Saskatoon StarPhoenix Review (or, Why I am Cautiously Optimistic)

So as it turns out, the day after my rant the Star Phoenix decided to run our review. It immediately help much, as our show that day (Tuesday) - or should I say that night - at 10:15 was our smallest crowd yet (25-30, which is still bigger than the majority of our Toronto crowds, but the seats here are filled with comps, so we're making the same amount of money - ie. not very much - but on the bright side, it was probably one of the best shows we've done all summer). It's a good review (4 stars), although it's a bit spoiler-heavy.

BUT we have a fantastic time for our next performance - 8:45 pm on Thursday, our only slot that is after 6:00 pm and also before 10:00 pm - so I am holding out hope that we can get some people who actually paid for the show in the seats.

As an aside: the StarPhoenix, I learned yesterday, was founded when two Saskatoon papers - Star and the Phoenix - merged. I also learned that there is not supposed to be a space between the words "star" and "phoenix." Nor is there a hyphen or an em-dash or any other piece of punctuation.

How then, am I supposed to pronounce it? Starfoenix? StarFeenix? I fucking hate this paper.

From the Saskatoon Star Phoenix (I don't care what they say, there should be a space there), Tuesday, August 7, 2007:

THE CHURCHILL PROTOCOL
Gruppo Rubato
Rating * * * *

In the mind of slightly washed-up (and fictional) Globe and Mail reporter
Neil Allen, a northern Manitoba polar bear compound is likely a cover-up for a
secret Canadian military operation.

In what could be the hot story of the year, Allen is convinced the military is flying suspected terrorists from Afghanistan to the Churchill airport under the cover of darkness, and performing secret weapons technology experiments there. It's enough to make peacekeeper-loving Canadians cringe.

But when the military hears of Allen's suspicions, it has a plan. Soldiers
invite Allen (Patrick Gauthier) up for an unforgettable tour of the facility to
assuage his suspicions. What follows is a snort-inducing two man show that
plays like a series of old movie reels out of order.

The colonel in charge of the compound (Kris Joseph) is entirely batty. A
typical reporting assignment for Allen evolves into insanity, including tin foil
hats, a gun that liquefies enemy bowels and a soldier's attempt to defy gravity
by flapping his arms and wearing a really, really determined look.

As the colonel points out poignantly, what else is the Canadian military to
do with a huge country packed with natural resources to protect and a budget a
sliver the size of what the U.S. spends on defence?

The suspenseful and silly writing is great, and viewers will earnestly need
to know, what are they doing with all those darned goats?

Joseph especially shines with his fearlessly loopy portrayal of the
socially inept colonel.

Take the journey, if you can bend your mind around the ridiculousness, and discover the true aim of the Churchill Protocol.