A Musical to Sink Your Teeth Into
When you hear the name Trey Parker, you start to build a scenario in your mind on how the production will run, what kinds of jokes you’re in store for and in the back of your mind, you’ll want to compare this to Book of Mormon. And though not as sleek in design and flow as Book of Mormon, the musical delivers on everything you’d hope for; humorous, slapstick comedy that keeps the audience laughing and amazing cast vocals.
The Energy of the cast throughout the production was amazing and always on. The dancing, singing, choreography and synchronization were excellent and on point working well with the original songs about eating people, riding horses and needing a woman badly. The strong cast led by Liam Tobin as Packer and Elicia MacKenzie as Polly, Packer’s developing love interest, played multiple characters each with their own unique storyline and characteristics. Toronto’s top comedic talents and best-known Second City alum: Marty Adams, Mike “Nug” Nahrgang, Trevor Martin, Mark Andrada, Lana Carillo, Tim Porter, Troy Goldthorp and Constant Bernard round out the cast.
It’s great to see a cast work so well together as the show hinges on the character development as the overall structure lacked somewhat in flow with some scenes going on too long and others coming out of nowhere. And then there those scenes that surprise you with their sheer wit or ridiculousness that makes you laugh out loud. One such scene is Parker’s dream sequence dancing ballet with his recently abducted horse; a hilarious routine given the previous sexual references and innuendoes about their relationship. Nothing comes between a man and his horse, except some trappers, the Colorado River, an Indian camp (actually Japanese) and a jail cell.
It’s a fun night out and well worth attending with friends, family or loved ones. They’ll thank you’ll for a good night out. Cannibal plays at the Panasonic Theatre until March 8, 2015. Tickets available via Mirvish.com.
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