By Ryan Kerr

The Annex Theatre’s wood-paneled walls and symmetrical wooden staircases provided an excellent backdrop for Just the Ticket – an 80’s era comedy about a young barfly’s love of Billy Joel and his attempts to snag tickets to “the concert of the century”. If you know Billy Joel’s work inside and out, you may appreciate Just the Ticket even more, but I needed no prior knowledge to laugh out loud (lol) repeatedly at the wonderful performances and clever writing.

The protagonist, Colin, expressed his love of all things Billy using mixed metaphors and an infectious, quirky enthusiasm. Each character was fully fleshed out – from Gary the sleazy barman, to Stan the washed up investor, and Tatiana, Colin’s jaded love interest.

The choice of period and costume made a cute story genuinely endearing, and I found myself so engaged in the performance that the hour flew by.  I left the theatre tapping my toes and wondering if there was anything in my life I cared as much about as Colin cared about Billy Joel.

Bonus – air conditioned venue

Details:

Just the Ticket is playing at The Annex Theatre (Bathurst just South of Bloor)

Fri, July 2 8:45 PM – Sat, July 3 3:30 PM – Sun, July 4 10:30 PM – Tue, July 6 3:00 PM – Wed, July 7 1:45 PM – Thu, July 8 7:30 PM – 549
Sun, July 11 5:15 PM – 569All 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