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Fringe 2016: A sexy and liberating performance in Hymns in Hearses’ Gary

June 20, 2016 by Joseph Hutt

Fringe 2016: A sexy and liberating performance in Hymns in Hearses’ Gary

“A sexistential crisis.” “A fucking celebration.” These are just a couple ways that this liberating tour de force has been described over the past week, and I couldn’t agree more with the enthusiasm behind them.

The show begins after the poorly attended funeral of the eponymous Gary, the openly gay uncle of Mel (Chelsea Young) who had been renounced by his religiously judgmental family. In the aftermath of this show of familial disrespect, Mel and her friends Shawn (Cory Thibert) and Gregg (Tony Adams) wonder why Gary allowed himself to keep making the mistakes that drove his family away and ultimately cost him his life. It isn’t until they unearth a pile of letters addressed to Gary that they realize Gary had more love, more excitement, more life in his life than all of them combined.

Gary’s complete lack of fear, of embracing each moment for what it is, inspires each of these characters to dive into the unknown, to risk the big mistakes in life, and, as it happens, to explore their own relationships and sexuality.

Read the full review.

REVIEW: PACHIV! @ Ottawa Fringe 2015

June 24, 2015 by Matthew Champ

REVIEW: PACHIV! @ Ottawa Fringe 2015

Two struggling illegal immigrants want to invite you to their lantern party to get to know you in Pachiv! Should you see it?


Two RatedPachiv! if anything is truly inconsistent. While both Tony Adams (Grease) and Chelsea Young (Ewe) are quite strong and entertaining actors who can hold a show together, the content really falls flat on its face because the audience doesn’t know if it’s supposed to be laughing or crying or whether we’re about to reach a new level of emotional depth or if it’s just a setup for another big joke.

The two take command of their outdoor venue and truly do make the audience feel at home, but it’s the moments of melancholy that come out of nowhere while everyone is laughing and smiling and having a great time that drags this show down. You can usually tell when one of these transitions are going to happen because the two start to sing to each other, yet neither are particularly strong in the vocal department.

Pachiv_Web-640x640I’m not sure if this show was supposed to a comedy, a drama or the film Indecent Proposal, but it was all over the map, and the two strong actors could not save mediocre content that just couldn’t flesh out exactly what it was meant to be.

The best part of the show was actually before the show began and the two pranced introducing themselves and talking, laughing and sharing drinks with audience members. They had an amazing ability to banter and think on their feet, but once we hit the scripted content things went downhill fast.

For more information on Pachiv! (times and tickets) click here!

But that’s just my opinion and I’d love to know what you think. What did you think of how the show balanced itself between being a comedy and a drama? What was your favourite character quirk? Join the discussion and tell me what you think in the comments below!

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