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Festival Reviews
Syndicate
The Musical of Musicals: the Musical!
Company: Fighting Chance Productions
Duration: 60 minutes
Carousel Theatre
Why see one show when you can see five? Girl must pay rent, girl cannot afford rent. Girl gets advice from mother figure. Boy pays rent. All sing. All in the styles of Lloyd Webber, Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb and Jerry Herman. Starring Mikal Grant, Steven Greenfield, Anna Kuman and Colleen Winton. Directed by Ryan Moooney.
Showtimes
Sep 4 – 7:00 PM
Sep 5 – 5:00 PM
Sep 6 – 7:00 PM
Sep 7 – 9:00 PM
Sep 10 – 9:00 PM
Sep 11 – 11:00 PM
Sep 12 – 7:00 PM
Sep 13 – 7:00 PM
Sep 13 – 11:00 PM
Sep 14 – 3:00 PM
Read the Plank Review.
Reviews
12/31/2008 - 11:23am
12/29/2008 - 5:40pm
12/29/2008 - 2:02pm
12/17/2008 - 5:19pm
Plank Thots
Ignatieff: he likes culture!
12/11/2008 - 4:10pm
Character by Association #4: getting the playwright off my back
11/20/2008 - 5:05pm
Character by Association #3: is this fucking poetry?
11/19/2008 - 3:48pm
Character by Association #2
11/05/2008 - 6:04am
Comments
Thanks
Firstly I am that non-aficionado, but I have not laughed so much, smiled so my Jaw ached and clapped so much my hands throbbed, I may not have got every line that such aficionado would have but, I would like to think got most.
Christopher Allen’s compere is indeed the icing on the cake and the singing and the (girls) expressions have to be heard and seen.Like your article very much. Enjoy it to read such a informative view. Thanks for sharing with us.Greatly done.Like your article very much. Enjoy it to read such a informative view. Thanks for sharing with us.Greatly done.
Musical of Musicals - AMAZING!
So good! I had the extreme fortune to usher this show (a coveted position) and I was blown away. So funny, and with five different styles there is something for everyone! A hugely talented cast puts of the talk of the Fringe… get tickets while you can!
Stop The Press! Stop The Press! You Have Got To See This Show!!!
I saw this show last night and I must say, it was pure genius. I loved it from Start to Finish…After a VERY stressful fringe day…this show had the amazing ability to make me laugh and laugh…I laughed so hard that I cried!! I will have to see it again…and That’s a promise!!!
The Musical of Musicals: The Musical is one very tightly written script. The Cast does an excellent job transforming it to the stage. The set and props are very minimal, but that is not what is needed. The Cast and the Narrator sets and paint the stage for the audience. It’s hard to find a show that will suite the whole family, but this one does! Adults will like it as will the teenagers..it is fabulous for younger audiences! It does have it’s loud moments in the small theater, but nothing to go deaf over. It’s a great venue and each seat is so close that you can actually see the performers up close. It sure beats paying $150 tix for row 600 and the performers look like ants!! Considering there are only 4 rows of seating and for only 12 dollars..you really can’t go wrong!
It doesn’t take a Degree in Music or Theater to understand, but it sure helps. Even the occasional Musical goer will catch the majority of the parodies. This Musical takes pokes and jabs at some of the greatest names in Theater. Some are so blatant that I even knew who they were doing the parodies on!! Sir Phantom Jitter (Mikal Grant) was instantly one of my most favorite characters. Poor helpless June (Anna Kuman), she was so believable that even I would have helped to pay her rent for her too! Too bad for me but Big Willy (Steven Greenfield) keeps beating me to the punch!! I should have really stayed after the show to talk to Aunt Abby (Colleen Winton) for some more of her great advice on what to do!!! Such a talented bunch of performers in this cast….
Overall a fabulous show that you can pretty much take anyone to! Hardwood give this show an unprecedented 6 Planks (out of 5). Make sure you pre-book your tickets as this show sells out fast. Also if possible, the show is comprised of 5 shows, but due to time constraints they only perform 4. The exception is when it is the last show of the night and then they will perform all 5!!! It really is a must see for the 2008 Vancouver International Fringe Festival!!!
