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(THE CAST OF '...SPELLING BEE')

So how do you review a gazillion Fringe plays when you're a weekly that publishes a day after the festival opens and three days before it ends?
   

You put all your reviews on the web is how... and publish the best in the paper, which is exactly what we’re doing here.
   

After five days of Fringe action (before our publication deadline), these were the 26 best shows our reviewers had seen, scoring a letter grade of A or better.
   

The rest of our reviews are being posted as they are written on this very website.
   

Our writers will be filing there until the festival closes on July 25, so visit often!

A+
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Stage 16 & Winnipeg Studio Theatre
Venue 16, PTE Mainstage
   

The buzz surrounding The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has been loud, and for good reason: this adapted Broadway musical is easily the smash hit of this year’s Fringe. The premise is simple — literally, it’s about six middle-school misfits who compete in a spelling bee — but the set-up provides plenty of laughs (the best one-liners came when contestants asked for their word to be used in a sentence) and you’ll find yourself caring about what happens to these kids, each one a quirky character all their own. There’s the politically rabid daughter of two dads (Dorothy Carroll); the snotty six-language-speaking overachiever (Stephanie Sy); the hyper-active, dim-witted kid (Jeremy Walmsley); the suspender-clad cynic (Nyk Bielak); the lonely daughter of absentee parents (Jillian Willems); and the boner-popping boy scout (Aaron Pridham). Bielak, with his dead-on delivery and Sy, with her superbly choreographed ode to overachievement, deserve to be singled out — but honestly, you won’t find a more energetic, more enthusiastic or more endearing ensemble cast.
— Jen Zoratti

A
A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup
Shoshinz
Venue 11, Red River College
   

Tokyo-based comedian Hiromi Yano shines as Miss Hiccup — an adorable, bespectacled absurdist clown who finds music, adventure and comedy in even the most mundane of daily activities (in Yano’s hands, even teeth brushing becomes a high-energy dance party). Using props, sound effects and music, Yano’s one-woman show is deeply rooted in rhythmic physical comedy, for which she clearly has a tremendous gift. Whether she’s using a tiny umbrella to catch raindrops (which hilariously plink out the tune of The Godfather theme) or singing to her foot, Miss Hiccup is oddly riveting to watch. There’s no dialogue in this show, but none is needed; Yano’s able to say so much with just the tick of a shoulder or an arch of an eyebrow. A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup is weird, wacky and whimsical — and it’s also one of the most inventive shows at this year’s Fringe.
— Jen Zoratti

A+
Actionable
grow or die music
Venue 19, Rudolf Rocker Cultural Centre
   

Bob Wiseman played keyboards in Blue Rodeo until 1991, when he walked away from commercial success to pursue a solo career as a weird but witty songwriter with a strong social conscience. In Actionable, he tells laugh-out-loud stories about the various threats of litigation he’s received over the years and performs original songs on guitar and accordion, accompanying himself with PowerPoint slides, arty homemade videos and oddly charming Super 8 films. Wiseman’s lyrics are insanely good — equal parts biting, evocative and poignant, they combine scathing political commentary with wry humour. At one point (during a black-and-white video featuring puppets, no less) I almost started crying. Bob says a lot of people don’t get him. Personally, I think he’s a gem of a performer and quite possibly an artistic genius. Judging from the standing ovation he received at the show I attended, I’m not the only one.
— Marlo Campbell

A
archy and mehitabel
Ausable Theatre
Venue 2, MTC Up the Alley
   

Don Marquis isn’t as well-known as he should be, and Jeff Culbert is determined to change that in this one-man, multi-animal show. Marquis wrote poems about a high-strung cockroach (archy) and an aristocratic cat (mehitabel) on hard times. While archy frets about insects taking over the world, mehitabel expounds her guide to the bohemian life, full of spirit and self-determination. Culbert beautifully embodies various four-, six, and eight-legged creatures. It’s probably your only chance this Fringe to see a talking ant. And really, if you don’t know Marquis, you should and this is a splendid introduction. Kids will like it too. Pure delight.
— Quentin Mills-Fenn

A
Bedbound
The Incompletely Strangled Theatre Company
Venue 8, The Rachel Browne Theatre
   

An intriguing glance into the severely damaged mind of a man and its effects on his polio-stricken daughter, this play by Irish writer Enda Walsh may be one of the most disturbing shows at this year’s Fringe. Bill Kerr plays a furniture store owner whose psychopathic dedication to his job has left him confined to a room with his bedridden daughter, played by Megan Andres. His rise from stockboy to respected Cork businessman will astonish you with its depravity and dark humour. Both actors give finely tuned performances, and the unraveling story of their imprisonment is a haunting experience not soon forgotten.
— Amanda Stefaniuk

