REVIEW: 2 MASTERS of the Fringe
Don’t Frown at the Gown (Stage 12) comes from those long-time Fringe Masters Darrin Hagen and Trevor Schmidt under the production umbrella of Guys in Disguise. The duo, who write and perform their own stuff, have long since broken out of the gay ghetto (although their orientation is obvious and celebrated), with shows like Flora […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Rockfest scores SAGA
For music fans still in the outdoor festival spirit – and really, who isn’t – the action this weekend shifts upriver to Hawrelak Park for the annual Edmonton Rock Music Festival. This is classic rock at its biggest and brightest, and the organizers have done a commendable job putting together some impressive names throughout the […]
PLAYBOT: Foolish Foreigner fights Fringe!
What a bonehead move: A bigass high-production jukebox musical is plopping into Edmonton to compete with the opening weekend of the biggest theatre festival in the Americas – and on the same weekend as the classic rock festival, too! What were they thinking? Literally a jukebox musical called Jukebox Hero, based on the songs of […]
I SURVIVED THE FOLK FEST (almost)
Whoever came up with the saying “If you don’t like the weather in Alberta, just wait 10 minutes!” must have been at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Diehard festival fans all have stories about the erratic weather over the years, some which resemble battlefields. They make sure they have all the necessary gear and protective […]
REVIEW: Heat on the hill at folk fest
Thursday evening at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival was likely one of the hottest folk fests on record. There was a heat warning as temperatures hit 34 degrees, and an air quality advisory due to drifting smoke from B.C. wildfires. There may have been discussions about climate change among the sweaty (but happy) crowd – […]
PLAYBOT: 30 mini Fringe reviews
A marvelous thing happened at the Fringe HQ today – 30 different theatre companies each presented one-minute scenes from their upcoming Fringe plays. At the end of the strictly-timed event – those going over getting “played off” by an air horn – tickets went on sale for the 37th annual theatre festival, Aug, 16-26 in […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: 4 folk fest acts expected to ROCK
You know how it is. You look forward to seeing a “buzz” act at the folk fest, perhaps a legend of folk music, or maybe one of these mighty famous new bands the kids today are into, what with their fancy “fire” and their “wheel.” But then it turns out he – or she or […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Deathcore takes a holiday
This weekend features two evenings of deathcore bands whose itineraries find them in our fair city. The first is Thursday night, when the Massachusetts band The Acacia Strain (above) lands in town at the Starlite Room. Ably supported by Left Behind, I Am, and Arrival Of Autumn, frontman and leader Vincent Bennett’s band has an […]
PLAYBOT: 2 Amigos live for comedy
“When Marty and I fly together,” says Steve Martin of his friend Martin Short, “we save a lot of money because Marty fits conveniently in the overhead bin.” Short says, “You look like Anderson Cooper frozen to death on New Year’s Eve.” Steve plays his banjo and sings, “Let’s count the awards you have won: […]
Carmen in the Badlands a mammoth undertaking for one night at the opera
Opera buffs have seen La Traviata in Chez Pierre, heard Nessun Dorma in a subway station, Un Bel di Vedremoon from a flatbed truck, and a full-blown Pagliacci at the Coney Island amusement park. Now it is time for another grand opera from the adventurous Mercury Opera company – in a location to end all […]