Cheers
Hardwood
Inside jokes still funny in a tidal wave of laughter
The more familiar you are with Musical theatre, the more you’ll enjoy this show.
If you aren’t as familiar with the works of some of the composers being parodied, a lot of the jokes will go over your head. However, it is likely you will get so caught up, as I was, in the energy of the performers and the laughter of the audience that you’ll laugh and enjoy yourself anyway without any idea what you’re laughing at.
There were a few moments (especially in the Andrew Lloyd Webber segment) that it felt a little too constructed, like they were trying to fit as many inside references as they could. But the campy style, as well as the dedication and talent from the performers, were more than enough to make up for any shortcoming in the structure.
Come see The Musical of Musicals, The Musical.
I have to say, it’s a unique and rare fringe experience than can make me burst out with side splitting laughter and smile from ear to ear without me knowing why.
Sheer garbage!
Sheer garbage!
You know, there's nothing
You know, there’s nothing wrong with saying a show is garbage. But it helps if you give a reason why. Otherwise, we just assume you’re an idiot and haven’t seen it.
Sidesplitting parody
One of the most high-energy, crowd-pleasing offerings at the Fringe, “Musical of Musicals” is a delight! Whether or not you’re a musical-theatre buff, this show will leave you in stitches. It takes the simplest story – girl can’t pay rent, evil landlord demands it, hero pays it – and uses it as a springboard to take the stuffing out of five well-known musical theatre composers and the familiar style and character types that exemplify each.
Along the way there are puns and gags aplenty, jokes within jokes, and song titles twisted a bit and worked into dialogue. But even if you aren’t in on the nudge-wink insider humour, you’ll be bowled over by the laugh-out-loud funny songs and the infectious energy, enthusiasm and talent of the performers – Mikal Grant, Steven Greenfield, Anna Kuman, and Collen Winton. Sarah Jaysmith, unseen behind the black curtain, provides perfectly complementary piano accompaniment. Director Ryan Mooney ensures that every line and moment is milked for maximum laughs.
The finale manages to shoehorn in a sendup of one additional musical theatre phenomenon. It’s a sparkling and funny surprise to end with.
Run, don’t walk, to see “The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!”
Vancouver Sun Review
THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS: THE MUSICAL!
Carousel Theatre Studio
Remaining shows: Today at 7 p.m., Sunday and Wednesday at 9 p.m., Thursday at 11 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday (Sept. 13) at 7 and 11 p.m., Sunday (Sept. 14) at 3 p.m.
Thick with deliciously awful puns about musical theatre, this tuneful delight is a spoof of the genre so spot-on that it knows exactly how to send up the subject. It’s riddled with references that diehards will love, but The Musical of Musicals: The Musical! is also sharp enough to appeal to anyone.
In a string of parodies linked by the common thread that a young woman (Anna Kuman) can’t pay the rent, four singers finely attuned to the conceit sing with absolute conviction. While the words and music hew close to those of the original song, each offers crazy, laughable twists.
First there’s a slap at Oklahoma! that has just about every other Rogers & Hammerstein show crammed in as well, from Carousel to South Pacific. Then it’s time to poke fun at Kander & Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago, et al.), Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, Cats, et al.) and Jerry Herman (Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cage aux Folles).
With Sarah Jaysmith leading them on piano, Mikal Grant, Steven Greenfield and Colleen Winton are just as sharp as Kuman in mocking their victims. Think: Forbidden Broadway as Winton nails the wide-eyed wacko in Sunset Boulevard, Grant gets the drippy German sleaze of Cabaret just right, Greenfield’s cowpoke accent is spot-on and Kuman mocks both Eva Peron and Madonna.
Whether it’s Grant’s Webber stealing shamelessly from Puccini or Winton’s Mame wondering about the catering in Where’s That Boy With the Bagel? (the actual lyric is “Where’s that boy with the bugle?”), this is the best kind of well-sung dumb fun.
forum for advertising?
