The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is underway. The Fringe offers over 100 musicals, comedies, dramas, storytelling performances, and kid’s shows, plus stand-up comedy, dance, free music, and buskers. Most tickets are $12, some come with various discounts. All the information is available at winnipegfringe.com, and you can buy a program booklet for $10.

Here is some information about Jewish-related shows at the Fringe:

Melanie Gall presents The American Songbook Experience, telling the story of the great songwriters of Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood, almost all of them Jewish. The show includes hits by George and Ira Gershwin and Irving Berlin, and explores the story of her grandfather, the Jewish big-band singer Jack Young. Gall also performs Ingenue, about the friendship of Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin, (who married Eddie Cantor and was supported by Jewish producers and songwriters), and her children’s show, Opera Mouse.

Everything is Super Wow is written and performed by Ira Cooper. I’ll quote his elaborate description: “The show centres around a Jewish Polish clown, Stanczyk Perchik Warshawky, on the 999th day of his cycle tour. The absurdist tour includes an expedient exodus from his family's business and his father, a proud deli owner, presence. Throughout this solo piece, sections focusing on my relationship with my Jewish roots, including the expectations, but also, pride, through use of Yiddish, nods to my predecessors, the Jewish vaudevillians of the past, through the original Jewish tinged live sung tracks.”

Benji Rothman is showcased in A Wpg Stand-Up Comedy Show.  Sample: "I grew up in a separated family. So I had double everything. Two birthdays, two Passovers, 16 Hannukahs." 

The Dreams of Nebuchadnezzar is a serious music performance about the Book of Daniel from the Bible. “Through harmonized chant, choral arias and dynamic set pieces, the show takes the audience on a journey through an apocalyptic dreamland.”

Many more Jewish artists are presenting in the Fringe:

Midnight is a musical retelling of Cinderella, written by a cast of 12-17 year-olds, with songs by Taylor Swift.  Avery Gillman of Break Time writes, “As for the Jewish connection - well, aside from this being my heritage, the show does touch upon some issues of relevance to that - a protagonist takes a POV which is simultaneously ‘on the outside’ and ‘looking for a permanent way in’ to the media world.” The Magic of Chanelle Munroe presents 5 Ways to Kill a Magician. Sheryl Peltz produces and performs in Staffroom, the stories told by teachers behind the doors of the teachers’ lounge. Creator/performer Leah Bortchert’s show, August Quarterly Report, features renowned actor Cory Wojcik. Alli Perlov condenses a great work of art into A One Human Being, Potentially Comedic Performance of Les Mis. Fringe veteran comedian Adam Schwartz continues to explore his experiences as a young person with autism in How I Met My Neurodivergent Friend. He also joins a group of comedians in Neurohilarity. Shy Pattie and daughter present a clown show for kids called The Perfect Pants.

Storyteller and burlesque performer Holly Brinkman and her family are not Jewish, but she makes a compelling case about why her show, My Body of Work, will be of interest to Jewish audiences: “I am a second generation Dutch Canadian and all four of my grandparents lived through Nazi occupation in WWII. Significantly they all survived the famine in the last winter of the war that is often referred to as The Hunger Winter…this show is anchored in a pivotal historical moment that I feel a lot of Jewish people and adult children of immigrants will be able to relate to and it would mean a lot to me to share this story with the descendants of survivors of the Nazi regime”

I’ll be seeing at least 8 shows during the Fringe this year – I’m expecting some learning and a lot of fun!