Daniel Tobias’ first solo show, The Orchid and The Crow, rolls into Ottawa Fringe this year taking a funny yet serious look at religion, cancer and the power of Lance Armstrong. Should you see it?
Daniel Tobias, an atheist Jew, recounts being diagnosed with Stage Four testicular cancer and how when he felt that all was lost he discovered the healing power of Lance Armstrong.
Tobias is extremely engaging and entertaining. He takes the stage with great control and command in this one hour variety show of comedy, music and drama. The show starts off like an alt-rock concert, where the only thing missing were the audience holding lighters in the air.
The Orchid and the Crow is a cleverly written and performed piece of drama that is very rock and roll. The storytelling aspect to the show is edgy and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. Tobias is a performer extraordinaire.
Tobias is an extremely talented musician and vocalist to go along with his story-telling and acting skills and is definitely a Fringe performer one can watch for hours.
The only problem is that the show was riddled with technical difficulties due to the fact that the venue changed the seating arrangement in the theatre after he had done his tech rehearsal earlier that week. These technical issues were probably sorted out very quickly by his second show, but it unfortunately did affect the opening night performance.
My favourite part of the show included a beautiful aria that was bitingly funny with hilarious animations about the procedure to remove his cancerous testicle and it morphed into a love song to his right ball.
Seriously, you can’t go wrong by checking out The Orchid and The Crow. It’s a lot of fun! Rock on!
If you want more information on The Orchid and The Crow (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 the format of The Orchid and The Crow? Did you connect more to the music, comedy, storytelling or drama aspect of the show? Join the discussion and tell me what you think in the comments below!