(l-r) Belinda Corpuz, Jeff Yung and Tony Ofori take a bow -- old school style. (photo by Ramon Regozo)
This entire run has been magically SOLD OUT.
Because tonight and tomorrow night are the LAST TWO SHOWS and advanced tickets are already gone and you’ve got to get there as early as you can to RUSH — I thought I’d give you some tips on making sure you get to see ‘Shotgun Wedding: The Musical’. Don’t leave it to chance.
Here are a few tips to get in for sure:
Two of our wonderful FoH volunteers ready to give out bad news... with a smile.
1. Buy your ticket ONLINE. Why stress out about getting to the box office early enough, especially if you’re driving from Scarbz or Sauga when you can just do it online, lickety-split? You’re already on Facebook RIGHT NOW, I bet. Book it now! www.fringetoronto.com
This isn’t even a guarantee that you’ll GET an advanced ticket — online presales have been selling out very early on the day of the performance (for example, Sunday night’s show is SOLD OUT pre-sale already by Sunday at noon).
* this one would have been nice, but now advanced sales are dunzo. if you want to catch the Fringe’s ‘little show that could’, you have to…
better to wait than to be late.
2. Rush the line. If you’re gonna rush, do like Paula Abdul says and RUSH, RUSH. Box Office opens at 7pm SHARP and tickets go on sale from there. 50% of the house is reserved for rush sales so you have a good chance at scoring a stub, but you’ve got to be present once the tickets go on sale. Lineups have been forming as early as 6:30pm and one night, tickets sold out at 7:14pm! Doowhutchalike!
Jenna, our Front of House Manager lays down the rules.
3. Buy four at the door. Each person who walks up can buy a max of 4 tickets, so if you know your 3 friends are on the Gardiner coming from Brampton, damn! Hook them up. They’re good for it. At least I hope so. Only thing is that if they arrive Filipino-time, you’re S.O.L. because they can’t come in once the show has started — and no refunds!
Things to do while you wait
If you do insist on trying your luck with the rush line and you’re arriving MAD EARLY, here are a few things you can do in the neighbourhood around the Alexandra Park Community Centre while you’re killing time (after you’ve bought your ticket, not before).
walk up to Dundas and Spadina and get some prutas.
1. Do your Asian Groceries. May as well buy your adobo ingredients, gulay or exotic fruits like mangoes, rambutan or lanzones. But you can’t eat that in the theatre, so put in your trunk since you parked near the chinese grocery anyway.
"If you go, bring some for the playwright."
2. Eat some lechon. Gold Stone is right there — and you can mow down on some roast pork while you’re waiting for the doors to open. You can bring your own Filipino-style lechon sauce that you JUST bought at the Asian grocery. This IS a debut after all, may as well get (your arteries) in the mood.
Pretty Freedom is at Dundas and Augusta...
... and so is Kapisanan Philippine Centre.
3. Walk around the hood. It’s not just all about Chinatown. Take a quick walk up to Dundas and then 2 short blocks west to Augusta and see where both Kapisanan and Pretty Freedom are. Our costume designer Jodee Aguillon is a big fixture at both places and even though they won’t be open near showtime, at least you’ll know where to go for next time.
meet some old pals and catch up a bit!
4. Sit around and meet some fellow audience members. ‘Shotgun Wedding’ has been attracting a nice and diverse audience from all over the city. Meet someone new… or old. I’m really happy to have re-connected with some old friends that I haven’t seen *since* 1993 and you might be lucky enough to see one of your old friends in the line also looking to go back… way back — back into time. Take pics!
Day Five Reflection
As the proud playwright, I plan on attending each performance and I’ve been there for the last four nights. At the risk of being presumptuous, I’m not certain each show will sell out — but I certainly would feel blessed if that ended up being the case. It looks promising!
Seeing the script come alive has been surreal and I’ve been soaking up every moment with pride. I’ve been enjoying the small moments spent talking to guests after the show to find out what they thought — so far, I think people are having fun and that’s really ALL I wanted. Mission accomplished.
... the cast prepares moments before the house opens...
This cast is so amazing and I’ve been fortunate enough to be inside the venue before the doors open — these are true professionals and they spend up to the last second preparing for the show — together. Mickey, Belinda, Jeff, Arlene, Richie and Tony are working HARD for you, folks. Please show them love in the form of applause and crowd participation. Theatre is an exchange, after all.
Everything from the direction to the costumes to Kierscey Rand‘s amazing original songs — some people even asked me where they could buy the soundtrack. What a good idea!
I’ve gotten so many compliments on the show that I can only deflect towards the cast and the crew. I only wrote the script — and I feel fortunate and blessed to sit silently in the background, relishing each moment to myself. Please show your love to the cast and the crew during and after the show. It’s ALL THEM.
I hope to see you tonight and for the rest of the run! FRINGE HARD, folks!
Leonard Cervantes
Playwright.
In this case, being crossed out is a GOOD THING. Cross my heart. Literally.
Shotgun Wedding: The Musical 