A
The Big Oops
To the Moon
Venue 3, The Playhouse Studio
   

Sammi Sam (Cara Yeates) is a cheery, pigtailed kids’ entertainer, with a sock puppet boyfriend and a great life, who dreams of one day becoming the next Raffi. In Sam’s line of work everything is about lessons ("graffiti is for lower-class miscreants" and "hippies don’t pay taxes") — and bouncy songs to go along. Even though Sam likes to play by the rules, she makes a mistake — and a pretty big one at that. While following the format of "lessons of the day" and "learning, yay!" Sam steers through her big oops and tackles grown-up stuff in a way that’s educational ("Did you know that a condom can hold six litres of fluid? That’s a lot of semen!"). Yeates is funny, charming and a fine actor, too.
— Julijana Capone

A+
The Bike Trip
Martin Dockery
Venue 12 Canwest Centre for Theatre and Film, U of W
   

Brooklyn’s Martin Dockery synthesizes the psychedelic experience as he takes his audience on a journey from San Francisco to Goa to Basle, Switzerland. Tales come tripping off the tongue of the rangy, wired monologuist as he recreates a bike trip to the home of Albert Hoffman, the Swiss discoverer of LSD. Dockery is masterful, mesmerizing and hugely entertaining as he explains why someone might want to expand their consciousness through chemistry. This is a funny, touching, gifted performance; by the end, audience members were on their feet, if they didn’t have tears in their eyes.
— Quentin Mills-Fenn

A+
Countries Shaped Like Stars
Mi Casa
Venue 19, Rudolf Rocker Cultural Centre
   

If there’s any show you absolutely must see at the Fringe, it’s this sparkling gem of a production. Ottawa’s Emily Pearlman and Nicolas Di Gaetano play Gwendolyn Magnificent and Bartholomew Spectacular — a pair of quirky, old-tymey storybook lovers courting in a time "when countries were shaped like stars."
Working with a poetic script and a warm, living-room-style stage set-up (the lamps and sparkling strings of Christmas lights were nice touches), the pair sucks you into this whimsical world and holds you captive for the full hour. The music in this show is fantastic; Pearlman and Di Gaetano are deft songwriters and their boy-girl harmonies are angelic. Brace yourself, though — Countries Shaped Like Stars doesn’t have a fairytale ending. In this duo’s capable hands, what starts out as an adorable, lighthearted show with plenty of folksy charm is transformed into a beautiful, heartbreaking piece of theatre.
— Jen Zoratti

A
Eccentrically We Love
The Fugitives
Venue 1, The John Hirsch Theatre at MTC Mainstage
   

The first time I saw The Fugitives was during the foursome’s debut stint at the Winnipeg Fringe. On that night the quartet practically leapt off Cinematheque’s tiny stage with its head-spinning blend of energetic slam-poetry and heartfelt, folk-tinged pop music. Three years on, the group has had to replace the effervescent Mark Berube with the equally (but differently) talented Adrian Glynn, yet its swirl of song and spoken-word is no less dizzying. This Fugitives show is a more mature affair — a good-humoured but still-ebullient run through of material from its latest album, Eccentrically We Love. Founding members Barbara Adler and Brendan McLeod are undoubtedly the leaders of the band, but Glynn looks and sounds like a rock-star-in-waiting and multi-instrumentalist Steve Charles brings boundless talent and bubbling personality to his role. The group members (they’re joined by touring bassist James Meger) share the spotlight equally, but the true star turn comes when McLeod and Adler perform a rapid-fire poetic duet, sans accompaniment, on the vagaries and eccentricities of, you guessed it… love.
— John Kendle

A
The First Five Minutes Are Slow
Present State Movement
Venue 8, Rachel Browne Theatre
   

From Minneapolis comes this clever slice of crazy. Mary, an office drone, sits at her terminal, watching the clock. The last five minutes of the work week are hell, no? But Mary’s boss schedules her performance review — right then and there — and things go haywire in this perfectly chaotic, cockeyed narrative. It’s absurd and fantastic and the invention and imagination just explodes all over the stage. And sometimes the cast takes a break from the proceedings. It’s physical theatre with so much going on it’s hard to pin down but that’s OK because you’re not in Kansas anymore. This is what a Fringe show should be.
— Quentin Mills-Fenn

A
Grand-Guignol On The Prairie
Echo’s Little Theatre
Venue 13, Ragpickers Theatre
   

