One show takes you into outer space and pays homage to 50s sci-fi and noir tropes. The other brings an alien to Earth in a parody straight out of the 80s. They both had successful runs at Ottawa Fringe 2012 before their Summer Fling remount. Should you see them (this time)?
We’ve already reviewed both of these shows here:
Space Mystery from Outerspace at Ottawa Fringe 2012
and here:
Alien Predator: the Musical at Ottawa Fringe 2012
But I thought it was worth stepping in with what’s changed. Was it for better, or for worse?
Space Mystery from Outerspace followup:
Space Mystery from Outerspace was just as entertaining and gloriously over the top the second time around. Between Fringe and now, Dead Unicorn Ink has upped their production value to try and include some of the elements they couldn’t include as part of their Fringe show.
Did they bite off a touch more than they could chew? There were definitely a few tech cues missed in the first night (including the mic being off while a electric guitarist tried in vain to sing at the beginning of the show — the guitarist replaces the singer from Fringe) but I’m sure they’ll scale it back or work it out for the subsequent shows.
I’m happy to call the this remount 115% the Space Mystery we saw at Fringe in fun and over the top-ness and all the ways that count.
Alien Predator: the Musical followup:
This show’s major change was a cast change to their three female leads. And boy what a difference it made. Like night and day kind of difference. Andrea Connell, Gabrielle Lazarovitz and Brooke Cameron can all three act and can all three sing well above the ladies they replaced.
It’s their efforts, plus a few script changes that elevated what was already a pretty fun show into the realm of being very entertaining (still though, only if you like B-campy sci-fi musicals loaded with pop culture references). Not to mention the new female cast helps the male cast step up their game.
When I reviewed the show for Fringe, highest praise was for Jonah Lerner who was a great predator and carried the show back then. Now, Jonah is as good as he ever was, but the girls have helped the rest of the cast catch up, if not pass him in entertainment value.
You’ve got a few chances left to catch these shows over the weekend, depending when you’re reading - and if you’re any kind of a sci-fi fan or just looking for a silly fun time, go down there. a $12 ticket gets you into both shows and there’s a bar for the rest of the run.
What did you think? Did these shows do it for you? What did you like? Tell me in the comments below.
About Allan Mackey
Allan Mackey is editor-in-chief of Production Ottawa, which, really, is too fancy a title. He also acts as show producer for Should You See It, making sure you get your answer in just about two minutes every time. He writes stuff and occasionally turns that stuff into movies. Keep being awesome!
