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Audio Gift: Come From Away Canadian cast

Come From Away Canadian Regional Premiere January 4, 2018 – 7:30 pm – First Preview – Winnipeg, MB

http://www.mediafire.com/file/1c7jua85t2mwje5/2018_01_04_-_Come_From_Away_Winnipeg.zip

Hannah, etc – Saccha Dennis Janice, etc – Steffi DiDomenicantonio Diane, etc – Barbara Fulton Beulah, etc – Lisa Horner Nick, etc – James Kall Claude, etc – George Masswohl Kevin J., etc – Ali Momen Kevin T., etc – Jack Noseworthy Oz, etc – Cory O’Brien Bonnie, etc – Kristen Peace Beverley, etc – Eliza-Jane Scott Bob, etc – Kevin Vidal

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Audio Gift: Sound of Music NT

Sound of Music National Tour January 5, 2018 – 7:30 pm – Winnipeg, MB

http://www.mediafire.com/file/lfwt4bdyrom1zea/2018_01_05_Sound_of_Music_NT_Winnipeg.zip

Maria – Jill-Christine Wiley Captain Von Trapp – Mike McLean Mother Abbess – Lauren Kidwell Rolf – Chad P. Campbell Max – Jake Mills Elsa – Melissa McKamie Liesl – Keslie Ward Friedrich – Landon Brimacombe Louisa – Maya Karp Kurt – Arick Brooks Brigitta – Katie Grgecic Marta – Amaryllis C. Miller Greta – Sophia Massa

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Audio Gift: Jersey Boys NT

Jersey Boys National Tour November 19, 2017 – 7:30 pm – Vancouver, BC

http://www.mediafire.com/file/qsu115swsqqv7cr/2017_11_19_Jersey_Boys_NT_Vancouver.zip

Frankie Valli – Jonny Wexler

Tommy DeVito – Corey Greenan

Bob Gaudio – Tommaso Antico

Nick Massi – Chris Stevens

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Audio Gift: Santino Fontana in concert

Santino Fontana – Live at the 1919 Lounge September 30, 2017 – Grand Forks, ND

http://www.mediafire.com/file/580c1byeey4jppf/2017_09_30_Santino_Fontana.zip

Santino performs 1.5 hours of old standards, folk songs, showtunes, and various others. Is also generally charming throughout. Before the encore, he answers questions from the audience.

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“Diane, 11:30 a.m., February Twenty-fourth. Entering the town of Twin Peaks.”

Inspired by (x)

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when comedy echoes real life

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The only good thing reddit has ever produced https://www.reddit.com/r/casualiama/comments/65788g/im_3_i_know_everything_ama/?st=1Z141Z3&sh=f48ba715

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Review: ‘Swordplay: A Play of Swords’ at Winnipeg Fringe

This is the first and only non-Winnipeg-based theatre company production I attended at this year’s Fringe. I didn’t plan it that way, but that’s how it turned out – I’m just naturally attracted to local talent, I guess. But after I heard a rep from Sex T-Rex promote Swordplay: A Play of Swords at The Cube as “a retelling of The Princess Bride told through an ’80s video game,” I was sold.  The Princess Bride is very near and dear to my heart. I knew I had to make the trek out to the West End Cultural Centre to see this show.

It’s difficult to be consistently funny – either you’re not funny, or the actors get exhausted, or they start to annoy the audience. But Swordplay, thankfully, does none of these things. They are funny throughout the hour-and-change play, taking every opportunity to make a meticulously-crafted joke. Every line has been chosen deliberately to advance the plot or be funny; every line is important.

This show has been performed and workshopped just enough that it’s in its sweet spot: it’s been through other Fringes and will continue on after this one, but Swordplay is seeing its first Winnipeg audience. It’s still fresh and funny and hasn’t been overperformed.

The DnD Improv crowd will enjoy this one – it’s nerdy and has hints of inside jokes while paying homage to video games and poking fun at fantasy clichés. It’s not so niche that others won’t enjoy it. I consider myself a very middle-of-the-road yes-I-like-nerd-things-but-I’m-not-a-dungeon-master-or-anything kind of nerd and I was able to catch every joke. That’s when you know that the comedy is good: it can still be about a particular thing to a particular audience, but it’s still funny to everybody.

