Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Cannibal! The Musical

Written by: Trey Parker

Presented by: M.P.M.M. Productions, Winnipeg, MB

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Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/15/2011 10:13 AM | Comments: 0

MTC Warehouse (Venue 6), to July 23

This silly musical, based on South Park co-creator Trey Parker’s early cult hit, is almost perfect fringe fare.

And the big troupe of mostly Winnipeg actors throw everything into it — some Tagalog Indians, a little hip-hop dance number, a cute butt — to see what sticks. A lot of it does.

Packer (the lovely-voiced Dan DeJaeger) is a hapless, horse-loving miner who leads a gaggle of friends through the mountains to a Colorado gold strike. Bad weather and cannibalism ensue, along with enough sharp, politically incorrect punchlines and unexpected giggles to keep it fun. Packer’s nemesis Frenchy (Loc Lu) is almost comically off-key at times, but hilariously unabashed as the bad-ass.

But too many long, messy set changes sap the show’s energy. Some of the dance numbers are spot on, thick with Broadway irony; others so uneven you can see actors looking askance at each other for their steps and lyrics. It needs three more dress rehearsals.

But the hipster audience Wednesday night loved it.

— Mary Agnes Welch

From the official Fringe Festival program:

'It's Oklahoma meets Sweeney Todd! From the mind of Trey Parker (co-creator South Park) comes Cannibal! The Musical.

In the cold winter of 1874, six men set out for the Colorado Rockies and what they found there was far from golden. Cannibal! The Musical is based on the true story of the only convicted cannibal in American history, Alfred Packer.

Singing, dancing and eating people!

Recommended For: Mature Audience

Length: 90 MIN

Tickets: $10

Discount Tickets: $9 Matinees

Warnings: Subject Matter, Language, Nudity, Gunshots, Strobe Lights, Dismembering of limbs, Gore, Consumption of flesh

History

Updated on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 10:13 AM CDT:
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