Echo’s Little Theatre astounds once again with three macabre short plays presented in the Grand-Guignol tradition, complete with copious amounts of blood. Up first is the two-act The Kiss of Blood, a story of a surgeon and a deranged patient desperate for a finger amputation that ends with a Tales from the Crypt-like twist. Chop-Chop keeps up the campiness with its tale of the thrill-seeking wife of a guillotine repairman and her doomed lover. With its story of a young girl confused by the concept of euthanasia, The Sisters’ Tragedy is the most disturbing of the production, even with its lack of blood. Considering the Grand-Guignol Theatre produced nearly 1,000 plays throughout its history, one can only hope this talented crew will continue to bring the same gory fun to the Fringe year after year.
— Amanda Stefaniuk

A
jem rolls: ONE MAN RIOT
big word performance poetry
Venue 14, King’s Head Pub
   

Don’t let the synopsis fool you. Yes, British performance poet and seminal Fringe fave Jem Rolls spiels about the 1990 London Poll-Tax Riot. And yes, he gets around to revealing whether it’s a ghost story. But that’s just a front: if you’re listening, Rolls makes clear that it’s really about the nature of performance itself. It doesn’t matter what he’s saying, it’s about how well he says it. And Rolls is like the best-ever bullshitting storyteller down at the pub, elevated to the level of near-art. He’s also a gifted physical performer: when he mentions how he felt he grew taller, by God, he really looks like he grows taller. And at times his presence seemingly breaks through to another dimension, like when you put on 3-D movie glasses. It’s also fun to watch his sweat stain consumd his whole shirt. Yet he still makes this show seem effortless.
— Kenton Smith

A+
KUNST ROCK (ART ROCK)
Die Roten Punkte
Venue 1, John Hirsch Theatre at MTC Mainstage
   

Even the immortal Johnny Rotten wouldn’t get the feeling he’d been cheated by this show: the hungry-for-more crowd would hear nothing of exiting by the scheduled end time, and so this Australian rock-comedy duo returned for 15 minutes of encores. For this critic, it was a Fringe first. KUNST ROCK is loosely built upon the (fictional) sibling relationship of Otto and Astrid Rot, punk Goths from Berlin who look like the bastard offspring of The White Stripes and Marilyn Manson. There’s no story to speak of, really, save for Astrid’s unexpected revelation that she’s having bringing forth new Rot from her stink crevice. It’s the brilliant interplay between the two performers that’s the show here – and the music is effing great too, being only just on this side of parody. It’s a real corker, this one. Warning: don’t even think about slipping out to go pee.
— Kenton Smith

A
Oleanna
The Nomadic Player
Venue 17, PTE
   

Oleanna’s concept is simple: A young woman visits her professor to discuss her grades. But what happens from there is not so simple. Ken Rudderham plays John, a university professor under stress. Rhea Fedorchuk is Carol, a young, confused woman seeking answers. Over a series of meetings, we watch the power shift between these two people as Carol accuses John of sexual harassment. The beauty of the script, written by David Mamet, is that it doesn’t provide easy answers. Under the direction of Ray Strachan, the play is full of palpable tension. Both Fedorchuk and Rudderham inhabit their characters beautifully. You can see John fall apart, brimming with a rage that’s just barely suppressed, while Carol transforms into a force to be reckoned with. Oleanna isn’t an easy play to watch, but it’s one that will have you thinking about it long after it’s over.
— Mike Sherby

A+
The Particulars
Pyretic Productions
Venue 9, Canwest Performing Arts Centre (MYTP)
   

This stellar one-man play follows a week in the life of Gordon, an anxious, socially awkward, hybrid-driving vegan whose highly regimented lifestyle is disrupted when something begins scratching inside the walls of his house at night. Edmonton playwright Matthew MacKenzie has created a hilarious-yet-moving portrait of a hyper-sensitive control freak dealing with circumstances beyond his control, while Simon Bracken’s delivery is pitch-perfect: speaking in the third-person, as if narrating the action, he over-enunciates each word, fixating on the minutia of Gordon’s daily routines in a way that makes mundane activities seem like high drama. Extremely well-written and brilliantly acted, The Particulars is definitely worth making the trek out to The Forks.
— Marlo Campbell

