the medical and mental health fields. Frankly, I think it’s an important story about the nature of human behaviour and how we treat each other…but I’ll leave the preaching to someone else.

The play also works due to Forsyth’s strong acting. Bedlam is a wordy play with little to no action and Forsyth does an admirable job of characterization to keep the audience tuned in. At times the script gets away from him in a jumble of overly technical phrasing, the story can feel shallow and repetitive in moments and the downfall ending felt a little flat. But blips aside, Bedlam is a solidly written and acted play that both teaches and intrigues.

RATING

For the guys – Is it manly to listen to stories about digging around in someone’s brain? Whether it is or not, you’ll like the science and the medicine and find the lack of bedside manner thought-provoking. SEE IT

For the girls – The absence of patient empathy and the gory descriptions might not be to your taste. SKIP IT

For the occasional audience – Not a lot happens, there is no set to speak of and it’s a heavy script. Probably not for you. SKIP IT

For the theatre junkies – Fresh story, well-written and strongly-acted. Well worth your time. SEE IT

Quick post to let everyone know that I will be a guest on CBC Eyeopener for the Tuesday, August 2nd broadcast. I’ll be talking about the Calgary Fringe Festival, what I’ve seen, what I’ve liked, what fell short and my picks for the rest of the fest.

See you all on the radio!

Calgary Fringe Festival

July 29 to August 6, 2011

http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/sections/3-shows

 

I know it’s hard right now to think of life beyond Stampede, but once your feet recover from boot blisters and your liver has forgiven you for everything naughty you’ve ingested, I’m hoping you’ll be yearning for some non-cowboy cultural entertainment. And I can think of no better way to ease yourself back into the theatre than Calgary Fringe Festival.

For those of you who don’t know, Fringes are non-juried, uncensored theatre festivals that showcase many plays over several days throughout various venues. Calgary Fringe is presenting a combination of 27 local, national and international productions for a total of over 160 performances over 9 days. The plays are usually one-act or short 2 act plays (60 to 90 minutes tops) with very reasonable ticket prices. From what I can see on the Calgary Fringe site, ticket prices are running between $15 to $10 per ticket depending on the show.

I have visited Fringe Festivals in many cities over the years and I have learned the good, the bad and the ugly of attending this kind of festival:

The Good
• I have seen many fabulous productions at Fringe Festivals, several of which have gone on to national and even international acclaim.
• At such inexpensive ticket prices, the value for your money is usually very high with these productions
• The atmosphere at Fringe productions are really casual and fun, meaning you don’t have to dress up to go and enjoy
• 100% of the ticket money goes directly to the artists – talk about supporting the arts!

The Bad
• Most of the productions are new works and consequently there are no reviews to help you decide which play to see
• Popular plays sell out fast, meaning that you do need to plan to attend the shows you are interested in seeing
• Because the plays are performed at different times throughout the schedule, sometimes it’s impossible to see the productions you are keen on

The Ugly
• Because the shows are un-juried, the chance that you’ll end up seeing a clunker is very real and can be very painful

Yes I have seen my share of stinkers at Fringe festivals, but many times this was because I didn’t pay enough attention to the play descriptions beforehand. For example, I know that I do not like mainstream comedies, which is generally what gets played at Fringes. So when I’ve gone to a Fringe comedy and found it too dumbed-down for me, it really was my own fault. My advice – know your taste, read through the play descriptions and pick a few that sound like they are your speed. When I’ve taken the time to do this, I have always managed to see at least a couple productions that I really liked and I’m excited to find a few more this time around.

And if you are asking, here’s what I’m seeing this year:

This is Our Youth
http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/07/29/324-this-is-our-youth

Spitting in the Face of the Devil
http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/07/30/321-spitting-in-the-face-of-the-devil

Take a Bite
http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/07/31/332-take-a-bite

Houdini’s Last Escape
http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/08/01/325-houdinis-last-escape

The Duck Variations
http://see.calgaryfringe.ca/events/2011/08/03/335-the-duck-variations

 

Check back staring July 29th for reviews from the Fringe and Happy Stampede everyone!

Wicked

Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium

June 29 – July 17

http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/110046708D926CAC?artistid=1452006&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=207

 

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you know how I feel about musicals. For those of you that are new, I’ll sum things up quickly. I hate musicals. Detest them.  Can’t stand them.  Really not my cup of tea.  So you can imagine my reluctance to go and see Wicked when it came to town. But with several Tony awards for the show’s Broadway run and over 2 million attendees world-wide for the touring production, I felt that Wicked was too monumental to go unreviewed in Calgary. I would go even if I hated every minute of it.

