As discussed, being a little light on the pocketbook after my summer trip to the Maritimes, I'm going to have to take it easy on the Fringing this year. However, here's are quick previews [can you call it a "pre-view" if you won't be "view"ing them? AP Style Guide doesn't cover this topic. -ed] of various shows based on what I can discern from the Fringe Program and their marketing efforts.
The Canada Show: The Complete History of Canada in One Hour!. Check to see if I did this one? If not, it's still better than the Charlottetown presentation I saw earlier this month that claimed the last half-century of Canadian history was Jack Layton and uranists.
Alex Clark. He has fewer subscribers than Rebel Media. Hey, wouldn't a live Rebel Media presentation at the Fringe be hilarious? Really put the snowflake Fringers in their place.
Animal Farm Treatment. I wrote about this when I covered "George Orwell is not my name" but the curious thing about George Orwell is that he was in fact a committed socialist who just thinks that Trotsky instead of Stalin should have taken over from Lenin. This appears to be a retelling of Animal Farm insulting free market capitalism (the "rising tide lifts all boats" and "all animals deserve to get ahead" lines strongly indicate this) which only works if Alice Nelson is herself a Randian or at least a Reagan Democrat. To give the game away, she's not, she's a far-left extremist.
The show: Animal Farm Treatment. Yup, good ol’ George Orwell’s classic animal allegory. However, I’m doing an adaptation, bringing the animal farm metaphor into our current economy of the have and have nots. About inequality, neoliberalism and globalization. The hope is to bring the show to high schools, get students inspired to vote and question authority.
Bash'd! A Gay Rap Opera. You know this pro-poofter play is going to be absolutely horrible and disgusting and pushing the sick sodomite agenda mercifulessly. However, one bit from the tagline caught my eye: Canada's equal marriage debate collides with bombastic beats in BASH'd! That's right, debate: as in there's a second side to it. Maybe for the sequel they can find somebody willing to promote it?
Blood Countess. This story, about Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Báthory, purports to question the authenticity of her guilt (despite the fact that the opposite was true: her wealthy and influential family kept her out of prison long after the evidence became overwhelming against her). In that vein I'm debating what to call it: Feminist Holocaust Denial? Or 8/1614 Trutherism? As an aside, what's with all the Hungarians this year? Why not last year to coincide with the 60th anniversary of 1956?
C-. What are the odds this American play will tackle the nonsense that is burdening college debt? Low-to-medium, I'm afraid.
Conventional Musical. From the tagline: Three roommates must overcome the powers of capitalism and their own struggling relationships to succeed. "Overcome" the powers of requiring you to work for money? Who can or would even want to do that?
Days of the Klondike. A musical romp through the Yukon gold rush? Sounds awesome, and there are so many great songs from the era to choose from. I'm a fan of the 1897 Chilikoot March, and there was a huge variety of (mostly ragtime) music tailored for that great land at that wonderful time. When I did my road trip to the Yukon a few years ago I brought tons of it with me for the drive and for the inspiration...and oh, wait, nevermind...
With an original score of upbeat contemporary and ole-tyme honky tonk music, two very different Klondike Kates, Alexander Pantages, Robert Service, and many other men, women and children from this bygone era will once again bring history to life!Contemporary and "old time honkey tonk". Yep, should make the late 1890s roar to life!
Evil Dead: The Musical. While this is on my list of "shows I would see if I could afford to see shows" list, I assume it's going to really be Evil Dead 2: The Musical since that's the style everybody wants. And I suppose next year we can look forward to Army of Darkness: The Musical which couldn't possibly be more pretentous than Spamalot.
Executing Justice. *yawn*. Extreme leftists think the death penalty is bad because once every 10,000 cases the wrong person gets executed. Meanwhile SJWs execute the wrong person on a near-monthly basis these days.
Get me the Fuck Out of Edmonton! Wes Borg does an on-stage duet with the ghost of Joe Bird. Sorry, I assumed Wes Borg was dead by now too.
Give It Up. From the promoters of Jake's Gift, One Man Star Wars and This is CANCER say the tagline. "From the promoters of"? That's like saying people should watch your movie because you had the same hairstylist as Birdman. Meanwhile the show is a woman who wants to be married to Scott Baio and perform on SNL. One of the testimonials comes from extremist far-left BC union activist Anita Zaenker by the way, for an indication why you should stay away.
Hanging Out. Because "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was taken.
Hockey Night at the Puck and Pickle Club
. From the tagline: Watch Canada vs USA play the 2018 Olympic Gold Medal Hockey game at the fictional Puck & Pickle Pub! One wonders how different this would have been had it been written after the NHL announced it would not be attending the Olympics or even allowing players on two-way contracts to participate.
Naked Girls Reading Presents... As they say in the tagline, you can't spell literature without T & A. On the other hand, NSFW] I just saved you $16
Oleanna. Either she's lying or this work is purely fictional. The girl is almost always a liar.
So I was in a Threesome Last Week. This gives off a really really faggy vibe: from starring apparently two men and no women (there are two men in the picture, one looking awfully ass-piratey) to the troupe being is called "Sons of Tremendous" (probably isn't related to the Proud Boys), this one looks to be in the avoidance category. Also, for the rest of Fringe I suppose El Cortez is out as a food venue. Who knows how much fecal matter has gotten into the food?
Souls. Anti-Israel play that buys into the lie that "Palestinians" are a people and not a bunch of displaced Jordanians.
Swordplay: A Play of Swords. Caution: fags.
The Best of Bombs: An Exploration of Broadways' Biggest Flops. This is a neat idea. You can eat at the Sawmill (always fun, especially when their Prime Rib is on point) and listen to songs from...Broadway...flops
. Okay, neat in concept more than execution. I wonder how many songs from "My Lady Friends" will be featured...
The Great American Songbook Cabaret. If Mark Steyn ever attended the Edmonton Fringe, you'd probably see him here at least once.
The Immaculate Big Bang. You just know that he's going to have to dance around the actual "big bang" of birth that so upsets the abortion lobby.
The Milkyway Express. From the tagline: in a post-gender future. Ugh, I hate these dystopian sci-fi gimmicks.
Wooster Sauce. This play co-stars John D. Huston, who I previously saw in Shylock.
(For more 2017 Edmonton Fringe Festival content, see the portal page)
