Little Astronaut (A)

If you’re looking for something to delight and enrage you, this musical about women struggling to succeed in STEM is just the thing. Written by Isobel Arseneau, this story about Hazel and Lily, who are starting university with the aspiration of becoming aerospace engineers, is poignant and timely. Majoring in physics, they encounter a disgusting mix of teenage-boy insecurity mixed with adult toxic masculinity that sidelines them despite their adorably sincere good-faith efforts. The acting and singing is strong across the board, and the male actors do a delightful job of being very hate-able. The two female leads are even better, and really sell the emotion and drama of it all without coming across as saccharine. The use of space is impressive – from a live orchestra on stage, to the creative ways they use basic stage blocks as furniture to create many different settings, this show is strong in both technique and content. The one thing I wanted more of was specifics in the backstories of both leads – the songs are pretty but a bit general in terms of lyrical expression. (Maybe we can get more if Arseneau can be convinced to write the sequel where they file their Title IX complaint.)

Aliya Kanani: A Comedian’s Guide To Enlightenment (A)

Aliya Kanani’s solo show is part stand-up comedy, part confessional, part tutorial, and all heart. Her specific story about being dragged down physically and emotionally by the pandemic and the horrors of war (not to mention genocide) in the last several years will speak to many. Kanani is confident and charming, laughing at her own jokes (which are consistently on point), and joking with (and about) the audience (always in good faith) while also joking at herself. It will also teach you more about the many uses of ghee than you ever thought possible. This show will make you laugh, sure, but it will make you feel many things as she drives home, again and again, the importance of recognizing that we have more similarities than differences.

Cold Maple Cloth: The Farewell Tour of a Delusional Diva (A)

Created and performed by Sydney Page, this two-hander is about Page’s struggle to succeed in this harsh industry. She has finally decided to leave musical theatre and to lower herself to a ‘boring job’ like ‘normal people have.’ In the process, she realizes she’s got a bit more to process than she thought. The show combines musical theatre classics, some parody, and a lot of vulnerability. Sierra Philbert & Sydney Page are hysterical (in the good sense), playing perfectly off each other, dancing and singing, alternating seamlessly between generating laughs and deep sympathy from the audience. Page reminds us that not only should women think of ourselves as main characters, but also as the writers and directors of our own stories. This show was the perfect note on which to end my own Fringe extravaganza, and I can only hope that Page comes back with more.

Lifeguard (A-)

Written and directed by Kathryn Haggis, this solo show is a kind of memoir of a Canadian actor, stringing together poignant anecdotes of her childhood, parents, and shift to the Toronto arts scene, all the while bringing things back to the basics of life: breathing. ‘Do you know what that sounds like?’ She asks the audience at the start. We stare, silently back, unsure. ‘That’s the sound of someone drowning.’  Haggis has such the solid stage presence of a seasoned actor, and her comedic timing is so on point so I was a bit frustrated (though empathetic, because: been there) when she was reaching for or fumbling lines, because it broke up the rhythm in an otherwise powerful and well-written show about community and the importance of watching out for each other.