life with more cowbell

What a weekend it was!

Friday night, it was the big fun and talent-filled Songbook Series 2: Madonna extravaganza of songs by Madge at Theatre Passe Muraille, up in their cabaret space (upstairs from the main stage). I was joined by Alum pal Tina McCulloch, as well as some friends of Kat Leonard’s, including Arlene Paculan (our pal Lizzie Violet got stuck late at work and couldn’t make it – boo!). What an incredible evening of music, comedy and art! Artists ranged from the Core Team’s performances of Like a Prayer and Vogue, to a spoken word rendition of Justify My Love by Philip Akin. Kat performed a dark comic version of Love Don’t Live Here Anymore – and rocked the house, despite having some technical difficulties with the mic not working for most of the song. Other personal favourites of the evening were Nathan Carroll’s 4 Minutes, Shaina Silver-Baird’s Don’t Cry for Me Argentina and Judy Marshak did an amazing performance of Live to Tell on ukulele.

Kat handed her digital camera over to me and we got a pre-show interview over dinner at Shanghai Cowgirl, as well as a recording of her performance. Keep an eye out on Kat’s site for video and upcoming gigs – including her Next Stage Festival beer tent dates (Factory Theatre courtyard) this Friday @ 8:15 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. http://depperlove.com/home.cfm

I got to hang out with Kat again on Saturday – along with my pal Kerri MacDonald – at Red Sandcastle Theatre for the final matinée of Alice in Blunderland (by Rosemary Doyle, who also directed and designed the show). And that was some big, panto, political satire fun! The cast featured Tony Babcock (Doug Tweedledummer), Matthew James Donovan (Caterpillar/Doormouse/Mad Hatter), Jackie English (Cheshire Cat/choreographer), David Huband (Rob Tweedledum), Jenessa Grant (Alice), Margaret Lamarre (Wiggles/March Hare), Allison McCaughey (Mock Turtle/Petal), Brenda Somers (Red Queen) and A. Frank Ruffo (Duchess Twanky). Babcock and Huband were hilarious as the satirized Ford brothers, and the audience had great fun shouting out “Boo!” whenever the Red Queen appeared or “Wiggles!” every time Wiggles came onstage. Somers and Ruffo were delicious as the duelling, bitchy royals, and Donovan made for a trippy Caterpillar, while Lamarre was adorable as Wiggles and delightfully kooky as March Hare. English’s Cheshire Cat was a hilarious mash-up of the Pink Panther and Inspector Clouseau – great fun – and McCaughey showed us her mad cockney skills as the Mock Turtle, as well as being a lovely dancer with Ms. English. Grant was adorably spunky as Alice, and has a good set of pipes on her too. The show featured music and dance numbers – and audience participation as well – that included my friend Robin Haggerty and her son Sebastian, who I hadn’t seen for at least a year. It was good to catch up with some theatre pals too – Brenda, I know from Alumnae and Frank from way back when he directed me in Fruit Cocktail.

If you haven’t paid this great new indie theatre a visit, what are you waiting for? A.D. Rosemary Doyle has a great ongoing program, as well as classes for kids. Check it out at: http://redsandcastletheatre.com/

Last night, I went to Factory Theatre for the Next Stage Festival. For the first time! That’s right, chickens. Up until this year, I was so busy working in theatre (volunteering at Alumnae while working a f/t office job) that I was never able to make it out. Now that I have more time on my hands, I’m so happy to have the opportunity to get out and see lots more. And, was I glad I did. Bumped into Cabbagetown Theatre pals Blake Thorne and Kim Sprenger in the beer tent, as well as Jessica Moss (who I know from Alumnae). I was there to see Moss’s one-woman show Modern Love in the studio space – originally produced at Canadian Stage’s Festival of Ideas and Creation – and it was awesome! 

Modern Love (directed by Eric Double) tells us the story of Trish, a young woman who – like many of us – is finding the various and sundry web-based means of staying in touch with friends to be more disconnecting than connecting. And just how real are those Facebook “friends” anyway? Moss hits the universal with the personal as we watch Trish log onto an Internet match-dating site that puts her through a gruelling personality test only to tell her in the end that she has no matches! Moss really hits the nail on the head with Trish’s journey, presenting all the fear, neurosis and ick factor that we all secretly – or not so secretly – have about going online to find someone special. I don’t want to say more – though there is definitely more to say about this show – as I don’t want to risk unleashing a spoiler on all y’all, so you should go see for yourselves. Incredibly funny, insightful and touching – a great performance and a timely, socially relevant script.

You still have time to catch Modern Love, as well as a whole lotta great theatre at the Next Stage Festival. Check out the details here: http://fringetoronto.com/nstf/nstf_shows.html

p.s. – and check out this related piece from the Globe & Mail re texting during dinner with friends: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/you-have-2-new-text-messages-also-youre-paying-for-dinner/article2296118/

See anything you liked at Next Stage?