Random
stories from the first weekend of the Fringe:
The weather was perfect. Not
too hot, not too cold, not much rain. Even Goldilocks would be happy
with the weather.
Attendance is basically the
same as last year. At the end of Sunday night, paid attendance was
28,004 (down 361 from last year) and ticket sales were 177,729 (down
$527 from last year). So far, we have 44 sellouts
this year, which is the same as last year. Amazingly, Saturday July 19
was the best day ever for the Winnipeg Fringe, with a record 7,249
tickets sold.
I’ve seen a lot of good
quality shows so far. So, here are some of the plays I’ve enjoyed
so far - dramas (The Tricky Part, Trojan Women, Spiral Dive),
dark comedies (Remember The Night, Criminals in Love), romantic
comedy (The Red Handkerchief), straight comedies (Boat Load,
How to Fake Clinical Depression). My two biggest surprises so far
were The Wizard of One (a charming story that amazed me in how
well The Wizard of Oz story translates to senior citizens) and Guernica (a sad movement piece about
what people would do if they were reborn).
I’ve heard way too much
of Terry MacLeod this week. I like the cellphone
message before each performance, but next year they should really get
different people to voice the messages.This way, the message will stay
fresh.
In spite of the cellphone message before plays, I’ve still
heard 3 cellphones go off during shows.
Etiquette people.
Best sign – Come to
hell 7 pm nightly (a promo for Dr. Faustus).
Most quirky moment – On
Saturday afternoon, I put a coin in the Science Folktion
Jukebox Sidebox on King Street and the 2 guys
sang me a funny yet touching song about a girlbot
(female robot). It was great.
War Triology
Spiral Dive
is the first in an epic trilogy about World War II. It is terrific. Parts two
and three will be done over the next 2 Fringes. Wow! I’m already
looking forward to next year’s Fringe.
Quote of
the Day
“If we had
enough conversations, then we could probably make out. That’s how it
works, doesn’t it?”
