In the grand tradition of Fringe Festival spoof musicals, Just East of Broadway takes all the old musical conventions and runs with them – from the fighters who become lovers, to the little theatre company that could, to a bumbling henchman out to thwart the leading man. Rex Maverick (played by Cory O’Brien) is a washed-up Hollywood star who is shipped off to small-town China to star in a play that might be his last hope for a comeback. Let the laughs ensue. Continue reading Next Stage Festival – Just East of Broadway – Gig Productions→
Go see Parfumerie right now. It’s playing until December 24th at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
Go see Parfumerie, to be warmed, cheered and entertained. Then when you come home and turn on It’s a Wonderful Life, you’ll notice how cold and unfeeling it seems in comparison. Maybe I’m just full of festive cheer right now, but I really enjoyed this show. My friend Jo did too; she called it “uniformly good.”
Playwright Alison Lawrence (who also plays the lead character Mel) freely admits the show’s subject matter is drawn from her own life. It revolves around a group of people who work as caterers while pursuing their artistic dreams, a job Lawrence herself held for several years.
Just East of Broadway, playing at the Next Stage Theatre Festival, is a play that doesn’t take itself too seriously. This, I think, is both its strength and its weakness.