Although Swordplay borrows from nerd culture across the map, it’s still a original tale with just the right amount of camp. I didn’t even want to take notes because I didn’t want my eyes to leave the stage and miss anything. Many of (if not all) the Fringe shows I saw this year left me thinking about vast topics on my drive home, but this one wasn’t. This is just a good ol’ no-thinker funny (without being offensive) swashbuckling adventure. And that’s a good thing.

Swordplay: A Play of Swords and the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival are on now until July 30. For ticket information, show times, and a venue map, visit WinnipegFringe.com.

5/5 stars

Here’s how I’ll be starring all my Fringe reviews:

5 stars = Astounding. I will physically push you in the direction of this show. Must see.

4 stars = Very good! Highly recommended.

3 stars = Well done. People interested in this genre/subject matter will enjoy it, but it may not be for everyone.

2 stars = Only people interested in this genre/subject matter will probably enjoy it.

1 star = Not recommended to anyone.

0 stars = Run in the opposite direction.

Read my other Fringe experiences:

• Review: 4.48 Psychosis • Review: The Trump Card • Review: Joe Job • Recap: SLAM! • Review: Macbeth • Review: KING

from Review: ‘Swordplay: A Play of Swords’ at Winnipeg Fringe

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Review: ‘KING’ at Winnipeg Fringe

Napoleon Bonaparte, Henry VIII, Emperor Nero. ’90s grunge. RENT meets Hamilton. What would happen if the biggest dicks in history were together to measure them?

These are all massive, legendary concepts, but you shouldn’t expect a similarly-styled show. It’s DIY. It’s duct tape and cardboard boxes, pickle tub drum kits and burlap and rope. It’s thrift store clothes and ripped jeans, Chucks and cheap beer. It’s not clean or polished; it has frayed edges and tears. It’s the feeling when you have a lunch of mini donuts – are there healthier options? Sure. But indulge yourself. This one tastes good.

Nominated for the Harry Rintoul Award for Best New Manitoban Play (created by stars Duncan Cox, Tanner Mason and Ben Townsley), this quasi-musical (more of a play with songs if you ask me – not that there’s anything wrong with that) explores the trials of these three kings/emperors/rulers if they had been forced to answer for their tyranny. It’s loud (very loud, actually, for the small space) and occasionally obnoxious, but that’s what these men likely were – loud, obnoxious, childish, and utterly human. We forget these imperfect qualities when they become legends.

Henry VIII as a Mick Jagger-meets-Christian Borle-as-Shakespeare type. Emperor Nero as a flamboyantly gay Kurt Cobain (although I would’ve liked to see him with hints of more of a chainsmoking Donatella Versace). Napoleon as a jean-jacketed womanizing-yet-lovelorn Tom DeLonge of sorts. All of these men are obsessed with their legacy, but what does that mean? Does it mean land? Property? An heir? Love? What’s left when you’ve been dead for hundreds of years? In the end, does it even matter?

KING and the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival are on now until July 30. For ticket information, show times, and a venue map, visit WinnipegFringe.com.

4/5 stars

Here’s how I’ll be starring all my Fringe reviews:

5 stars = Astounding. I will physically push you in the direction of this show. Must see.

4 stars = Very good! Highly recommended.

3 stars = Well done. People interested in this genre/subject matter will enjoy it, but it may not be for everyone.

2 stars = Only people interested in this genre/subject matter will probably enjoy it.

1 star = Not recommended to anyone.

0 stars = Run in the opposite direction.

Read my other Fringe experiences:

• Review: 4.48 Psychosis • Review: The Trump Card • Review: Joe Job • Recap: SLAM! • Review: Macbeth

from Review: ‘KING’ at Winnipeg Fringe

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Review: Knavish Hedgehogs’ ‘Macbeth’

I love Shakespeare, I love innovative lighting, and I love weird theatre superstitions. After Knavish Hedgehogs reached out to me on Twitter when I was looking for suggestions, I knew I had to make their production of Macbeth (or as you say in the theatre, The Scottish Play) part of my Fringe schedule.

