By Sam Mooney

Bosco and Jones is a show within a show musical about a ventriloquist and his dummy written by Brett McCaig & Racheal McCaig and composed by Scott White.  It’s a lot of fun.  I can see it working well in a broader venue than Fringe. (Mirvish, anyone?) I read on their site that this is an abridged version of the show, condensed to fit in a 60 minute timeslot.

I picked my fringe shows weeks ago and haven’t looked at the program since then so I had no idea what to expect.

The cast – Matt Bois, Paul Constable, Patty Sullivan, Allan Gillespie, and Brett McCaig – was terrific.  The show opens with a movie that tells the back story of Bosco, the ventriloquist, and Jones, the dummy and then moves to the show which takes place in a theatre.  (Show within a show)

There are some very funny fake commercials in between scenes.  Also very funny songs.  “You Give Me Wood” stayed in my head for the rest of the day.

There was one poignant scene that brought a tear to my eye, a sure sign that a show has worked for me – I laugh, I cry. I had a good time.  So will you.  Go see Bosco and Jones.

Bonus – air conditioned venue.

Details:

– Bosco and Jones is playing at Factory Theatre Mainspace, 125 Bathurst Street (at Adelaide)
– Wed, June 30 6:30 PM
Fri, July 2 10:30 PM
Sun, July 4 8:45 PM
Wed, July 7 Noon
Thu, July 8 2:15 PM
Fri, July 9 11:00 PM
Sat, July 10 4:00 PM
– All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only),  Online at www.fringetoronto.com, by Phone at 416-966-1062, in person (June 30 – July 11 only) at The Randolph Centre for the Arts, 736 Bathurst Street (Advance tickets are $11 ($10+$1 convenience fee), and $5 for FringeKids (no convenience fee for kids tickets).
– Several money-saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows