Bad Baby Presents: Rules Control the Fun

Lark and Whimsy Theatre Collective—Alto – Portage Place

I hate to write bad reviews. A lot of actors make a living out of doing this and it really pains me to write a downright bad review. On the other hand, I want viewers to get good value for their money. It’s a fine balance that I struggle to teeter.

If I must say negative things, I usually try to be constructive and give as many reasons why I don’t like a show and offer suggestions on how to improve. Somethings, I can’t.

Through the first 50 minutes of this show, I cringed in my seat thinking that I have nothing constructive to say about this show, and I have no suggestions. Well just one—toss the entire thing out and start
anew.

Then the last 10 minutes happened.

Yes, she said that she doesn’t want to be like every other one-person (one-woman) show, but what she did there was good, very good. Then we find out that the last 10 minutes could not have occurred without the first 50.

Well that’s a paradox.

Janelle, I guess then, all I can suggest is that I hope you can find a way to improve the first part of your show. I’m sorry but the humour wasn’t funny and the gimmicks weren’t entertaining. The last 10 minutes shows that you can be a superior actor. I hope to see more of that in the future.

Ray Yuen

SpinS

Janoah anygoodjokes?—Centennial Concert Hall – Rehearsal Hall

I wandered into this as a filler. You know I’ve been doing this for couple decades now, and every once in a while something takes you away and makes you forget you are at the Fringe. Janoah “anygoodjokes” Bailin is quite a capable, experimental, inventive juggler and has an act that keeps you to the edge of your seat, something I haven’t done for a long time! Now really, what you can watch from any average street performer, Janoah takes it to another level, all playfully with the audience and very, very alternative music. Add some abstract puppetry and amazing command of the unicycle…like he lives on this damn thing. Speaking of audience, he needs a lot to bounce off of, and there were only a few in our crowd, he deserves a lot more to play with! So do yourselves a favour, stop juggling your schedule, and let Janoah do the juggling, oh, he claims he’s not a magician…just a joker!

Kevin Campbell

35MM: A Musical Exhibition

Ethereal Fantazy Productions—John Hirsch Mainstage

Right off the bat, I don’t like this show. At the close, I introspect about what I would write and how harsh would I be? Being my last show of the evening, I intentionally meander and linger around, trying to catch comments from my fellow viewers.

Based on the outcome that I do not hear a single positive comment about the play, I will list all the reasons I don’t like it. This of course, does not count the numerous people who left early (a few as early as song #3).

At 90 minutes (although true running time is only 75 minutes), I expect a storyline, complete with conflict, denouement and resolution. This is just a presentation of songs, some somewhat related, some completely unrelated. To their credit, that’s all they promise in the program.

Musicals are fun to experience because they feature toe-tapping, catchy, contagious music. Some of the songs here are nice but most of them do not have good melody. Andrew Lloyd Webber, this is not.

From some of the comments I heard (overheard), the theme is just too dark. I love a good, dark, eerie story, but there needs to be some sort of resolution at the end; this just leaves you with a bad taste for humanity when you leave.

The sound person completely failed this troupe. Two of the actors’ mics were so low, you could not hear them sing most of the time—and if you miss the words here, you do not understand what’s going on. A third actor had a faulty mic which cut out intermittently. I would expect a spare to be around for such emergencies.

Finally, I am a semi-pro photographer. I very much looked forward to seeing the work displayed. I can’t say much from an artistic perspective, but from a technical perspective, the photos were quite a disappointment.

I’m sorry to say but there are a lot of great shows out there, and to spend time in one where I kept wishing it would be over is not the best use of time or money. Sitting in the audience, your primary thought after every song should not be, “please come to the front now, hold hands, and bow.”

Ray Yuen

Dana Smith: Lives at Wee Johnny’s

Christianson Co.—Comedy at Wee Johnny’s

Dana Smith is a sucker-punch of a woman, confident to the point of writing a bit about it, and refusing to keep any subject off limits. She presents the most crude and demanding girl and gay power message I’ve ever seen, but I’m not saying that as a bad thing. She’s funny, powerful, and not afraid to speak her mind. And if you don’t think that sounds good, it’s at a bar, and if you don’t want to spend anything, you might win a beer. I just think it’s a shame, her being a Cancer, seeing as I’m a Libra. I’m sure she’ll get that joke.

Arden Pruden

13 Dead Dreams of “Eugene”

Theatre Mobile—Tom Hendry Warehouse

Spooky, mysterious, dark, eerie.

Bonus: catchy tunes.

This is one of the best shadow puppet shows I’ve ever seen—if that’s your thing, this is your thing.

