Fringe 2016: Sara’s Top 5

30 June 2016 / by Sara Cristiano
Featured Image for Fringe 2016: Sara's Top 5 courtesy of Into  | CJRU

 

1. Romeo and Juliet Chainsaw Massacre.

This show takes a classic work of literature and turns it completely on its head – you get to see the classic Shakespeare characters you know and love, but a chainsaw-wielding murderer gets thrown into the mix – what more could you possibly ask for? My guess is that anyone who appreciated Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as much as I did will enjoy Romeo and Juliet Chainsaw Massacre. Plus, director Matt Bernard and producer Rebecca Perry are the same people behind previous Fringe hits Confessions of a Coffeeshop Girl and Adventures of a Coffeeshop Girl, both of which I saw and loved. So if you like your romance mixed with a little bit of gore and a ton of wacky, culty goodness, give Romeo and Juliet Chainsaw Massacre a try. It’ll be running at the Randolph Theatre from July 1st to July 10th.

 

2 Songbuster: An Improvised Musical.

I know that I’ve said this before, but I absolutely adore musicals – watching the Tony Awards on TV a couple of weeks ago was probably my most exciting Sunday night in recent memory. So it’s no surprise that Songbuster, a show where the performers literally improvise a new, completely different musical every single night, is so high on my list. Improvising short, simple scenes can be difficult enough, so I can’t wait to see what happens when this group tries to improvise an entire hour-long musical. Each musical is also completely inspired by suggestions from the audience, which adds another layer of spontaneity and interactivity to the show. I might actually try to see the show more than once just to see how different each musical can be, so if anyone wants to join me, Songbuster will be running from June 29th to July 10th at The Randolph Theatre.

 

3. Game 7 

This show chronicles the unforgettable events of the May 13th 2013 hockey match-up between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins. To be completely honest, I never thought I’d be talking about anything sports related on any recommendation list of mine, ever. But writing a show about what was probably the most exciting Leafs game since the late 1960’s? Kind of genius. Whether you’re a fellow discouraged but optimistic Leafs fan, or someone like me who prefers to mock Leafs fans for cheering their team on year after year, there will be something in Game 7 to look forward to. Game 7 will be running at the Robert Gill Theatre from June 13th to July 9th.

 

4.  Into

A play about, quote, “an urban nun, a philandering businessman, a mysterious beauty, and a disaffected white youth” who get caught in a traffic jam together and form an unlikely friendship. To me, this sounds like a twisted, alternative universe version of The Breakfast Club, which I completely and utterly love. Plus, Into actually first ran at the Fringe Festival way back in 1993 and received rave reviews, so my guess is that it’ll be just as successful when it returns to Fringe this year. For people who are looking for something with a perfect balance of drama and comedy, definitely give Into a try – it’s running from July 1st to July 10th at the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace.

 

5. Best Picture,

A show that takes every Best Picture Oscar winning movie you can remember and mashes them all together – all in just a single hour! This is the perfect show for a movie or pop-culture lover to check out. And I don’t know about you, but seeing the same characters navigate their way through Rocky, Slumdog Millionaire, and Casablanca sounds like it’ll be crazy, chaotic, and incredibly fun. Best Picture will be playing at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace from July 1st to July 9th.

 

For more information about any of the shows I talked about, or to find out more about the rest of the Fringe 2016 program, feel free to visit fringetoronto.com. Happy Fringing!