Troy Pavlek

This show has a lot of heart.

We don't often get a lot of media about how much divorced dads love their kids, and this one has some great storytelling around that.

Ultimately, though, I didn't love it.

There were some interesting ideas and individual scenes were interesting. The performer playing Dracula delivered his lines impeccably.

But much of the play felt like characters on stage speaking exposition at each other. There was a lot to get through, and a lot of the times the characters getting through it were shouting –– it got a little tiring.

The show was set in St. Albert, and landmarks from the city were inserted in and played for laughs, but ultimately none of the characters were really "St. Albertan" and the setting didn't have much effect other than for wink-and-nod references. Any other location could have been swapped in without any effect on the storytelling or characters.

There's a lot of potential in this show, and you can tell the entire cast is having fun with it and giving it their all.

It just feels a little underbaked.

A Fringe classic.

Late Night Cabaret is a late night show (that starts at midnight) that's been a staple at Fringe for the past couple decades.

You get jokes, previews of Fringe shows, guests, games, free shit, guest musical acts and a phenomenal band.

There's a lot to like, and I've gone every night for the past few Fringes.

It's hard to imagine taking off a star for something that I've stayed out until 2am for every night for several years, but the past couple years have had bits that really just should have been axed.

Last year, it was the "band name" contest, which was a bad band name generator putting out names, and then the audience cheering for them. It was dull, underthought, and the crowned band name after last year was thrown out this year.

This Fringe, the bit is they auction off a headshot of Murray Utas in exchange for what people in the room are willing to barter. It's a funny bit on paper, but practically, it's been a waste of time almost every night. Mostly, it's just people in the audience holding up junk they have, while the host runs around unable to see or hear what's on offer, and then the person trades it for something they ostensibly don't want and will recycle.

The bit hit its maximum possible value early on with a ziploc bag of loose potato salad, and has only been disappointing since. I wish they'd bail on it and just give guests extra time, put in another guest, or honestly just let the band play more.

But bad bits that get doubled-down on aside, the show is still a classic, and I'll still be there every night.

Rat Academy has earned its reputation as an instant classic at Fringe.

In this followup, Gnaw and Order, Dayna and Katie do the impossible: they improve on what's come before.

This show has everything you know and love about Rat Academy: incredible physical comedy, whip-quick improv from Fingers, an unrelentingly cute Shrimp and unhinged crowd work.

Where it elevates the past work is a story that emotionally connects. I saw wet eyes. In a dumb show about rats.

By the time you see this review, the show will have been sold out. So this is your reminder that if it gets held over or comes back next year: don't sleep on these tickets.

Overall, I'd prefer this show with 100% less Trump.

The show, with the premise of a queer take on a biblical creation story, within an incompetent administration of Eden is interesting and something I'd like to see.

What I didn't love was the broad featuring of actual Trump in this musical. Orange face, hair, little hands, "huge", the whole nine yards. At this point, the Trump jokes that can be made, have been made. It feels like stale, retreaded ground.

There's a lot of good to like about the rest of the show. A couple of the numbers are bangers that got stuck in my head, there's a lot of throwaway bits and lines that are very funny. It's a clever script.

But ultimately, the focus on satirizing the sitting president directly ends up making the whole thing feel quite stale.

This show riffs on Shakespeare in all the best ways.

I'm not a big fan of the Bard. I think we value far too highly four-hundred year old plays that are the equivalent of modern airplane books, and that the only reason Shakespeare is so pervasive and universally referenced is because we force it to be.

But, as a result of this forced education I got the references!

And this is a well-written play of Iago and Hamlet trying to kill each other, while also just making jokes and riffing about the situation the whole time.

It's fun, clever and engaging.

Martin Dockery's hit show is back.

I didn't get to see this one last time it was here, and I'm glad I got the chance this time.

The premise of the show "Two guys on a stakeout of two guys that are on a stakeout of them" sounds a lot more stoner-comedy than the show actually is.

It's funny, clever and well-performed. The scripted bits are tight with real "who's on first" and pun-based energy.

But the show does actually have a meaningful message and is a bit of a thinker. It's art, not just a dumb show as the premise might indicate.

Ingrid's done it again.

I've seen both past versions of this show: Ingie's Fingies and Epidermis Circus - both were a joy, and the second was only an improvement on the first. The third in this series was a blast.

This show gives the people more of what they want: Baby Tyler. He plays a starring role in some funny and inventive bits, but of course just like every year there's more creative characters you can root for and laugh at.

If I was to complain about anything in this show, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get as wide variety of finger-puppet cast. Gummy Bear Generals, lumps of clay, I remember rooting for these weird and silly heroes, but there were fewer characters overall this year.

But, the characters we had were a riot.

If you can manage tickets for this one, you should (but, forewarning, this one is definitely less kiddo-friendly than previous years)

I make no secret that I'm pretty bearish on improv at Fringe.

There's so many great, innovative and unique shows that you can't access any time of the year, and Edmonton has a strong improv scene that you can access around the year.

But, the appeal of this show is Colin Mochrie (he's back!) and honestly that's why my review is so poor.

At my showing, Colin honestly didn't do very much.

I get that improv is a team sport and if the show was all about him that would be just as bad, but... the very first game Colin "swapped out" and hosted, and it went on for some time. I very frequently saw him in the wings while other improvisers were doing their thing, and when there was a line for punchlines he only stepped forward once to make a joke.

I came to see Colin, and I left feeling unfulfilled. Probably should have just hit up something non-improv instead.

Nam and Aaron are Jeopardy contestants.

This show is pretty uncomplicated. The two of them told the story of how they get on Jeopardy, their experience on the show, and then Nam competes in a Jeopardy game against two audience contestants (who have been earning headstarts the whole show) for $100.

If you want to be one of the people participating in the game, show up early and get in the front row.

For a superfan of Jeopardy like me, this was a fun show.

It was also fun to put a face to the name of Aaron, who I remember seeing on Jeopardy (and yelling at him through my screen).

Classic Fringe fare.

This is a really fun show.

There's nothing groundbreaking about this show. They don't try to do incredible setpieces or innovative production. It's just three actors, a couple phones and insurance fraud in a chicken and waffle shop.

And that's OK. They know what works, and they execute it well. It doesn't drag, it keeps moving and I was interested in everything happening. The jokes land well.

If you're looking for a show where you pay $20 and in exchange enjoy yourself for an hour, this show does exactly that.

Just don't sit in the southeast corner of the restaurant like I did. You'll miss quite a bit of the physical comedy in the first half.