Ray Yuen

Maximaliste Productions

Is That How Clowns Have Sex? A One-Woman Queer Clown Sex Ed Show—

Certified Sexpert Fiona Clark stars as Ms. Beatrice Haven. Have no fear, Ms. Beatrice is here (and knows an average amount about sex, but frankly, finds it quite mystifying). But it’s okay, she has her experiences…and is a certified teacher…and knows how to fake it…but what the junk is a dental dam?

“Not to be missed!” (Toronto Star)

“[…] a teacher able to make you sit up straight and often double over.” (Jim Burke, Montreal Gazette)

Art by Dave Pruden

Well the first couple days of the Fringe are done and dusted and we are about to hit the first Weekend. It has been a hot and humid start with a few showers thrown in for good measure. I’ve seen quite a few sellouts already as it seems a lot of people jumped on going to the shows that are likely to be popular early. Here at the Jenny we are caught up for now with the first couple of days of reviews and all the SSP’s from the performers which are listed at the bottom of the page. We even have a new cartoon from staff cartoonist Dave Pruden, who has successfully integrated this year’s somewhat nebulous Fringe Theme into his drawing. I do miss the days of a more concrete theme such as Sci-Fi, Western and even Christmas back in the annals of Fringe history.

It always amazes me how the Festival gets up to speed so quickly. It is such a gigantic undertaking staging all these shows. A big thanks to all the Fringe Staff, Volunteers, Techs, Performers, Writers, Producers and Venues. Also a big thanks to everyone attending the shows, who make the Winnipeg Fringe a very special place.

Wanted: Donkey Stories—For any of you performers who have had the honour of winning one of our prized (and cute) stuffed Jenny Awards, we are on the lookout for any stories (and/or pictures) of their travels. We would love to hear from you and put together a nice travel journal on their adventures.

Also Wanted: Reviews—You can send us your reviews to jennyrevue@gmail.com and as long as you include your name we will probably publish it. Especially if it is for a show that has not been reviewed yet.

You can click on the link here for our Jenny and Fringe FAQ.

Well that is all for now, have a great Fringe and try to stay cool.

Murray Hunter

LARRY

Candy Bones—MTC Up the Alley

The music’s good. The dancing’s good. I haven’t banged my head since high school—that was good.

I’m very sorry that’s all the good I have to say about this show. There is so much potential here that was left untapped and this easily could have been a powerful, thoughtful and moral exploration, but as is, it’s just a story, and not a very good one.

In a previous life, I was a labourer in a blue collar atmosphere, very much like the character’s disposition: crude, crass, uneducated, sexist and egotistical. Since my journey through university and
my foray into Women’s Studies, I became a feminist, a decade before Trudeau showed the world that feminist men exist.

As a feminist, I think there is so much that this story could have taught, so many lessons to impart. Sadly, it falls so short. Towards the end, we believe that Larry’s terrifying discovery and ensuing breakdown finally enlightens him into seeing what kind of person he is—but his awakening reverts him back to his previous self, no wiser and no better. There needs to be a moral lesson here; there needs to be growth.

Some deeper research would have made this show stronger as well. Yes, labourers and tradespeople can often be foul-mouthed, but Actor Roberts did not reflect their employment of profanity and excessive crudeness. It doesn’t sound authentic, neither does the bumpkin accent.

This show is a good start to something that could be great. I hope that Roberts reengages this effort and transforms it to the potentials it could reach.

Ray Yuen

Editor’s Note: I was a patron of Candice’s Saturday night show and after the show ended Candice talked with the audience (largely composed of other Fringe Performers) about the show and its ending. She took a quick poll about the ending and pretty much everyone there agreed that Larry should remain mostly as he was, as that would be the most likely way that the character would end up. She also mentioned she had done a few performances where he did become more enlightened when she was workshopping it, but that those did not seem to work as well. Lastly, that Larry was based on over 25 years of interactions with those types of men.

Murray Hunter

INK

Stephanie Morin-Robert—PTE – Colin Jackson Studio

Alastair Knowles, of James & Jamesy fame, uses his gifts as a physical comedy performer in this artistic and somewhat abstract show about a drawing that has come alive. He begins by trying to connect to the audience by doing a series of quick drawings of a few audience members on the giant roll of paper hanging at the back of the stage. He then uses the paper and pen to try and create some deeper connections and explore his world. The show is almost completely non-verbal but his physical talents usually get his message across. It is a fun, and sometimes weird ride.

Murray Hunter

FOR SCIENCE!

Small Matters Productions—Asper Centre for Theatre and Film (U of W)

Despite labelling the experiments as tests of the scientific method, it’s not. This is not a test group, placebo group, control group experiment; in fact, it’s not even science. You can loosely call it psychological observation it is definitely not “FOR SCIENCE.”

It is however, entertaining and amusing. The show starts quite slowly, somewhat overdoing the opening concepts, but soon, the fun gets rolling as the pieces slowly come together for the grand opus.

Participation is fun; you can choose to partake or leave it. I recommend partaking.

Ray Yuen