Well here we are again, Fringe time! With over 150 shows in less than 2 weeks it can be hard to narrow down what you want to see, so we’ve put together a list for all you Bygone lovers – shows featuring artists we’ve worked with or those we hope to. Enjoy!
1. Friend of Bygone Jada Rifkin
Jada has performed as Bob Burnhart’s lovely assistant in The Couples’ Game, as well as a fabulous version of the Grinch in our co-pro with Thomas Finn, The Cab(aret) Before Christmas. This Fringe, see her in two shows; Clitoria: A Sex-Positive Superhero! and Every Silver Lining.
CLITORIA: A SEX-POSITIVE SUPERHERO!
A sexually repressed high school science teacher accidentally turns herself into a sex-positive Vixen of Kink through a science experiment gone wrong. As the sex ed curriculum is scrapped in Ontario, Clitoria’s transformation wreaks havoc on her square life and her square fiancé. Musical comedy unfolds in hot, steamy, and unexpected ways!
EVERY SILVER LINING
Every Silver Lining is an original, dramedic, coming-of-age musical about illness and the perseverance of life; juxtaposing the joyful naiveté of youth, and the crushing discovery of mortality.
2. Friends of Bygone Sean Jacklin and Kevin Forster
Fringe’s Cyrano de Bergerac features 2 Bygone buddies; Sean Jacklin who played Walter Burns in His Girl Friday and Kevin Forster who played Hal in Loot.
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Cyrano, Christina, and the Comte de Guiche vie for the affection of Roxanne, one using their wit, another their beauty, and the third . . . well any trick in the book. In the tradition of street theatre of the past, The Leslieville Players invite you to lay back on a patch of grass and watch us barrel through this new family friendly adaptation of a beloved classic. Sure Shaw and St. Lawrence are doing the show too, but we’re more fun! (and cheaper.)
3. Friends of Bygone Wesley Babcock & Whitney Hewitt
Wes Babcock was our fabulous lighting designer for our most recent production, The Rear Window. It’s hard to find a photo that does his work justice, but he managed to create chilling, dynamic lighting for a series of apartments in this thrilling suspense. Whitney Hewitt also worked on our show as our invincible stage manager! She is getting in the SM booth again for Deep End.
DEEP END
Carina’s turning 18 and is hosting the Birthday POOL Party of the year! Everyone’s invited, even Lilly. When do adults intervene in harmless harassment? What happens when life throws you into the deep end? This site specific show that happens in and around a Swimming Pool asks when does “kids will be kids,” go to far?
Please note that as this is a site specific Production the Audience will be required to remove their shoes and enter the pool deck where they will be seated on benches for the duration of the production!
4. Friend of Bygone Sarah Marchand
Sarah played The Dancing Girl in The Rear Window, but this Fringe she is working behind-the-scenes as the producer of Drink of Choice.
DRINK OF CHOICE
You walk into a bar, someone comes to take your order, and what happens next is your choice. Join us at the bar for a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure storytelling experience where the drink you order leads to personal tales about sexuality, romance, and total loss of reality. A hilarious solo show about what it means to be asexual as you navigate dating and seeking connection.
5. Friend of Bygone Nicole Byblow
Nicole was a regular staple of our Retro Radio Hour series and also performed in our Vaudeville Revue. She is doing music direction for Friendly Fire at this year’s Fringe.
FRIENDLY FIRE: THE ART AND EXECUTION OF FRIENDSHIP
Friends are great, aren’t they? Wait, are they? They must be. Otherwise we wouldn’t try so hard to make them. Or keep them. Or avoid them. Until we can cut them out… hmm. Sketch revues are great, aren’t they? This one is! Grab some pals and join us for a romp amongst the minefields of friendship. Or, come alone. We’re easy.
6. Friend of Bygone Cass Van Wyck
Cass played Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday and this summer is in another show by popular playwright Michael Ross Albert (so buy in advance!).
THE HUNS
The morning after a break-in at a tech company, three co-workers assemble for a conference call to discuss the burglary. What starts as a civilized, professional meeting swiftly devolves into a brutal showdown that puts everyone’s careers– and their hopes for future happiness– in jeopardy.
Written by Dora-nominated playwright Michael Ross Albert (“Anywhere,” Best of Fringe 2018/Patron’s Pick) and directed by Marie Farsi (associate artistic director, Crow’s Theatre), “The Huns” is a new, menacing workplace comedy about millennial anxieties, minor revolutions, and modern-day barbarians.
7. Friend of Bygone The Vintage Taps
Tapping trip The Vintage Taps performed in our Vaudeville Revue, see them in an extended show with a bigger cast in The Laundry List at this year’s Fringe.
THE LAUNDRY LIST
It’s 1919, and Frankie’s Laundry is gunning to be the number one bootlegger in Toronto. His competition thinks otherwise, and a group of chorus girls find themselves in a showdown of guns…..and tap shoes. The Laundry List will whisk you back to the golden age of jazz, flappers and gangsters. With live music, singing, and tap dancing, this cast of 12 will leave you with a song in your heart and a skip in your step.
8. Friend of Bygone Rob Sapienza
We’ve just started working with Rob Sapienza as he is one half of Sapling theatre, the company we have teamed up with (along with Larry Silverberg) to produce Something For The Buoys this October. He is directing Tales of a Cocktail at the Fringe.
TALES OF A COCKTAIL
The classic story of an innocent man wrongly, but deliberately sent to his demise and his brilliant strategy for revenge against those who betrayed him. Dashing young mobster Edward is a guileless and honest young man whose plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes and live a better life are abruptly shattered when his best friend who wants Mercedes for himself, deceives him. Told through a Chicago 1920s lens this dance adaptation brings to life the tale of The Count Of Monte Cristo.
9. A Quirky Victorian Comedy
This one caught our eye, and although Bygone hasn’t worked with David DiFrancesco before, our AD Emily Dix has, and is sure this will be hilarious.
THREE MEN ON A BIKE
From the company that brought you the award-winning Toronto Fringe smash hit Three Men in a Boat. Based upon the further writings of Victorian author Jerome K. Jerome. Pea Green Theatre Group proudly presents Three Men on a Bike! (Being the further adventures of three Victorian gentlemen as they embark upon a disastrous bicycling trip to the continent.) Not to be missed!
10. A New Look at Reefer Madness
Being a company that produces 20th century shows that are often closely linked to cinema, Reefer Madness the musical is of course on our to-do list. We’re intrigued by this new look at a story many of us know from the stage and screen.
REEFER MADNESS: ORIGINS
During the Depression, a time when hope and prosperity is far from the American mind, a common enemy is created: the Mexican weed with roots in hell, marijuana. Known as hemp and cannabis and used industrially and medically across the globe, “marijuana” is promoted as the cause of moral depravity among young people and societal decay. With the support of powerful allies with various interests, economic or otherwise, the Federal Commissioner of Narcotics Harry Anslinger will stop at nothing to warp the image of cannabis into what will shape international drug scheduling for generations to come.
Click on any of the show titles in this list for more info like show dates & times. Be sure to check out the Fringe website for a complete list of this season’s shows.
Emily Dix is the Artistic Executive Director of Bygone Theatre, and is directing, stage managing, designing and producing His Girl Friday. Emily has produced all of Bygone’s shows and directed 5 of the 6, with this now being her 7th.
Elizabeth Rose Morriss plays uptight Gertrude Baldwin in His Girl Friday. You may remember Liz from her role as Miss Kentley in Rope and as a performer in our Vaudeville Revue, as well as numerous Retro Radio Hours. She is also currently on the Bygone Theatre Board of Directors.
Bygone Theatre 