Tag: Fringe

Drowsy Chaperone a Sleeper Hit at Tonies

image

(Drowsy circa 1999 at Theatre Passe Muraille…)

Kudos to all the folks involved at one point or another with what will forevermore be known as the Tony Award-Winning Broadway hit The Drowsy Chaperone.

I myself was a bit surprised that they didn’t win the hardware for Best Musical. I’m guessing that the powers-that-be switched the winning envelope after Don McKellar made that crack about thanking “The American musical comedy… Which has given us so much to make fun of.”

But I’m a conspiracist that way…

😉

Blackout… The Bad Kind

pic

If you’re queuing up for the 3:15pm showing of Lust’s Labour’s Lost, then you already know that there’s a power blackout at the Tarragon. You may not be aware that the outage extends as far north as St. Clair, and as far west as Christie.

It’s strike two in an already shitty day that had me up at 5am to deal with rainwater pouring through a ceiling-mounted lighting fixture. Ugh.

Turn it Down!

image

You wouldn’t know it if you saw the show, but there’s a war being waged behind the scenes of Lust’s Labour’s Lost, and it’s all about my drums.

On on side are the theatre folks, arguing that our show should give the appearance of a live rock ‘n’ roll event, but without the volume. On the other side are the die-hard rockers, whose mantra all along has been “turn it up!”.

I find myself flip-flopping between the two arguments. On opening night I sided with theatre, and dampened my drums to a dull “thud” with tape and—if you can believe it—maxi pads. After that very show I got an unexpected pat on the back from none other than Tyler Stewart, the drummer for Barenaked Ladies, who had this to say to Fringe-goers who found the music too loud: “Fuck ‘em… It’s a rock ‘n’ roll show!”

Our director will be checking in on tonight’s performance; though rock has prevailed over the last three shows, I have a feeling that after tonight the maxi pads will be back…

Music Heals?

image

(Happier times: A photo from our sound check earlier this week…)

It was an awful feeling of déja-vu this morning, scanning the headlines on BBC News on the opening day of the Fringe show I’m in. Almost four years ago, The World Trade Center was brought down only a few days before the start of my first-ever comedy tour of Asia.

My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone affected by the horrific unfolding of events in London this morning.

If you need to get your mind off what happened today, by all means come on down to the Tarragon for our 8:15pm curtain; and if ninety minutes of light entertainment doesn’t quite do it for you, believe me—I can relate.