The folks of the Fringe

TOVA KORNFELD

With more than 500 performances of 68 shows to choose from at the Vancouver International Fringe Festival, the "what should I see" decision for festival fans is somewhat daunting. Here are some Independent picks for shows with Jewish content.

Single, San Francisco-born, 35-year-old Daniel Packard is a nice Jewish boy. A mechanical engineer by education and a stand-up comedian by choice, he could never understand why he had trouble dating. His quest for the answer led to his ever-popular Live Group Sex Therapy program, now in its fifth year at the Fringe, and his recognition as the "Dating Doctor." The basic premise of the show is that everyone needs help in learning how to connect with others as they seek their bashert (soulmate.) Packard challenges women to change their behavior so that they can better enjoy their relationships with men. He starts off by debunking the myth that men "like the chase." Women have to get over that and have the confidence to initiate/participate in the chase as well, even at the risk of facing rejection, he says. In an interview with the Jewish Independent, Packard described himself as a social acupuncturist penetrating the truth to help us feel better. His mantra is honesty.

Using questionnaires, on-stage audience interviews, whistles and rubber bands as part of his "schtick" to maximize audience participation, he pushes the envelope and gets people excited. Packard is passionate about helping men and women achieve happiness by forcing them to reassess their perspectives and attitudes towards the opposite sex.

Women love his show as they learn to take on new relationship roles. Men love it because Packard dares to go where no male has gone before.

Packard has presented his show throughout North America and Europe to sold out crowds. A sought-after college campus lecturer he is the recipient of the Canadian College Speaker of the Year Award. In addition to his show, Packard can be heard every Friday morning on 94.5 the Beat advising on relationships, is available for private dating coaching sessions, has two books in the works, The Monkey Manifesto and The Kuddle Sutra and runs the ever popular Flirtfest nights in various downtown nightclubs.

Packard is presenting two different shows this year. The Sexy Show runs at Performance Works on Granville Island in early slots while the Naughty Show runs late night downtown at Maxine's Hideaway, at 1215 Bidwell. The shows are not suitable for children.

Over at the Granville Island Stage of the Arts Club Theatre, Stewart Katz (known around town as Klutzy the Clown), presents the world première of Oy, Calcutta, a musical where Bollywood meets Broadway with a Jewish twist. Katz has been described as a cross between Woody Allen and a Tibetan monk. Born in Montreal and educated at a Jewish day school, he is a theatre grad from McGill University who worked as a talent agent in Toronto for a number of years before deciding to take that "I am looking for the meaning of life" journey to India when he was 29 years old. There he discovered Tibetan Buddhism and learned that "peace comes from within." His journeys led to the publication of a travel book titled Holy Cow, which evolved into a one-man show of the same name and, ultimately, the musical.

The show, a take on Oh, Calcutta but without the nudity (Katz says no one would pay to see him nude), is a "singing, dancing, hilarious, feel-good musical comedy celebrating the magical mayhem of India against a backdrop of Jewish humor. It is appropriate for all ages and is just good, solid family fun. In the show, Katz is played by a woman who takes us on the far eastern journey. On the way, she encounters crazy characters and situations. Katz plays his own neurotic Jewish mother (he said that his mother tried out for the part but he felt he could play the role better). The performance features the choreography of Indian dance master Namchi Baz, Bollywood dance numbers and live Indian music. More information is available at stewartkatz.ca.

Other shows to catch are The Musical of Musicals, highlighting the songs of Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, at the Carousel Studio Theatre and The Spy, starring Australian Jonathan Katz, at the Waterfront Theatre. Mating Rituals of the Urban Cougar, Balls! and The Banana Monologues may not have a Jewish connection but sound pretty entertaining.

The annual Vancouver Fringe Festival opens Sept. 3 and runs until Sept. 14 at various venues around Granville Island.

This Fringe is shaping up to be the best one ever. Pick of the Fringe (the best shows as selected by the audience) will run Sept. 18-21. The festival website is vancouverfringe.com.

Tova Kornfeld is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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