O(h) is amazing. Liz Casebolt and Joel Smith are fabulous. Go book your tickets right now.

I chose to see O(h) for two reasons: the blurb in the Fringe program says “If you’re tired of modern dance that takes itself way too seriously, O(h) is perfect for you and, I had a four and a half hour gap between shows that I wanted to fill. That’s Fringe. Finding a show you love is serendipity.

O(h) isn’t like any dance show that you’ve seen before. Of course they can dance. And dance well. You couldn’t do a show like this if you weren’t a talented dancer.

They can talk. They do that well too. And they’re very funny, sharp, and very smart, a combination I love.

And they can sing. Casebolt does more singing than Smith, she has a beautiful voice.

That’s the hat trick that makes the show so wonderful. It engages more than one part of your brain. It’s very funny. I had an enormous grin on my face for most of the show. I left the theatre with sore jaws from smiling and laughing.

There was a palpable energy between the duet and the audience from the moment the show started. The audience loved them.

While they dance and talk and sing they explore gender, male/female relationships, and collaboration – and we think about the ideas while we laugh. Don’t you wish everyone presented ideas like that?

As I write this I keep thinking about my favourite part of the show and it keeps changing. Was it the gay dance? The superman underwear? Maybe it was ‘I Feel Pretty’. Oh, or the happy ending. There was a lot to like in an hour.

Friday night was their first show and about 2/3 of the seats were taken. There’s going to be buzz in the lineups about O(h). I was serious when I said you should buy your tickets now.

Details:

• O(h) is playing at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (79A St. George St)

• Showtimes are:

• July 06 11:00 PM
  July 08 01:00 PM
  July 09 10:30 PM
  July 11 04:15 PM
  July 12 09:15 PM
  July 13 03:30 PM

• All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only) and go on sale one hour before showtime. 50% of tickets are available in advance and are $11 ($9 + $2 service charge), these can be purchased online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062 ext. 1, or in person during the festival at the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).
• Value packs are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows

Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating during the Toronto Fringe Festival.

Photo of casebolt and smith in O(h) by Jeff D. Larson