Here’s the elevator pitch: the original text, condensed to an hour or so, seven actors, and no sets, no costumes, and no lights. The cast is illuminated only by each other’s handheld flashlights.

It’s not hard to see or hard to follow. The cast has been expertly coached by director Ari Weinberg to be in the right place at the right time, moving so swiftly and carefully that they occasionally startled me when they flicked their lights on. Theatre doesn’t scare me a lot – it was a nice change. I actually purposefully moved closer to the stage so I could see faces, and I’m glad I did.

Macbeth is my favourite Shakespeare play and the Hedgehogs did it well. Daniel McIntyre-Ridd as the titular character was wonderful, not serving up the typical power-hungry-into-paranoid Scotsman, but instead making him anxious all the way through (which, admittedly, reminded me a little of Evan Hansen – which is a great thing; don’t give me an opportunity to talk about how much I love Evan Hansen because I won’t stop), giving new depth to the ancient character.

Lady Macbeth always steals the show, but Miranda Baran slayed. Pun intended. Also portraying one of the witches, she showed why Shakespeare ladies continue to be dream roles for any actor. She commanded the stage, commanded your attention, and got it. Deservedly.

I appreciate Shakespeare much more as an adult, and much more when acted instead of read, like it was intended. When you were first exposed to the Bard, you probably read it aloud in your ninth grade English class with kids who couldn’t pronounce “Fleance” without stumbling. This production is the opposite. The ending left me speechless. It is a masterpiece.

Macbeth and the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival are on now until July 30. For ticket information, show times, and a venue map, visit WinnipegFringe.com.

5/5 stars

Here’s how I’ll be starring all my Fringe reviews:

5 stars = Astounding. I will physically push you in the direction of this show. Must see.

4 stars = Very good! Highly recommended.

3 stars = Well done. People interested in this genre/subject matter will enjoy it, but it may not be for everyone.

2 stars = Only people interested in this genre/subject matter will probably enjoy it.

1 star = Not recommended to anyone.

0 stars = Run in the opposite direction.

Read my other Fringe experiences:

• Review: 4.48 Psychosis • Review: The Trump Card • Review: Joe Job • Recap: SLAM!

from Review: Knavish Hedgehogs’ ‘Macbeth’

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Maybe it’ll be like an exchange program where Patti goes to Comet and takes Natasha and Denée gets Helena for a few weeks.

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hello, my name is pierre bezukhov. you promised countess rostova to marry her and were about to elope. prepare to die.

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At this rate, can we put Stephen Sondheim in as the Bear

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Recap: SLAM! at Winnipeg Fringe

I didn’t want to call this a “review” because I knew it couldn’t be: the poets rotate, the poems are different, the audiences are different – it would be impossible to give my thoughts on any given night because they are all different.

I’d never been to a poetry slam before, although I’ve always appreciated the art, I hadn’t built up the courage to sit in an audience and look performance poets in the eye as they bared their souls. My only exposure to poetry slams was that scene in An Extremely Goofy Movie (which is still an incredible modern-day classic, by the way). I figured that Fringe would be a risk-free opportunity to get exposed to some poetry. It felt excellent to dip my toes in that pool.

Here’s the way it worked: each performance that Winnipeg Poetry Slam has at the Fringe will feature four poets (out of eight, in a round robin tournament). Picked in a random order, they all perform one poem. The judges (picked from the audience) give scores out of 10. At “halftime,” the audience takes turns writing haikus. Here’s mine:

A haiku for Winnipeg Fringe: Sweet mini donuts I could eat two buckets, man Wait, no. Big mistake.

The poets then each perform another poem, and are again scored. Depending on their standings, they each earn points, which determines how they rank. The top four poets will perform in the final, and will earn a real prize – money from ticket sales. You can check out the tournament standings on their website.

It was difficult to take notes during performances, because the rhythm and smoothness and passion that the poets exert is so difficult to describe in a word other than “poetry.” I wrote that down in my notebook: “How do I use a word that isn’t ‘poetry’ to describe poetry?” It’s an artistic expression of the human spirit, combining words and emotions and occasional rhymes and body movements to attempt to convey inside gut reactions that can only ever truly be felt, but the poets came close to portraying them effectively, as close as possible.

