Reviews

SCIENCE FAIR!

The Players Players present a heart-warming, humorous account of the secondary-school world, that phenomenally captures the personality quirks and emotions of teachers and students.

By Cristina Costa
Published: July 5, 2007 EYE WEEKLY
http://eyeweekly.com/fringe2007/?p=218

DOGS! THE MUSICAL!

DOGS! The Musical!! demonstrates how office politics and co-worker butt-sniffing reaches a whole new level when canines are involved.

The cast may not consist of high-note-hitting sopranos, but Krista MacIsaac, Dave Barclay, Darren Barlow and Mel Paraboo definitely make a cute and quirky pooch quartet.

Perhaps too many puns were intended, but this pup-inspired production is the kind of laugh-out-loud funny that can make you roll over with laughter.

Bark my words, this play is more than just a cheesy sing-song stage show. It's a fur-ruffling fight to save a "dying dogopoly" with an unexpected romantic twist.

When the leash company the dogs work for is taken over by a feline regime, Mr. Tinklesberry, a quick-thinking golden retriever, offers his humour while poodle Sparquisha, a very sassy show dog, lends a paw with her constant confidence. Molly, a shy stray English springer spaniel and her bullied but brave boss, Sir Francis Drake, add a lovelorn subplot.

These dogs won't bite or eat your homework, but they will make you giggle - guaranteed. Wiggle and waggle your way to the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse for the best dog-gone musical at The Fringe!

By Amanda-Marie Quintino
Published: July 10, 2006 The Toronto Star

Aside from a suspicious similarity in poster design, this show is about as far from Andrew Lloyd Webber as anyone could hope for. We do have humans in animal drag dancing and singing, but there the similarity ends. Local theatre heroes Players Players have produced another of their witty, irreverent and subversive entertainments, and should be as proud of the results as last Saturday's audience was entertained. This high-energy, one-act play is set in the offices of "Lick 'n' Leash Incorporated," a dog-run company producing leashes that subliminally trigger the impulse to walk in human beings. Dave Barclay, Darren Barlow, Krista MacIsaac, and Mel Paraboo star as the Golden Retriever, Chihuahua, Springer Spaniel, and Poodle that make up this charming corporate pack, and do so with a winning warmth, energy, and enthusiasm. This talented quartet also wrote the piece, and they work the anthropomorphic comic goldmine very thoroughly indeed. Aside from the absurdities of seeing a grown human gone to the dogs (sniffing, licking, chewing rawhide — all are present), there was no end of delicious wordplay. The actor/writers seemed to have immense fun in gently pushing the boundaries of taste. The set contributes well, too. What would one expect the water cooler in a canine office to be...? Or the washroom? Using animals to explore human identity goes way back, beyond Webber and Elliot, past Brecht and Aristophanes, to ancient shamanic practices, and the Players Players are in that tradition here, if in a very contemporary sense. Though their long, pink tongues were solidly in cheek (for the most part), the underlying issues of this piece are racism, poverty, and corporate responsibility. The Chihuahua floor manager has a tendency to tell off-colour jokes, and Molly the Spaniel fears the stigma of being labelled as stray. There is always a fine line to be walked in satire between the humour and the message, and Players Players stay safely in the humour. Darren Barlow also wrote the original score, which ranges from catchy and upbeat to whimsically tragic, as in the Chihuahua's lament. In this case, the music was, of necessity, pre-recorded, and it would be nice to see what this group would do given the opportunity to work with a live band. If the ensemble has a weak point it's their singing voices; while quite strong for the most part, they do let them down on occasion, and diction—ever the actor's bugbear—did leave a little to be desired in places. Any weaknesses in the production, however, are more than offset by the deft cleverness, keen observation and energetic performances of the Players Players. Though they lost the support of the Fringe to promote their show, their resilience and determination in going it alone are to be commended. While they seem to be off in several directions (MacIsaac is in Toronto, and Barclay is taking on the Comedy program at Humber), it is to be hoped that this is an artistic team that will find their way home, how ever far away they may get left behind.

By ROBIN PITTIS
Published: August 18-24, 2005 VIEW Magazine

CELEBRITITIS

A clever and spirited examination of celebrity by four intelligent and beautiful bright lights of the Hamilton indie theatre scene. Pointed irony present in abundance-as celebs truly deserve-but the high energy characterizations wore a little thin at times. I wanted more material like the serious dream sequences to balance the zaniness, but thoroughly enjoyed the show.

By ROBIN PITTIS
Published: June 10 - 16, 2004 VIEW Magazine

THE RED HILL EXPRESSED

Every school kid and local politician, anyone who calls themselves a Hamiltonian, should see this show. With humour and hard facts, this local collective tries hard to find the middle ground in this admittedly polarized debate, ending up on the side of the environmentalists. Save the Red Hill Valley!

By KERRI CORRIGAN
Published: June 12-18, 2003 VIEW Magazine