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Fresher, the Musical

Written by: Mark Aspinall and Sally Torode

Presented by: Winnipeg Studio Theatre, Winnipeg, MB

Venue 16: PTE Mainstage

Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/19/2012 4:26 PM | Comments: 0

The usually reliable musical mavens at Winnipeg Studio Theatre who gave us Hair and Spring Awakening deliver an unfortunate 90-minute dud this year.

Fresher, which follows the follies and friendships of five first-year university students, is a British play, filled with references and slang that only anglophiles will understand, and the unwise decision to have the enthusiastic young actors use (wavering) British accents only adds to the confusion.

There are real belters in the cast, but others are what Randy Jackson would call “pitchy.” However, it’s not the singing that’s flat in this tone-deaf production; it’s the material. Fresher’s plot is wispy, banal and bereft of any real dramatic arc. The characters are simultaneously stereotypical and ill-defined, the songs are unmemorable, the jokes are witless and the pratfalls ridiculous. Fresher is several credit hours short of graduation.

— Jill Wilson

From the Fringe program:

Fresher, a new pop/rock musical follows five freshmen students as they embark on their first year of university. Awkward drinking games, convoluted love triangles and raging hormones await the students as they negotiate the minefield of first impressions.

A sharp-witted script, shamelessly truthful and touching, makes Fresher a charmer for anyone who is in university or anyone who went to university.

A story that both resonates and entertains.

Winner BEST NEW MUSICAL 2010 - MTM:UK Awards

"Hilarious" - Guardian

"A real Fringe hit!" - Scotsman

Recommended For: Mature Audience

Length: 90 min

Tickets: $10

Under 15 not admitted.

Warnings: Subject Matter, Language,

History

Updated on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 4:26 PM CDT:
Adds review

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