Celebrity guests are interviewed about their wacky, offbeat romance stories in Making Love With David Magidoff. Quickly turning into a goofy musical improvised by an energetic cast, the result is an innuendo-filled, scattered roller coaster.
Magidoff is a charismatic and lively host, running over to the audience to quiz them on their eccentric stories of love at first sight or doomed romances. The mood quickly brightens after our celebrity guest for the evening — Travis frontman Fran Healy — does an acoustic singalong of two fan favourites, the contemplative ‘Driftwood’ and sunny, jangly ‘Flowers in the Window.’ Seated in an audience of Travis enthusiasts who hum along, it is a warm moment of connection between the singer and crowd.
Segueing swiftly, we enter a segment in which Healy spills all to Magidoff and the audience about an unfortunate end to a budding young romance. The cast then improvise a musical based around the story — this time featuring an 18-year-old Healy and a disastrous first date. The high-energy, enthusiastic cast are in sync, taking on various roles from Healy’s dad to his short-term lover, and seizing the opportunity for any possible innuendo or a well-timed pun. From upbeat tracks featuring jazz hands aplenty to more tentative, sugary numbers, the improvised show tunes are upbeat and keep the audience engrossed as Healy looks on — bemused and slightly mortified.
Healy’s story gives the cast a limited amount of material to improvise with, which results in the songs becoming somewhat repetitive and innuendos being overused. One song repeats a pun almost endlessly, becoming too on-the-nose. Snowballing off of Healy’s brief tale, there is little for the cast to do other than make fun of his love interest, meaning that the characters become caricatures.
The flow becomes disjointed when there are interruptions to the already haphazard storytelling. A poem is quickly penned based on Healy’s tale, which falls flat and merely retells the story rather than adding witty moments of comedy.
Making Love With David Magidoff relies heavily on guest star gimmicks and the shock value of an embarrassing escapade, at the expense of slick improv or cohesive storytelling. That being said, it is a goofy and undeniably entertaining imitation of the unglamorous trials and tribulations of love.
Making Love With David Magidoff has finished its Fringe run.
Image by Lisa Kelly Remerowski, provided to The Student for press use.
