Best of the Fest!

We were named Best of the Fest in our venue (along with Maxim and Cosmo)! This means we get an extra show! Sunday! At 12:45! All tickets are available in advance so buy early, buy often!

The Peg! Again! Reviews!

WinniPEG? More like WinniAWESOME! Yeah, it's so true. We've somehow sold out our last two shows (yesterday sold out in about ten minutes), which is insane because our venue is about 50% bigger than the one we had for Toronto Fringe. Thanks, Winnipeg. I owe you fifty million beers.

Check out these righteous reviews. These people rule. Forever. Oh, and you're not reading that wrong - WE GOT FIVE STARS IN THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS. I LOVE WINNIPEG.

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From the Winnipeg Free Press

Just when you thought it was safe, this jaw-droppingly funny spoof of Steven Spielberg's fish tale delivers a massive attack of Amity insanity to the fringe.

The killer Toronto cast -- led by the fabulously footloose Graham Losee (Road to Avonlea) as Grizzled New York City Cop -- gets laughs from the first big musical bite, the poppy song Livin' on a Copyrighted-Protected Island, and there's just no stopping them. The trio of main characters -- playwright-songwriter Sam Sutherland plays Hippie Scientist, with Aaron Zorgel as Crazy Old Fisherman -- plow through a broadly winking, rapid-fire parody. Grizzled Cop fights to overcome the resort town's denial amid charges he's an "aquaphobe" America-hater; Hippie Scientist crashes a town meeting, and that harpoon-happy old fisherman joins the pair on a drunken, homoerotic shark-hunting expedition, all set to impressive three-part harmonies, with energized dance numbers, including a showstopper autopsy scene that incorporates hip-hop, ska, techno and a little shimmy action for good measure. Wade in early. This 50-minute show is destined to be a monster hit.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!

- Pat St. Germain

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From the Winnipeg Sun

Over the years, there's been much to make fun of where shark movies are concerned, so it's nice to see the Heart Like Giraffe crew going back to where it all began. Riffing on Steven Spielberg's Jaws with unabashed enthusiasm, the trio of actors juxtapose that movie's iconic characters (grizzled cop, hippie scientist and crazy fisherman) with a catchy indie-rock score and a hilarious absurdist bent. All the plot points are covered (the ill-fated skinny-dip, the gag-inducing autopsy scene and the male-bonding on the boat, here rendered by the lyric, "Let's get drunk and compare scars in a slightly homoerotic fashion"), but the show scores most of its yuks with surprises like a goofy hip-hop throwdown. The production values are decidedly low-rent, so much so that the guys actually one-up Spielberg by leaving the shark completely unseen. But with the laughs flying like so many mangled body parts, they'll surely soon find themselves in need of a bigger ... venue.

Sun Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

- David Schmeichel

CBC Loves Them Some Giant Killer Shark!

Winnipeg is awesome! We've only had two shows so far but they've both been SIIICCCKKK, and we're gearing up for a straight run of four shows over the next four days. Tell your friends! We hope they're pretty!

The wonderful folks at CBC Manitoba have posted an excellent four-star review of our show. We really like CBC Manitoba. A lot.

Based on a certain copyright-protected movie that begins with “J” and ends with “aws,” this is 50 minutes of sure-fire entertainment for those who like a healthy dose of irony with their musicals. This hit from last year’s Toronto Fringe is clearly aimed at a demographic that probably wasn’t even born when that 1975 shark movie came out. It hilariously skewers the conventions of musicals - particularly in the opening number where we’re introduced to our main characters. “We’re living on a copyright-protected island,” they sing. “And it totally kicks ass/’Cause there are no sharks.” Yes, it’s not brilliant lyricism, but it is very, very funny. We get everything from the break-dancing Grizzled New York City Cop (Graham Losee) to a rapping fisherman (Aaron Zorgel) to a very funny autopsy number performed by the Hippie Scientist (writer Sam Sutherland). The music’s catchy, and while the three performers individually don’t have the strongest voices, they do hit some really great harmonies together. The energy in the show is manic, and while it may seem a little silly to some, if you don’t take musicals - or shark movies - all that seriously, it’s tremendous fun. Don’t be afraid to go into the waters of Giant Killer Shark.

CBC Rating: Four Bars

Reviewed by: Joff Schmidt


We paid him a lot of money.

Also, we're blogging for the CBC for the next week! Check out our deepest thoughts and darkest fears here.

Giant Killer Dinner Theatre!

EDIT: PLEASE NOT THAT THIS PERFORMANCE WILL BEGIN AT 9:00pm, AND NOT, IN FACT, AT 10:00. I AM AWESOME.

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In order to raise some funds for gas and recreational drugs in Winnipeg, we're having a fundraiser! What kind? The kind where we perform our play! Again!

Most of you have probably seen this beast one million times, so don't worry about coming out one more time. However, if you have parents, friends, or hot teachers you think might enjoy the play, tell them! This will probably be our last Toronto show for a while. So tell them to experience the magic while they can.

WHAT: Giant Killer Shark: The Musical
WHEN: July 10 @ 9:00pm
WHERE: The Crooked Cue (3056 Bloor St. W)
DOLLARS: $10
WILL I BE ABLE TO EAT REALLY NICE FOOD AND BUY SOME BEERS?: Yes! The Cue is a fancy bar that Graham works at. It's real pretty.