I’m delighted that your show has generated so much positive feedback – and all the comments in this section, all genuine I’m sure – are also welcome. I’m less delighted that you’ve chosen to cut and paste reviews from one of the largest media conglomerates in this country. This is not really part of the spirit of this forum. It could be argued that it amounts to advertising. Plank Magazine at the moment does not generate any revenue and you are effectively using this forum as a space for free advertising (and also indirectly, using our small resources to support one of the largest media conglomerates in the country). We don’t believe in censorship and I wouldn’t recommend bringing this post down. But a donation to Plank Magazine might be nice. Contact us at info@plankmagazine.com and we’ll give you the details on who to make the cheque out to.
Proper credit might be a good idea too
Well said Andrew, I think that’s a very agreeable arrangement. It doesn’t have to be a big donation, but something would be a gesture of good business. And if you’re going to re-post someone else’ property, it might be a good idea to credit the author as well.
Oversight
Oversight on my part that this was posted without looking at that first. Also, there’s no way to alter/change the post once you have done so.
The reviewer was Peter Birnie.
I have also sent an e-mail to Plank as I would be more than willing to assist the site. I think it’s a great thing you all are trying to do here with the Fringe. It’s certainly been beneficial for us.
Ryan has indeed contacted us
Ryan has indeed contacted us and offered to make a donation (within minutes of my post), a gesture that is most welcome.
Awesome
Right on Ryan, that’s exactly how cool indie theatre should be. Big up.
Georgia Straight Review
The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!
Musical theatre has always been ripe for parody, but rarely have so many styles been so affectionately mocked in a single hour. New Yorkers Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell have crafted a delicious smorgasbord of satires, including Corn, a Rogers and Hammerstein tribute that sprinkles a bit of The Sound of Music onto Oklahoma!, and A Little Complex, a Stephen Sondheim sendup that marries Sweeney Todd to Into the Woods.
Musical-theatre fans will get dizzy keeping up with all the in-jokes, but even nonaficionados will delight in the sizzling-hot cast director Ryan Mooney has assembled. Mikal Grant, Steven Greenfield, Anna Kuman, and (especially) Colleen Winton are all excellent singers with a terrific sense of comedy; their full-throttle commitment to this material’s very clever silliness is a joy to behold. Don’t miss it.
At BYOV B, Carousel, tonight (7 p.m.), September 7 (9 p.m.), 10 (9 p.m.) 11 (11 p.m.), 12 (7 p.m.), 13 (7 and 11 p.m.), and 14 (3 p.m.). > Kathleen Oliver
A Must See Musical!
For anyone who has ever seen a musical comedy, then this show is a MUST SEE production, even if it’s the only Fringe production you take in (although, it’s impossible not to see more Fringe productions once you’ve been bitten by the Fringe bug).
This show is probably one of the most cleverly written shows to come along in years, written by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell. The music and lyrics are fantastic.
The way the show is written, depending on which date/time you see it, you will see 4 versions of a show in 4 different styles or, if it’s a late night show, you get to see all 5 versions!
Go to this show prepared to howl… ok, laugh until your eyes leak and your cheeks hurt! Musical Theatre buffs will truly howl throughout this show!
Ryan Mooney has done and incredible job with the direction in such a small space, and casting the four incredible talents – Steven Greenfield, Colleen Winton, Mikal Grant and Anna Kuman. All four performers have an incredible talent for timing and comedy… all done to the accompaniment of the talentedSarah Jaysmith on the keyboards.
What truly amazes me is that you can take a well-written script, add 4 talented performers and a pianist, who can handle all styles of music, a few simple props, and very simple black clothing… and still take an audience into a full hour of solid entertainment. Never once did I, as an audience member, have to make an excuse for something that just didn’t work… this show worked from the time it started right through until it ended.
I truly can’t stress enough, that, if you miss seeing this show, you have really missed seeing something special and truly entertaining!
Be prepared to laugh for the whole 60 minutes it runs, and be prepared to wonder if there’s any way you can get in to see it again!!
The musical of musicals
The best show i’ve seen in ages. It was so funny me and my friends cheeks hurt from laughing so much. Extremely talented cast, musicians, and director.
Amazing Show
One of the best shows I have seen at the Fringe for years. Talented cast and amazing writing. As a musical theater fan, I almost laughed myself to tears!
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