A
Phone Whore
Cameryn Moore
Venue 5, Son of Warehouse
   

This show is racy. Like if the film Short Bus was a one-woman show kind of racy. Boston’s Cameryn Moore (writer/actress) delivers a believable, compassionate performance as a stay-at-home phone-sex operator. Dealing with clients whose fantasies vary from polite ass play to titty lovin', and a barrage of closeted tough guys, our narrator treats everyone with care, no matter how taboo the topic. The show never feels like it’s going solely for shock — it’s sincere, funny and non-judgemental. Moore worked the stage to its full potential, as she delivered monologues from throughout her apartment, making toast, and even talking through the bathroom door. At 50 minutes it flew by, seamlessly mixing monologues and the taking of phone calls. This show may be one of the raunchiest in recent memory at the Fringe — but it’s also got a lot of heart and humour.
— Nick Friesen

A
Pitch Blond
Destination Ink Productions
Venue 5, Son of Warehouse
   

Laura Anne Harris is an absolute delight as screen legend Judy Holliday in this funny, charming and wholly moving one-woman show. For those unfamiliar with Holliday, here’s a quick history lesson: Holliday, born Judith Tuvim, was a squeaky-voiced, doll-faced New York actress best known for her Academy Award-winning role in 1950’s Born Yesterday. Despite her genius-level IQ, she was often cast as the dumb blonde — a role she would reprise in real life when she was the subject of an FBI investigation into her alleged communist ties (as it turns out, this dumb blonde was one smart cookie). In Pitch Blond, Harris seamlessly juxtaposes Holliday’s testimony with scenes from throughout her life — but what makes this show so pitch perfect is her clear grasp of (and obvious love for) her subject. Harris understands that Judy Holliday and Judy Tuvim demand different talents from her as an actress; Holliday requires deft comedic timing (not to mention a spot-on New York Jewish accent), while Tuvim needs to be imbued with strength and heart. Harris’ performance was not only sincere, it was believable — and most-deserving of the standing O she received when the house lights went up.
— Jen Zoratti

A
Psycho Bitch
PK Pinup Productions
Venue 21, Aqua Books
   

Psycho Bitch provides a tight, focused, non-judgemental look at mental illness — and it’s genuinely delightful. The one-woman show (performed by writer Tamara Lynn Robert) walks us through one woman’s struggle to pinpoint the cause, name and correct medication for what exactly is making her feel so down. Playing the role of various therapists, a faith-healer named Crystal Light and well-intentioned coworkers, Robert works the stage like the seasoned actress she is. The music cues and sound effects punctuate her performance to a T and are never out of place, including a fantasy sequence which finds her promoting her memoir on Oprah. Filled with highs and lows (what story of mania wouldn't be?) that engage the audience completely, Robert put so much of herself into the show that she wept at the end. A personal, powerful performance.
— Nick Friesen

A+
The Pumpkin Pie Show: Commencement
Horse Trade Theatre Group
Venue 7, The Conservatory
   

Wow! I expected the Pumpkin Pie Show to be a little slice of life, not a deep dish of reality, tragedy and pain. Created by Clay McLeod Chapman, The Pumpkin Pie Show is a storytelling series out of New York. This season’s edition, Commencement, explores a brutal, Columbine-esque high school shooting from the perspective of three different women. Written by Chapman and performed by Hanna Cheek, Commencement is an absolutely astounding piece that delves deeper into a disaster then any media outlet could — or would, for that matter. It shows that there are more than two sides to a story, how ‘victim’ is not a black-and-white term, how quick we are to blame and how fast we are to forget. How was the acting? I didn’t see any. Cheek completely becomes the characters, so much so, she was visibly shaking at show’s end. Speaking of such, after this performance, Cheek and Commencement received a standing ovation and everybody looked a little shaken up as they left the venue. Go see this!
— Jared Story

A
Rant Demon
Doctor Keir Co.
Venue 10, Planetarium Auditorium
   

If it doesn’t make sense, Keir Cutler can't stand it. Rant Demon, the eighth solo show from the Fringe veteran, is an autobiographical monologue detailing Cutler’s love/hate relationship with ranting. You see, Cutler’s tiny tirades have evolved into out-of-control angry outbursts, costing him jobs, relationships and happiness. For the calm, cool and collected, breaking it off with blustering may seem like no big deal, but Cutler digs deep into his personal past, exposing the roots of his rage and showing just how firmly planted his ranting is. Despite its title, Rant Demon does not carry on. Directed by ‘Fringe God’ TJ Dawe, Cutler’s confessional comes across as concise, civilized, clever, comedic and most of all challenging, as in think twice the next time you decide to seethe and shout.
— Jared Story