Funny thing is, I didn’t hate it. In fact, I actually liked it quite a bit. And no, my anti-musical stance is not softening. Rather, Wicked is a clever, beautifully costumed and staged,  inside jokey and fun play that also happens to be set to music most of the time.

Wicked tells the backstory of why the Wicked Witch of the West became the way she did. We are not born wicked, the play posits, but rather we are made. The play opens with Glinda the Good Witch celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West with the inhabitants of Oz. But when asked by one of the celebrants if she knew the Wicked Witch and was in fact friends with her at one point, the play morphs into a long flashback that spans the length of the performance.

We see the birth of the Wicked Witch, named Elphaba, who is oddly born green from, head-to-toe. We learn that her father rejected her strangeness and later blames her for her younger sister’s handicap. We feel sorry for Elphaba as every person she encounters points and stares and mocks her differences causing her to take on the prickly demeanour of the outcast.

Fast forward to Elphaba at boarding school as she rooms with Glinda, a goody-two-shoes whose beauty is rivalled by her vanity and shallowness. The girls instantly hate each other, but eventually become a sort of odd-couple set of best friends. During this time Elphaba shows her prowess at magic and is accepted into the exclusive sorcery class, eventually insisting that Glinda be allowed entrance as well.

All seems fine for Elphie at last. She has a friend. She is studying magic. She is hopeful that her talent will get her an audience with The Great Oz so that he might take away her greenness.  But it all starts to go awry when she learns that her favourite teacher, a goat, is losing his ability to speak. It turns out that all the creatures in Oz are suffering this condition and Elphie believes that it is some nefarious plot to silence the animals and keep them under control. She will have none of it, and begins an animal activism crusade which leads to Elphie being labelled wicked and eventually causes her to behave that way.

There is much more to the plot including cute nods to all things Wizard of Oz such as the origin of the ruby slippers, why the broom flies, where the Lion, Tim Man and Scarecrow came from and why those evil monkeys have wings.  While many of the explanations were forced or overwritten, I couldn’t help but smile with nostalgic warmth as the familiar plots and characters from the Oz movie were given context and dimension in the play. 

But what really made me smile was watching Natalie Daradich as Glinda. Part Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, part Cher in Clueless and part Nelly Olsen from Little House on the Prairie, Daradich took a deliciously juicy role and made it even tastier by her abundant energy and hysterical timing. The play may be about Elphaba, but it’s Glinda that steals the show and is itself worth coming out to see.

By now you’ve probably think that I’ve purposefully forgotten about the music part of the play. Actually I have forgotten about it, but not on purpose. While the casts’ voices were all strong and a pleasure to listen to, the music itself was fairly forgettable. This is not the kind of musical that leaves you humming those memorable tunes.  The lyrics were well written and either emphasized the plot or added to it, but I felt that the music itself was just background padding to the play. It was fine while it was happening, but evaporated once the number was over. 

My final thoughts on the performance focused on the initiated as opposed to the newbie. Much of my enjoyment of the play hinged on my knowledge and fondness for The Wizard of Oz and my desire to learn the secrets of the prologue to the narrative. For those of us schooled on the original movie, Wicked provides a delightful romp in the past that gives context and credence to the story we have come to know and love. But as I looked around at the audience full of young girls under the age of 10, I questioned if the same nostalgic yearning for answers was what kept their interest.  I am hesitant to say the play holds up on its own without foreknowledge of its famous predecessor, but the youngsters in the audience seemed to be enjoying themselves either with or without the familiarity of the famous story that made this play possible.

Either way, Wicked seems to enchant all audience members on whatever level of understanding they may bring and provides good entertainment for the time being. And for me, that is a good enough reason to put on decent clothes and come to the theatre.

 

RATING

For the guys – It’s a musical, about girl power and how women are misunderstood and often victimized and taken advantage of. But if you are a fan of the Wizard of Oz you will enjoy it. MAYBE SEE IT

For the girls – You will love the girly humanness of the Wicked Witch and will relate to the bullying that leads to her downfall and the womanly strength that raises her up again. SEE IT

For the occasional audience – The sets are fantastic, the performances are great, the story is fun and you will get all the inside jokes. SEE IT

For the theatre junkies – It didn’t win all those awards for nothing. This is an opportunity to see one of the most successful Broadway musicals on your home turf. You may not love everything about it but you will appreciate the slickness and smartness of both the play and the production. SEE IT