This is the final repository of the information relating to the tour of the Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg Fringe Festivals, in the summer of 2005.
 Photo: Beowulf Sheehan |
Freak Out Under
the Apple Tree: (Some of) The Best of Tom X. Chao Tom and Erin A. Leahy performed brief comedic scenes in a 55-minute program including such immortal favorites as "Lunch in LA," "A Walk in San Francisco," "Jaded Individual," "Tuesday's Dream of Fame," & "Non-Violent Conflict Resolution Training Workshop." Dramaturgy by John Harlacher, and Richard Harrington of Harrington and Kauffman. |
We'd like to thank all of the Canadian Fringe Festival friends we met on the tour. In addition to the ones listed below in the description of the Winnipeg "Midnight Cabaret," there are many others: Ivan Penaluna, Anna, & Melissa (A Brief History of Warfare), Brad Curtin and Sarah Brebner (Timmy's Sexual Adventures), This Is Uncalled For Improv, Never Surrender, The Sketchersons of Sunday Night Live, Black Sheep Theatre (The Big Funk), Michael Walsh (Between Takeoff and Landing), The Rumoli Brothers, John Woods and Cass King (The Wet Spots), BoyGroove, Suitcase Royale (Felix Listens to the World), Rachelle Fordyce and Jason Goethals (S.M.I.L.E. While You D.I.E.), Longest Lunch (Mourning Emily), Tuna Surprise, Cara Yeates (Knee Deep in Muck), Russell Bennett & Gillian Stevens-Guille, Chris and Nathan Caswell, Sound and Fury (Cleopatrick), Eleanor O'Brien (Girl's Guide), Benjamin Crellin, Kier Cutler, Sable & Batalion, Tim Mooney, Derek Kroeker, Fully Insured, Crumbs, Jewish Princess Diaries, Susan Jeremy, Nile Seguin, Daniel Thau-Elff. Also thanks to our techs, volunteers, and hosts in all 3 cities. Apologies if I did not list you here yet! (Links to come.)
Freak Out Under the Apple Tree publicity photos are here, for those who have not seen or downloaded them yet.
WINNIPEG FRINGE CABARET
"The Secret Show," Wednesday, July 27.
Tom and Erin were invited to take part in the midnight cabaret, a
special, "secret" show, upstairs at the King's Head Pub in Winnipeg,
It
was entitled Doctor Caligari’s Cabaret of Curiosities Proudly
Presents...
A Jolly Unfortunate Canadian Freak-out at Antoine Rolls’ Sister’s
Hootenannyfrom
which savvy viewers could divine the identities of the performers.
The
evening's theme was the macabre and grotesque, and featured many
Canadian
Fringe superstars. Performing that evening were T. J. Dawe (the man), The Pajama Men (Mark Chavez
and
Shenoah Allen), Jem Rolls, Jonno
Katz,
Chris Gibbs, Nicola Gunn, Patty
Fedy &
Anita, Becky Johnson,
and members
of The Three Sisters cast!
Wow!
A veritable galaxy of Fringe stars! And newcomers Tom and
Erin!
Tom performed his signature piece, "How to Invoke Pan,"
to a very responsive and appreciative audience. Erin contributed
a self-penned monologue about manipulating men for her own nefarioius
purposes. T. J. Dawe also employed Erin in a funny
self-parodistiic sketch in which
she portrayed a young, willing fringe groupie whom he seduces with the
aid of many "pot cookies."
See our giant photo and listing for our Moral Values Festival appearance in the New York Times, June 5, 2005.
A great review of Freak Out Under the Apple Tree
appears on NYTheatre.com's Moral
Values
reviews page. Says Matthew Trumbull: "The world underwhelms Tom X.
Chao
. . . a party pooper of the first order." Yes, precisely.
And read our self-penned preview of the show on NYTheatre.com.
NEW: While searching for something unrelated, I stumbled upon this blog that favorably reviews "Freak Out Under the Apple Tree." (Scroll down the page to see it.) Well, it's mainly favorable, I believe, though the author states ". . . the funnist shit was at the end when he was just lying their rifting [sic] as we left." (I sometimes thought that myself.) The reason why I had never found this blog before is because the author credits me as "Thomas X. Chao," which is a name I have never used, and have no idea why this author would think that was my name.
Well, it's over. Audience members and reviewers in Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg have been utterly baffled by our American humor. And we've ended our 9 extra addtional performances in Brooklyn at the Hell Festival as well. A whopping 29 performances of Freak Out Under the Apple Tree took place in total.
Winnipeg Web Diary. After the Winnipeg Fringe Festival ended, I found--through the magic of Google--a web diary that favorably mentioned "Freak Out Under the Apple Tree." Please visit the web diary of Kami Deselets on the CBC/Manitoba website.
The CBC/Winnipeg Fringe video preview of "Freak Out Under the Apple Tree" is back online. (The CBC must have settled their "labour disruption.") You can still watch it at: http://media.putfile.com/freak_56k.
Montreal didn't kill us with its indifference! Erin and Tom returned from Montreal intact, where Tom enjoyed activities such as climbing to the top of Mount Royal (in the middle of the night with the Banana, Bag, & Bodice gang), eating smoked meat sandwiches from Schwartz's, trying bagels from Fairmount and St-Viateur bakeries, devouring a late-night poutine from La Banquise (well, that was sort of an unsettling dish of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds), and, of course, sampling the Quebec beers. And the most important thing--going to Parc Jean-Drapeau, the site of Expo 67, which Tom orginally visited with his family 38 years ago!
Subtle, not-so-subtle, poigniant,
intelligent, absurd,
perceptive...and that was only the first five minutes. If you're a fan
of comedy that engages and demands instead of bombards with semi-classy
humour that attempts to appeal to everyone, this is the show for you. 
An hour well spent
and the funniest thing I've seen so far. Well written and developed
characters, I would advise anyone to go see this. New York neurotic
comedy at it's best. 