A
rooms//apart
!mPULSE Theatre
Venue 2, MTC Up the Alley
   

Schizophrenia, manic depression, and mental hospitals aren’t typical sources of comedy. If done poorly, the result can be very insulting. Luckily, playwrights and actors Matthew Bittroff and Tim Cooper manage to avoid that pitfall and tell a tale that’s warm and affecting. The play introduces us to Trigger and Switch, two patients in a mental hospital. Speaking to each other through the wall of their adjoining rooms, they talk about their lives outside and how they got where they are. The two eventually develop a close friendship that is threatened when one of the men is about to be sent home. The subject matter here may be very dark, but thanks to the two sweet, memorable characters, it has a great big heart at its centre.
— Mike Sherby

A
Seeking
Heat & Hot Water Productions
Venue 2, MTC Up the Alley
   

Burlington, Va., trio Chris Caswell, Marianne DiMascio and Geeda Searfoorce seamlessly transform into multiple characters in this light-hearted dating comedy. An uptight married couple, a Kubrick-loving gamer and a struggling painter are all looking for love and occasionally, it’s found. The funny and realistic characters are the heart of the story, even when the guy plays a woman or the girls play dudes, each one completely works. A scene involving speed dating and audience participation worked amazingly well at the show I saw ("What do you do in your spare time?" "I see Fringe shows." "What’s a Fringe show?" "We’re in one right now!") and everything interconnects near the end at an art show/Halloween party, bringing together the eight lovers for the first time. Though some current pop-culture references fell flat to the mostly middle-aged audience, Seeking has something for everyone.
— Nick Friesen

A+
SmartArse
Rob Gee
Venue 11, Red River College
   

To be a kid again. In SmartArse, U.K. stand-up poet/storyteller/comedian Rob Gee explores his early days, the vitality of youth, the apathy of adults, and why acting like a child might not be such a bad thing. After a brief introduction, Gee kicks into an incredibly imaginative poem, written by kids, about what one would do with an invisibility cloak. Contrasting the rhyme with an adult version of the same poem, Gee proves that children are far more creative than grown-ups. Wickedly funny stories of his family life, the faults of institutionalized education and finding magic mushrooms in the playground follow, interspersed with sensational slam poetry interludes. Fast and funny, Gee’s kid-like enthusiasm and young at heart manner will surely have you getting in touch with your inner child.
— Jared Story

A+
Super Spectacular!
The Donovan Ensemble
Venue 8, Rachel Browne Theatre
   

A glorious, fabulous show, a tasty bouillabaisse of opera pastiche and a ham actor seemingly auditioning for every role ever written. Joe Kolbow is has-been/never-was thespian Merril Garrick, with a selection of smoking jackets and a kiss-curl on his forehead. Johnnie Niel plays Emmet, his (somewhat) faithful sidekick. The duo recklessly plunge into their numerous roles — anything for applause! — and Niel can rock a pair of knee socks. It’s over the top, bottoms out, and has some of the funniest song cues you’ll hear this Fringe. For extra fun, sit in front. A production that deserves sold-out shows every performance. Super Spectacular! is just that.
— Quentin Mills-Fenn

A
Tired Clichés
Acky-Made
Venue 21, Aqua Books
   

First presented at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 1998 by ‘The King of Fringe,’ T.J. Dawe, Tired Clichés is a hilariously funny, fast-paced one man show starring Toronto’s Alex Eddington. What starts off as a seemingly unrelated string of random thoughts on a variety of subjects — pedestrian-controlled cross walks, vomited cats, post modernism, boring minimum waged jobs, ghosts, working the night shift, the meaninglessness of the phrase "happy birthday" and the difference between casual cyclists/wanky cyclists — all gets tied together in the last few minutes of the monologue. Eddington’s razor sharp delivery, quirky sound effects courtesy of a pocket full of small instruments and Dawe’s thought-provoking script ensure there is never a dull moment.
— Anthony Augustine

A+
unADULTeRATED me
Rachelle Fordyce
Venue 7, The Conservatory
   

Hilarity, poignancy, and finally triumph — it’s in more or less that order that Rachelle Fordyce leads us through her latest one-woman show. And she’s got the audience in her complete grip throughout: this is the kind of show that makes people stand up and cheer. Preparing for what she hopes will be The Big Night with her man crush, Fordyce’s alter ego Fizzy Tiff winds up baring her soul all right, albeit in unexpected fashion. Klutzy and cheek-pinchingly lovable, Fizzy unfailingly wins our moral support. And while one senses it may have been personally therapeutic for the performer, it never feels like we’re enduring a confessional. Being honest about yourself, because it’s so hard for the rest of us, could be considered one definition of an artist. Fordyce is a painfully honest artist, and this is one of the best Fringe shows I’ve ever seen.
— Kenton Smith