The Edmonton Fringe Festival is starting this week, and I was speaking to another poster about some of the shows I've seen, and am going to see this year. I mentioned a show I saw a few years ago called 'St. Kilda' performed by Jody Christopherson. It was one of the most interesting bit of storytelling I've seen in a long time.
I feel lucky that I live in a city that embraces independent theatre, the arts in general, and I feel very lucky that I've been able to see so many amazing shows over the 30 years that I have been attending the festival.
I'm just curious about any cool, interesting, weird, or memorable shows you may have seen?
The time I went to a drive-in movie in an antique car in the rain (in 2014), which is something I'd wanted to do since I first saw the movie Christine (1983) when I was a kid. I just wish it had been a downpour rather than just moderate rain.
I see a language barrier misunderstanding looming as all the American readers will think the question is about that place place they go to watch movies.
A theatre is a theatre. I just didn't specifically mean one type. Like could be a play, musical, music performance, or dance, or something experimental. I was thinking of live performances, but I'm not discounting movies.
I saw Pulp Fiction when it was released on LSD, and it made me a QT fan for life. I also saw the beginning of Faces of Death IV in the theater on acid, but it got too intense and we left after the first scene.
Back before home video came in, there used to be a lot of "revival theaters", movie theaters that would show classic films like "Casablanca" and Marx Bros. movies, and they'd actually show "midnight movies" (cult films, not porn) for a late show. So one time I went to see "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) at such a movie theater, and the audience REALLY got into it! They laughed at all the old stuff, they applauded when Judy finished singing "Over the Rainbow", and they booed and hissed when the wicked witch came on! That got to be the thing, for the whole showing, that audience HISSED whenever the witch came on, and then laughed, and it became an impromptu audience participation thing, which I've never seen repeated.
Perhaps it was because that movie theater had a bar.
My theatre is a performance space as well as a movie theatre, and we have a Casablanca curse. We won't show it anymore. We tried three years in a row and each year had an emergency. The first year was a lightning strike, the second year a goose crashed into the power box on the theatre, and the third year there was a fire near by and we had to evacuate the park. So yeah. No more Casablanca.
You still have a revival theater in your town? It makes me happy to hear that, I thought they were all gone!
I really loved that old theater where the audience hissed at the Wicked Witch of the West, but it died some time around 1990. Home VCRs killed almost all of the revival theaters.
I work at a living history museum, and the theatre that I work at is a replica of a theatre from 1918. We even have rumble seats. We just had work done so aren't currently showing films, but we have 2 other theatres in the city which show all types of movies, including old ones.
That sounds rather lovely, and may I ask what a theater rumble seat is? I thought they were just something you found in old cars!
Working at a living history museum sounds wonderful, even enviable, although I imagine it leads to a feeling that your work is underappreciated a lot of the time.
I guess they are technically called seat rumblers. They aren't under every seat, but we have this like 4d experience show that was about the history of the area and the seats rumbled at certain parts in that. We also use them in some of the live shows. It's fun.
I don't really feel underappreciated as I'm in the entertainment department. We have a pretty cool customer experience department which brings in new events all the time. We have an outdoor escape room happening currently which is pretty fun, and we do a huge Halloween event as well. I do like what I do.
I won't ask where, and advise you not to say so. There are some real crazies and huge assholes on this forum, it wouldn't do to let your location be known.
I wish I could give you an example, but I'm not a theatre person. We have a Toronto Fringe Festival but I've never been. The last thing I went to that could be considered theatre was Tony & Tina's Wedding 20 years ago.
I think I've just been lucky as Edmonton has always had a very impressive Fringe. First one in North America and for awhile it was the largest. No idea if it still is or not.
I think Fringe is a great place to start with theatre. Tickets are really affordable, and shows are usually shorter than an hour. I've seen some really amazing shows over the years. Even if you aren't a big theatre person, there are usually a lot of comedy/improv shows that are pretty audience friendly.
Well with smaller venues you don't have that issue. The show that I posted in my OP didn't even have a set.
I guess for some of the bigger musicals there can be an issue. I have subscription seats for Broadway Across Canada which are pretty good. Not too close, but I can see the faces clearly. Now with screens technology they are able to do some pretty cool backdrops.
I get people not liking opera and musical theatre though. I like a variety of theatre. I also like experimental theatre. I also like comedy shows. I don't know if Mike Delamont ever does the Toronto Fringe, but I know he has performed there. If you ever get a chance to see 'God is a Scottish Drag Queen' you should do it. He's pretty funny.
I'm going to Dirty Dancing in Concert in December. Sounds like it will be something different and fun - and I love the music.
"Audiences attending Dirty Dancing in Concert will experience the hit film in a unique and unforgettable way. A complete screening of the digitally remastered film will play as a five-piece band and vocalists perform the songs live, in sync with the film. Stay for the encore party and continue to sing and dance along with the band to your favorite Dirty Dancing songs."
I went to a theatre once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset, we made love like sea otters.
That was a pretty good theatre experience.