Jer’s picks for Ottawa Fringe
More : Jer's Picks, musical theatre, Ottawa Gay
Every year the Ottawa Fringe Festival, the region’s largest theatre festival, plays host theatrical productions from around the world. This year the festival is taking over downtown with 12 venues and over 50 shows from all over the world.
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At the heart of the Ottawa Fringe festival is a the beer (and wine) tent where performers and audiences gather to trade reviews, critiques and act out. Located in the park near the Ottawa Arts Court Theatre (2 Daly Ave, Ottawa), the venue also hosts musicals, karaoke and a variety of special performances. The tent is home base for the Fringe and where the awards for Best in Show are handed out on the last day of the festival.
This year the Fringe has outdone itself with 5 extra fabulous queer shows! So let’s count them down:
In number five, is a campy comedy-musical called Alien Predator the Musical. A homage to Sci-Fi creature of the week flicks., this local show blends music, suspense and humor. My highlight was when two sexy ex-marines who confess their love in song, while in a race for their lives as they try to escape an invisible alien.
Four goes to Fishbowl, a one-man show from Toronto. Developed for the infamous theatre, Buddies in Bad Times, the stories slyly explores the relationships between four very different and at time hilarious characters. A principal character tells her challenges of dating a gay man, something anyone can relate to.
Spot three goes to an American show from Minneapolis called Dead Wrong. This dramatic and heartbreaking play shares the story of a lesbian woman. The victim of a vicious after sexual assault, she grapples with new evidence that suggest that she may have sent the wrong man to prison several years ago.
Number two goes to Late Night Cabaret. a work by Ottawa’s own Paul Hutchenson, featuring amazing guest from New York City. Held at the beer tent the show will change nightly and feature visiting Fringe artists! This show promises to be one worth seeing (almost) every night.
Last, and in first place is Ex-Cathedra. Remounted after its premier earlier this year was met with huge acclaim, the piece is about the story of two women. Set in a place where being themselves is criminal, the show peels back the layers of their relationship, revealing a complex story of love, hate and danger in a place their love is illegal.
Photo courtesy of Late Night Cabaret
The Ottawa Fringe Festival
June 14-24, 2012
Various locations downtown
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