Toronto Fringe Communications Manager: Ali Molloy,
[email protected]
Company Media Contact: Labe Kagan
Phone: 416-992-8165
Email: [email protected]
A LESSON IN GABBY SOARS IN ITS TORONTO DEBUT
The hilarious comedy finally comes home to roost.
A LESSON IN GABBY is a quirky comedy about love, friendship, angles, angels, and moving on... and it's mostly
true. Shattered by a final failed attempt to reconcile with his ex-wife, heart-broken, middle aged, comic
playwright Groucho finds the angels and is now ready to move on. Or is he? When Groucho continues to be a
shmuck, Melville, his best friend (and muse), helps him learn a life lesson.
Labe Kagan, the show’s playwright, is a middle aged, retired ad man who drew strongly on his own experiences
to write GABBY. A real labour of love, Kagan used his own treasured diary of his personal spiritual journey
following his divorce as inspiration for this play. Years of developing and honing GABBY, through various
workshops and readings, has resulted in a tight, hilarious script.
GABBY stars award winning actors and Fringe veterans James Robert Woods as Groucho and Stephen Flett as
Melville, and is directed by the award winning director, Jacqui Burke. All three have been active in professional
and community theatre in and around Toronto for decades with hundreds of shows between them. Mark Albert,
long-time friend of Labe’s (and the real life Melville) has been putting on plays with Labe since 1984, usually as
an actor but, this time, as Producer with Mark My Words-Ink.
A LESSON IN GABBY was produced by MHLD Productions Inc. for the 2013 Fundy Fringe Festival, directed by and
starring David Gale with Ralph Small, and assistant directed by Suzanne Bennett, where audiences responded
with laughter, ovations, and stellar audience reviews. And, now, this hysterical comedy will now make its
Toronto debut.
But it’s not just the comedy that’s the only draw for GABBY, it’s also the authenticity of its characters and the
depth of their caring that makes A LESSON IN GABBY a must-see in the 2015 Fringe.
Mark My Words-Ink in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents A Lesson in Gabby
Written by Labe Kagan
Performances:
Directed by Jacqui Burke
July 2, 11:00 pm July 8, 3:30 pm
Starring James Robert Woods and Stephen Flett
July 4, 5:15 pm
July 9, 9:15 pm
Stage Managed by Andrea Wicken
July 5, 8:45 pm
July 12, 1:45 pm
July 7, 1:15 pm
Opens July 2 and runs to July 12, 2015 at the TARRAGON EXTRA SPACE, 30 Bridgeman Avenue.
Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.
Tickets:
Tickets go on sale online and by phone June 11 and in person at 12 noon on July 1.
Purchase online: fringetoronto.com.
By Phone: 416-966-1062
In Person: During the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).
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