life with more cowbell

Toronto Fringe adventures continued yesterday at the Tarragon Theatre Solo Room with The McComedy Show, written by Shannon McDonough and Michael McLean, and directed by Margaret Smith.

The pre-show music gets the audience set to go, with the nostalgic sounds of beloved TV theme songs from the 70s and 80s. A multi-media show that combines live solo performance with video sketch comedy, has The McComedy Show McDonough morphing in and out of a series of hilarious TV personalities (and dialects) in this TV-themed sketch homage.

Book-ended by McDonough, as a TV producer, entering and exiting her apartment, we’re treated to sketch after sketch of high-energy, fun. Sketches include bits from reality TV, commercials, local cable shows and satirical renderings of famous shows. Onscreen, a hysterical “Toddlers & Tiaras” segment has McDonough as the attention-seeking, whirling dervish of a young pageant veteran and McLean as her stage mother mom, who acts as her coach and sugar dealer; “Coming Out Stories” features a gay man and a lesbian preparing to come out and reveal what’s obvious to the rest of us to their clueless mothers; and “Gay Mafia?” explores the seedy underbelly behind the scenes of a home decorating/improvement show. Live bits include batty southern Willy May in “The Psychic;” some helpful and frank advice from French Canadian North Bay resident Madeline in “Madeline’s 2 Cents;” and, “I Am not an Extra” (a combo of live performance and onscreen clips), where Sam instructs us in the art of being a zombie on The Walking Dead (with awesome zombie makeup work by Tamsin Smith). And so much more to make you LOL.

The McComedy Show also features the voice-over and onscreen talents of Paul Bellini, Maggie Cassella (who also co-wrote “Madeline’s 2 Cents”), Shelley Kidwell, Michael McLean, Marcy Rogers, Richard Ryder, Marilla Wex and Karen Wright.

Hilarity ensues as Shannon McDonough takes us on a TV-themed sketch comedy trip with a wacky fun cast of characters in The McComedy Show.

The McComedy Show continues at the Tarragon Solo Room until July 11; check for exact times/dates here. And give Shannon McDonough a follow on Twitter.