They covered topics like love, death, inner demons, and even Batman. It can’t be predicted what could come up next, but take my word for it – I’m hooked on poetry slams.

SLAM! and the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival are on now until July 30. For ticket information, show times, and a venue map, visit WinnipegFringe.com.

Read my other Fringe experiences on ChrisD.ca:

• Review: 4.48 Psychosis • Review: The Trump Card • Review: Joe Job

from Recap: SLAM! at Winnipeg Fringe

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ALREADY SELLING MY FIRSTBORN CHILD FOR A BOOT OF MANDY IN GREAT COMET

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Some fuckass Northern lord: Girls can’t fight for the North in this war

Lyanna Mormont:

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‘Really terrifying… but also really freeing’: 4.48 Psychosis and Portraying Mental Illness Onstage

Liz Whitbread performs in Theatre By The River’s production of 4.48 Psychosis. She is also rocking the shit out of those high-waisted shorts. Photo: Giovanni Navarro.

You can go to any fringe festival in the world, throw a stone, and hit a poster for a comedic show. I promise. Fringe is often a time for improv-ers and sketch-ers to stretch their legs for a ten-day or week-long performance schedule and roll around in audiences looking to have a good time on a weekend. And although that’s all fun and good and you can definitely find quality theatre productions while wading through knee-deep pools of laughs, fringe festivals are about more than that. They’re about experimenting – for both the theatre companies and the audiences. Trying new things, going to something that might make you uncomfortable, or seeing a show on a subject you know nothing about. That’s what Fringe is – getting out there.

I had the joy and privilege to sit down with the luminous Liz Whitbread (and you should too, given the opportunity) about this very thing, regarding her performance in Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis, about to begin at the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. 4.48 does not have a linear storyline, nor is the script written like a traditional script (“One page is just blank. It’s part of the script, but it’s blank,” she told me). Whitbread performs by herself, with the audience surrounding three-fourths of the “walls,” and – oh, yes, the author of the play killed herself shortly after finishing it. 4.48 is Kane’s swan song.

Whitbread said she “wouldn’t call it [Kane’s] suicide note,” but that kind of thing still carries a lot of weight, especially when you’re alone onstage. “It’s unfortunate that [the play] is in this context, but you can’t ignore it,” said Whitbread. “Because of the way it’s written, it’s easier to separate myself from the words. It’s affecting, but because of the writing, not the context.”

Whitbread is a Winnipegger, but now lives in Toronto, where she just performed in 4.48 (the last performance was Saturday) at the Fringe there. She was last seen in the River City as part of the ensemble in the WSO and Rainbow Stage’s South Pacific in April. She said doing a one-woman show is a little different. “In some ways, it’s really terrifying. If I forget a line, no other actor can save me. I can’t look over and be like, ‘give me the line!’ But it’s also really freeing. If I forget a line, I can go to the next part of the script I know. I’m in control of this.”

The staging is different in Winnipeg than it was in Toronto – with a venue change comes a staging change. The audience will be seated in a horseshoe-shape around Whitbread. “I’m speaking directly to the audience, I can see the audience,” she said. It’s vulnerable being up there alone. “I had to learn to be comfortable with having silence, and be comfortable with having laughter. I have to let them enjoy it, let myself enjoy it.”

I asked her, straight up: why should people come to this likely-depressing show when they could go see some improver make poop jokes instead? “It’s a really important – small, but important – discussion on mental illness and how it’s portrayed,” she said. “It portrays mental illness in a really personal way, an open and blunt way. It doesn’t dance around anything.” That’s a conversation worth having. “This is what it could be like,” for someone with mental illness, she said. But mental health never fits a specific mold. “Not everyone will identify with it, and that’s okay.”

“Sarah Kane had such a revolutionary idea of what theatre should look like,” she said. “If people want to challenge themselves, this is a good show to see.”

Theatre by the River’s 4.48 Psychosis opens on Wednesday, July 19, and runs throughout the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, playing venue #11, Red River College. Check out showtimes and a venue map here. See you at the Fringe.

from ‘Really terrifying… but also really freeing’: 4.48 Psychosis and Portraying Mental Illness Onstage