Who’s afraid of Tippi Seagram?

I sat in the comedy-world equivalent of sniffer’s row with my good friend Miguel last night for a long-awaited viewing of Who’s afraid of Tippi Seagram? at Performance Works on Granville Island. Bold that we were to sit so close to Canada’s favourite starlet, we had no idea what we were getting into.

A one-woman tour-de-forced-entry, Colette Kendall is not a woman to be trifled with. Her tongue is sharper than a vodka high colonic. You’ve been warned, now get out and see her before the Fringe closes on Sunday.

Colette Kendall’s Tippi Seagram is one part Sharon Stone:

And one part Patsy Stone from Absolutely Fabulous:

She spends most of the show wandering through the audience in a sexy black cocktail dress and leopard-print heels, like a smarter, sassier Kim Catrall. Sure she has her standard comedian material, which ranges from American
Politics, pop culture references, gay rights and even a quick roll in
the hay with Osama bin Laden, but Colette Kendall truly shines when she improves and takes her comedic talents to her audience.

Who is afraid of Tippi Seagram? I fucking was. I’m not exactly a wallflower, but spotting me in the front row of tables, Kendall laid into me early and hounded me all night. Yes yes, the “meet me backstage after the stage” jokes remind me of a
Saturday night out on Davie St (though I was still flattered), as did the young ‘un and kid jokes, but
her going so far to find a set of keys in her purse to dangle in front
of me (I do like bright shiny things and couldn’t help batting my hands at them) definitely took the interactive element of her show to a new level for me personally. Loved it. Loved Tippi. Loved Kendall as Tippi. That said, everytime she wandered off her stage into the audience, my heart started racing and throughout the night, I noticed many men and women in the crowd avoiding making eye contact with Kendrall lest they become fodder for the next string of jokes.

There’s a show tonight and a show on Sunday. Get your ass out to Granville Island. For showtimes, check: www.fringefestival.com

You can check out Tippi’s blog here: www.tippisblog.com